30. Don’t rely on your good nature
- This is the Eighth Slogan/Instruction of Point Six, which consists of sixteen instructions.
- Point Six is “The Disciplines of Mind Training”
This slogan has many interpretations. Traleg Kyabgon provides several of them in The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion through Training the Mind.They are too extensive to quote here without stepping into copyright issues. For a more complete picture, consult that work. But Traleg Kyabgon’s introductory paragraph is:
The contradictions implicit in this difficult and enigmatic slogan are reflected in the varying interpretations found in different lojong commentaries. The Tibetan phrase literally means “don’t rely on a dependable object,” but the Tibetan word for “dependable object” implies a friend more than a nondescript thing. The contradiction comes from the fact that it would normally be considered good to rely on a friend. A more accurate English rendition of this term would be “good nature,” and some lojong commentators have understood this slogan to mean that we should not always be constantly shifting our focus to something new. Once we have made up our mind to do something, we must stick to that course of action until we’ve reached our goal.
The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion through Training the Mind
Chögyam Trungpa wrote,
The literal translation of this slogan is “Don’t be consistent,” but it is more like “Don’t be so kind and faithful, so guileless.” That is to say, an ordinary person or man of the world would have some understanding about his relationship with his enemies and his friends and how much debt he owes people. It is all very predictable. Similarly, when somebody inflicts pain on you, you keep that for long-term storage, long-term discussion, long-term resentment. You would eventually like to strike back at him, not forgetting his insult in ten or even twenty years.
Chögyam Trungpa,Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness
leven-Headed Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara), around 1000. Western Himalayas. Gilt bronze with silver and copper inlay; overall: 39.4 x 14 x 7.6 cm (15 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 3 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art