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ramblepatch's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
taurilaane's review against another edition
5.0
The first ever book (for me) to promote altruism as the intelligent way to live. I had the best grandfather and the world "altruism" has forever been linked first with him in my mind. I have thought of him having less ambition (he was super talented), but this book makes me reconsider it - maybe he was very ambitions in the way of living the best life possible. I have always thought of him as my role model, but only on a gut-feeling level. This book gives me the logic too, why altruism is the intelligent way to go, too. And yea, the Author is wise in many subjects, I do agree with quite everything he says + some great new insights too.
***
I usually don't paste my notes, but here are some golden ones:
***
Time is relative. To a baby a day seems endless, so much learning and new each day. To a child, starting summer vacation seems endless and the school starting in the fall seems light years away. If we are old, time speeds up. If you are 30, life is 80% gone. If you're 50, it's 95% gone. We have less time, than we think.
***
When we help somebody, we usually expect something in return. Even if it's not a reward, or gratefulness, it might be that we help on the condition that they improve their lives. True love and kindness never wants anything in return, even if the help is "wasted".
***
Others have the power to insult or diminish You only if You yourself have just a shallow opinion about You.
***
Conflict is not the exception to human communication, but the rule to it. As long as we have wants and needs, there will be conflict. It's how You deal with it, that counts.
***
We analyze others and think we know them, why they do things. But in reality we don't even know ourselves, just a tiny part. How ridiculous is it to think we could ever understand others? What ever we presume, we are probably incorrect.
***
When you are being with other people, try not to be the persona you want them to see, and act like you'd be alone. Think of them as intimate with you as you are with yourself. And vice versa, when alone, think as You are being watched by others, keep Your highest standards.
***
We are kind and sweet to people who are kind and sweet; and we are nasty to people who are nasty. But logical would be not to trigger the nasty people, so instead focus the sweetness to them instead! Maybe they will even get a bit better this way?!
***
BTW this (and my previous 5-6 and next 5-6) book is free to listen in Audible Plus catalogue, just create a new account, add Your credit card information and CANCEL before the month is up. Free to listen :)
***
I usually don't paste my notes, but here are some golden ones:
***
Time is relative. To a baby a day seems endless, so much learning and new each day. To a child, starting summer vacation seems endless and the school starting in the fall seems light years away. If we are old, time speeds up. If you are 30, life is 80% gone. If you're 50, it's 95% gone. We have less time, than we think.
***
When we help somebody, we usually expect something in return. Even if it's not a reward, or gratefulness, it might be that we help on the condition that they improve their lives. True love and kindness never wants anything in return, even if the help is "wasted".
***
Others have the power to insult or diminish You only if You yourself have just a shallow opinion about You.
***
Conflict is not the exception to human communication, but the rule to it. As long as we have wants and needs, there will be conflict. It's how You deal with it, that counts.
***
We analyze others and think we know them, why they do things. But in reality we don't even know ourselves, just a tiny part. How ridiculous is it to think we could ever understand others? What ever we presume, we are probably incorrect.
***
When you are being with other people, try not to be the persona you want them to see, and act like you'd be alone. Think of them as intimate with you as you are with yourself. And vice versa, when alone, think as You are being watched by others, keep Your highest standards.
***
We are kind and sweet to people who are kind and sweet; and we are nasty to people who are nasty. But logical would be not to trigger the nasty people, so instead focus the sweetness to them instead! Maybe they will even get a bit better this way?!
***
BTW this (and my previous 5-6 and next 5-6) book is free to listen in Audible Plus catalogue, just create a new account, add Your credit card information and CANCEL before the month is up. Free to listen :)
kmccubbin's review against another edition
4.0
A fine, down to earth, take on the Tibetan practice of Lojong, the use of slogans as meditation points towards the ideal of dealing with the world more compassionately.
Lojong seems to be popping up a bit more often now that Zen Buddhism is becoming more widespread in the US and folks are realizing that there's not a great deal in the teachings to facilitate day to day compassion, that, though, being the goal, presumably. Lojong is series of exercises to help liberate you from your bad patterns and give your mind a little fortification in a more practical way than you get from most dharma.
Norman Fischer, here, delivers his take on the 59 slogans in a useful, unpretentious, often funny way and the practice as he shows it is useful in the extreme.
Lojong seems to be popping up a bit more often now that Zen Buddhism is becoming more widespread in the US and folks are realizing that there's not a great deal in the teachings to facilitate day to day compassion, that, though, being the goal, presumably. Lojong is series of exercises to help liberate you from your bad patterns and give your mind a little fortification in a more practical way than you get from most dharma.
Norman Fischer, here, delivers his take on the 59 slogans in a useful, unpretentious, often funny way and the practice as he shows it is useful in the extreme.
aaronkarp123's review against another edition
5.0
This book doesn't expound for pages and pages on heady philosophy or religious theory. It is concise and straightforward, and yet manages to present its insight in a way that makes you want to keep reading. The explanation of each point and slogan found its way directly to a very central place in my being, and I felt unexpectedly joyful as I read and absorbed. As Fischer says himself many times, our brains are not perfect memory machines and our habits are slow to change, so I do not doubt these lessons will take (endless?) repeating for them to sink in. But I am comforted knowing I can flip to any page in this book and be reminded of an insight that can help me feel happier, more at ease, or simply kinder. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, whether experienced in Zen Buddhist practice or not.
csl's review
4.0
Arriving by way of a friend's recommendation with no other knowledge of Lojong, I found author's style approachable and easy-going, but serious in intent. Though I didn't set out to take up this kind of mind training, I have a feeling I'll be referring back to this book and using what of it I can recall until then.
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