Don't be swayed by external circumstances.

Eastern box turtle - photo from Wikipedia.org

          Eastern box turtles mate between May and October, but finding a partner is rather haphazard. Mating occurs only if a male and female happen to come across one another, usually a chance encounter as they search for food. But the reproduction system of females has an unusual alternative for species support. These turtles can store viable sperm for up to four years. The right environmental conditions, such as food quantity and quality, cause hormone production that will trigger the formation of eggs. When conditions are good, the female box turtle can choose to use the stored sperm to fertilize her eggs. Some studies say that she can even choose which male's semen is used. Slogan fifty suggests that we don't rely on circumstances when it comes to our spiritual practice. Life itself presents us with the opportunities and tools we need train with, whether we experience loss or gain, are busy or bored, with fun-loving or difficult people. Choosing only specific times, people or situations to use for practice means we might miss a chance to develop a skill we sorely need.

Work with your mind instead of trying to change everything on the outside.
~ Pema Chodron

For more information on the fiftieth slogan, go here.

Slogan Fifty

Don’t get swayed by external circumstances.

            A sailboat has two sails – a large mainsail and a small jib. If the boat only relied on these, the wind would send it in whatever direction the breeze blew. But the boom (or pole) allows the sails to be positioned, and the rudder and tiller act as a sort of steering wheel. Many of us permit circumstances (the wind) to affect our thoughts and emotions (the sails). However, the steady practice of lojong can help steer us; we may have no control over external conditions, but we can choose the internal direction we want to move toward.

Photo: A dove’s feather floats in a bird bath.

            On the south side of my house is a flowering dogwood that was planted long before I moved into my home. It cycles through all the seasons with white blooms in spring, a leafy canopy for summer, red berries during the autumn then bare branches throughout the winter. One year lightning hit a nearby pine and traveled up its trunk. Part of the tree died and had to be pruned, but it continued to survive. Last night a summer thunderstorm whipped the leafy branches into a frenzy, yet this morning it remains rooted in place (though minus a few leaves). My life has similar cycles, some painful and some pleasurable. The training of lojong encourages me to stay rooted in my practice regardless of what is going on around me. Pema Chodron spoke of how even Buddha had every challenge in the book thrown at him before he attained enlightenment: “On that evening what was different was that he simply held his seat, opened his heart to whatever might arise, didn’t shut down, and was fully there.”