Belly Sneetches went into this machine and came
out without stars on their belly; the superior ones
were now without stars.
The clever fellow kept these two machines going.
Sneetches were running in and out, and the money
was piling up, but after awhile all the Sneetches ex-
perienced shunyata. They didn’t know who was who
or what was what or who was a Star-Belly Sneetch
and who was a non–Star-Belly Sneetch, so after
awhile they just had to look at each other without la-
bels or opinions.
Another slogan says, “Train without bias in all areas.
It is crucial always to do this pervasively and whole-
heartedly.” Train without bias, that’s the trick. Train
without bias, without the labels. This is supported by
the whole tonglen practice and lojong teaching,
which encourage us to see bias when it comes up and
begin to connect with how painful that is, to feel the
prejudice, the resentment, the judgment. It’s a pow-
erful, compassionate teaching because it respects
our intelligence and our innate good heart. It simply
says, “Begin to see what you do, and don’t necessarily
try to change it; just see it.” That’s how things begin to
change. When we say, “Train without bias,” the first
step is to meditate on bias when you see it arising.
This is the same as “Always meditate on whatever
provokes resentment.” Then one begins to be able to
train meticulously and pervasively in all situations.
170 Communication from the Heart