What the Buddha Taught Class 11 -- Lojong: Training the mind and awakening the heart
with Marilia Marien & Mark Jacobson
In this interactive and practical day-long class, we'll take a deep dive into the profound and pithy slogans known as Lojong, or “mind training”. First brought to Tibet in the 11th century by the Bengali Buddhist teacher Atisha, these teachings are as helpful and relevant in our current times and daily lives as they were 1000 years ago.
Atisha’s slogans are a method for training and transforming our mind by cultivating the mental habits that generate kindness and compassion towards others. They train the mind so that its inherent wakefulness can emerge and shine more brightly, even in difficult situations.
This course offers an engaging and practical approach to understanding and applying the wisdom of the Lojong slogans to modern life. Participants will explore key slogans and how to practice them, engage in brief meditation and contemplation practices, experience a guided Tonglen practice (a practice designed to help one cultivate a compassionate and awakened heart-mind), and engage in discussion.
This class is for those who are newer to Buddhism and meditation as well as more seasoned practitioners. The Lojong slogans are timeless and fresh, even if you've been studying them for awhile.
If you’d like, you can read this article in Lion’s Roar for a brief overview of the slogans:
https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-meditate-judy-lief-on-mind-training/
Marilia Marien has been practicing meditation for over 20 years. She has been studying and practicing within the Shambhala community since 2008 where she is a teacher and meditation instructor. Marilia’s passion for helping others learn and apply meditation and mindfulness to their everyday lives developed out of her personal interest and experiences with meditation and other contemplative practices. Marilia is a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). She specializes in training and coaching mental health and allied healthcare professionals who want to learn mindfulness to enhance their well-being and/or integrate it into their professional work.
Mark Jacobson has been a member of the Philadelphia Shambhala Center since 2012 and currently serves on the Central Governance Circle. He’s a Shambhala meditation instructor and a regular at the Center’s Monday Night Sangha gathering, where he’s been studying, and practicing lojong for the past 10 years.
