Notions of Tonglen

Thought Transformation in Eight Stanzas
By Langri Tangpa Dorje Senge

1.
Being determined to accomplish
The highest welfare for all beings,
Who are more precious than the wish-fulfilling gem,
I shall constantly hold them dear.
2.
When accompanying anyone,
I shall view myself as the lowest of all
And in the depth of my heart,
Shall hold others dearly as supreme.
3.
Examining my continuum through all actions,
As soon as an emotional affliction arises
That endangers myself and others,
By facing it, I shall strictly avert it.
4.
When seeing a being of wicked nature,
Who is forced by violent wrongs and sufferings,
I shall hold dear this one – so hard to find -
As though discovering a precious treasure.
5.
When others, out of jealousy,
Treat me badly with abuse, insults and the like,
I shall accept their hard words
And offer the other the victory.
6.
When someone whom I have assisted
And in whom I have placed great hope
Inflicts me with extremely great harm,
I shall view him as my supreme spiritual friend.
7.
In short, I shall offer benefit and bliss to all mothers,
In this life and in the future continuum
And secretly I shall take upon myself
All of the harms and sufferings of my mothers.
8.
When, having not defiled all these by the stain
Of preconceptions of the eight worldly feelings,
And perceiving all phenomena as illusory
Free from aversion and clinging,
I shall release from bondage.