I am using Weeping Buddha and the lojong sayings and commentary from Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness by Chogyam Trungpa as a study, together.
I’ve been practicing tonglen for almost three decades, and it is my main practice.
This is the eighth weekly installment.  To start at the beginning go here.

The more you meditate, trying to quiet your monkey mind, the more you realize the ya-yah-yahing that goes on about things constantly that are no where near present in the meditation hall, and really are not even pressing events.  We can weep at sadness in our minds, when the reality of what is happening around us is happy.

Ever heard several people be witnesses to an event, and how disparate the  narration might be?  Location, yes, might make a difference, but mostly it is filters.

Why does one family member have one memory of a Sunday night dinner while another has a totally different take on the energy of the gathering?

My favorite is when my husband and I have two different memories, which becomes most apparent if we are arguing.  (He is wrong, of course and I am right, but other than that. . .)  Thankfully we know our ground of being is we love each other, and so we suspend our solid perceptions and listen to how the other perceived a situation that was not happy.  We talk about the difference in our perception with a sense of wonder, and usually are amazed that we can still see something so differently.  (Then he admits I am right.)

This week I was glad to know that this reality is a dream, because it was a nightmare of ups and downs, clients changing everything, people not reading information pertinent to what needs to be done (so much repetitive discussion), clients standing up appointments (didn’t we confirm!?!), and lots and lots of hand-holding.   Every so often I would remember that it is a dream and CAN change in a minute (one of those things Mitchell likes to remind me of a lot).  Yes, like the Oregon weather, it does change, a LOT.  Recognizing the nature of the dream (incompletion) led me to change my mindset and choose to move into areas where I COULD get work done (the other was just spinning wheels).  I found a way for me to have some success in the midst of a bad dream, and to let go of the other, for which I had no control really.  I am ending my week with everything up in the air, and I have to be okay with that.

In this weekly commentary on the lojong, I am not open to the feed becoming
a debate for people to nitpick Buddhism or my interpretations of Buddhist concepts.
(There are lots of places for debates.)  I am more interested in hearing about
YOUR life or how it affected you or your practice awakening in some manner.
For more info about why, go here.

©D. Katie Powell.  My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to zenkatwrites.  Art (unless stated) is also by me; please link to dkatiepowellart.