Always maintain only a joyful mind.

Anna's hummingbird on a nest the size of a ping-pong ball

Photo by Elaine Miller Bond

          The self has a tendency to shrink our world down to the size of a hummingbird nest. It insists that things be pleasant and go our way; whatever is contrary is seen as unfair and intolerable. Yet even when we are in pain, this slogan reminds us we can find joy by opening fully to our experience. We aren't required to accept our suffering with a forced grin and a stiff upper lip. Instead, meditation can assist us in discovering our innate joy. We learn to focus the attention on what is happening without narrating a mental story around it. As Zen teacher Darlene Cohen explained, "it is only in the present that you can cultivate the mental stability that is required to practice non-preference for the conditions of your life." She describes the process of "widening our weave," meaning we acknowledge and feel our pain rather than run from it. As an alternative to closing down, we make more space - space that allows our suffering to move through us. Training our attention also helps us be aware of the more subtle sensations that are also going on at the same time. Though we may feel intense discomfort in our body, we may also notice a cool breeze that blows across our face and hear the sound of it in the tree tops.  Rather than narrowing our perception down to what is happening that we don't like, we can expand it to include what is joyful there too.

You need to cultivate skills that enable you to be present for all of your life, not just the moments you prefer. ~ Darlene Cohen

For more information on the twenty-first slogan, go here.

Slogan Twenty-one

Always maintain only a joyful mind.

From the Lojong for the Layperson booklet:

            In a world filled with pain, this slogan appears impossible. Our ideas about what joy looks like can trap us, when we believe it should take a particular form. But training reminds us that conditions don’t have to automatically result in a habitual reaction. This slogan doesn’t mean we have to fake happiness or that we’re expected not to feel sad, frustrated or angry. Instead we can be grateful for a path that not only explains suffering but gives us a way to uproot it. We can relax and lighten up, maintaining our sense of humor. We stay curious and interested in the world around us, appreciating even the ordinary. We can choose where we invest our attention. True joy is unconditional, allowing us to maintain a sense of equanimity and contentment. Chogyam Trungpa suggests an exercise to remind us to travel through life lightly:  “No matter what you are feeling or what is going on, smile at least once a day.”

Photo: Group of purple coneflowers.

            In North America, there are several indigenous cultures whose mythology sees the coyote as a “trickster.” Such an archetype teaches in unorthodox ways – often giving us things we think we do want (that we soon change our minds about) or giving us things we don’t want (that we later realize are actually gifts.) When I was young and single, I had 15 such “pups” in my care as a preschool teacher. Those three-year-old children were responsible for teaching me about the absurdity of perfection and the power of compassionate humor. One autumn day, after discussing the natural changes that came with the season, I decided we would take a walk outside. I gave each child a bag to gather leaves and acorns as we walked, intending to let them make a fall collage upon our return. When our mission was complete, we returned to the classroom, and each child was given a large sheet of Manila paper and glue for their bag of items. About 15 minutes later, George ran up to me with his work of art excitedly saying, “Look at all the acorns I found to put on my picture!” Drying in the glue were a dozen, perfectly round pieces of rabbit poo. I just smiled and told him it was absolutely beautiful, because through eyes of joy it was.