The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas - One-Week Retreat
D3S3 - Mudita, Self-Cherishing, and the Roots of Tonglen
David Oromith · 88 minutes · recorded December 2, 2024
The session opens with a practice of mudita in which we delight in the good fortune of a friend, a stranger and someone we find difficult. David completes the seven point instruction on cause and effect, from recognising kindness to the great resolve, then explains why self-cherishing is the root of misery and how tonglen exchanges it for others. Questions turn to where kindness tips into people pleasing, and whether karma means we should not intervene in someone else's suffering.
Anger and aversion Attachment and craving Comparison and self-cherishing Karma The bodhisattva path Bodhicitta practice Compassion (karuna) Empathetic joy (mudita) Tonglen The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas