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china
April 2008 
HELP TIBET AND CHINA: WITH TONGLEN
Posted on Mar 18th, 2008
by 
Chaiwallah
Chaiwallah
Tonglen, which means “giving and taking,” is a Tibetan Tantric Buddhist technique for energy transformation. It is very simple, based on breathing and visualisation. (My empowerment came from Ringu Tulku.)
Tonglen can be practised on the most personal level, to deal with sickness and negative emotional energy in your own body. It can be used between two people for the same reasons. You can use it to help another person to heal. You can use it between you and any source of threatening or negative energy.
Here's how.
Take a moment to be quiet in the face of the energy source (sitting, or standing, even in traffic, I've done it to deal with frustration and fear while cycling in the city on my bicycle!)
1) Visualise the negative energy ( physical pain, anger, fear, craving, etc.etc.) as a thick cloud of greasy black smoke.
2) Inhale deeply, drawing the visualised smoke into your very Being.
3) There, it will dissolve automatically, exploding into its essential emptiness. As it does so, your own ego's attachment to that energy is dissolved, and the black smoke becomes the fuel which burns to create a fire of intense light and compassion. This happens instantly. You don't need to work at it.
4) Exhale the light and compassion as a stream of positive energy, back to the source of pain, fear, etc.
That's it. It's very powerful, as I know from using it to deal with what appeared to be a life-threatening disease. Tonglen dissolves fear, pain, anger, craving.
For Tibet and China, maybe start by looking at a map, or Google Earth, just so you have a mental picture of where the energy source is. Actually, you can do tonglen for Planet Earth. Easy to visualise the Earth as a small blue ball surrounded by black smoke.
If you're into mantras or prayers, you can use a simple mantra on the inbreath and outbreath to energise your practice. Something as simple as “am-ma” divided between the inbreath and outbreath.(Gai-a would make a good Earth-healing mantra!)
Tonglen can be practised on the most personal level, to deal with sickness and negative emotional energy in your own body. It can be used between two people for the same reasons. You can use it to help another person to heal. You can use it between you and any source of threatening or negative energy.
Here's how.
Take a moment to be quiet in the face of the energy source (sitting, or standing, even in traffic, I've done it to deal with frustration and fear while cycling in the city on my bicycle!)
1) Visualise the negative energy ( physical pain, anger, fear, craving, etc.etc.) as a thick cloud of greasy black smoke.
2) Inhale deeply, drawing the visualised smoke into your very Being.
3) There, it will dissolve automatically, exploding into its essential emptiness. As it does so, your own ego's attachment to that energy is dissolved, and the black smoke becomes the fuel which burns to create a fire of intense light and compassion. This happens instantly. You don't need to work at it.
4) Exhale the light and compassion as a stream of positive energy, back to the source of pain, fear, etc.
That's it. It's very powerful, as I know from using it to deal with what appeared to be a life-threatening disease. Tonglen dissolves fear, pain, anger, craving.
For Tibet and China, maybe start by looking at a map, or Google Earth, just so you have a mental picture of where the energy source is. Actually, you can do tonglen for Planet Earth. Easy to visualise the Earth as a small blue ball surrounded by black smoke.
If you're into mantras or prayers, you can use a simple mantra on the inbreath and outbreath to energise your practice. Something as simple as “am-ma” divided between the inbreath and outbreath.(Gai-a would make a good Earth-healing mantra!)
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