Correct all wrongs with one intention.

Wired bonsai – Photo from Wikimedia Commons

          Bonsai is the Japanese art form of growing miniature trees in pots. Wiring is one technique bonsai artists use to train and reposition the trunk and branches. Copper or aluminum wire can be wrapped around a branch to create a certain shape, change the position of foliage, or suggest movement and age. The wire provides stability until the branches are set into its new form. Just as the wire provides support for the miniature trees, so too can an altruistic resolve help reinforce our practice. When life delivers a series of discouragements or difficulties, we can get off track in our spiritual path. Our meditation period may be shoved to the side as self-interest consumes our attention and time. Yet this slogan suggests we can use our challenges to find our way back: we use our adversity to remember the suffering of other people. When we rededicate ourselves to the service of others, we extract ourselves from the mire of self-pity and lose our sense of isolation. Our altruistic focus becomes the wire that reshapes our self-seeking behavior into benevolence that supports us as well.

If egocentrism is a constant source of torment, it is quite otherwise for altruism and compassion. ~ Matthieu Ricard

For more information on the fortieth slogan, go here.

Slogan Forty

Correct all wrongs with one intention.

From the Lojong for the Layperson booklet:
            On the Appalachian Trail in the eastern U.S., white paint blazes are painted on trees, rocks and posts to mark the trail. It is suggested that if hikers go more than a quarter of a mile without seeing a blaze, they should turn around to avoid getting lost. As we travel along on our spiritual journey, we will meet both internal and external obstacles. Emotional or physical struggles may cause us to become disillusioned with our practice, wondering if what we're doing even matters. During these challenges, how can we keep from losing our way? What can help us stay connected to our practice? We can remember that other people suffer just as we do, and we can reaffirm our intention to be of service to them. The way out of spiraling self-concern is through our dedication to assist all beings.

Photo: A wire basket prevents a green pepper plant from flopping over as it grows.

            During the fall, the fair comes to our town. When I was a teenager, I always rode the Round Up, an amusement ride with a shape similar to a wheel that had open, cage-like sides on the rim. The ride would spin round and round until centrifugal force pushed riders into the cage wall. It would then tilt vertically, with nothing but the centrifugal force holding the riders in place. When life presents me with challenges that feel devastating or overwhelming, my self-concern can keep me stuck as if I were on a never-ending ride of the Round Up. The "off" lever gets pulled when my self-preoccupation is replaced by gentle compassion directed outward, as I realize other people suffer as I do. My willingness to be of benefit to them can help me get my bearings once again.