Can you think of others who might be in a similar situation or
are perhaps even worse off? Can you feel empathy and
compassion for them?
3 . How might this situation be useful to you? What might be
gained from this experience? What lessons can be learned?
How might this circumstance help you grow and mature as a
person?
4 . Try to feel grateful for the opportunity that this suffering
and adversity has given you.
5 . Try saying the sentence: “May my suffering spare others
from a similar suffering.” How can you use your suffering to
alleviate the suffering of others? Can your actions help to
prevent others from experiencing similar suffering, or
contribute to reducing the suffering of others?Suffering, Adversity, and Illness of Others—A Tonglen
Practice
The famous tonglen practice allows us to be present and helpful to
others when they are suffering, facing adversity, or confronting illness.
This practice is the culmination of the Compassion Cultivation Training
and is based on a widespread and powerful Buddhist practice. In this
practice, we take suffering from others and offer our love, our courage,
our strength, and our joy. In A Fearless Heart, Jinpa tells a powerful story
of tonglen: One person who took the Compassion Cultivation Training
was a hospital chaplain who recounted how the practice had helped her
when she was called to the emergency room because of a drowning
accident involving a child.
“I felt myself cringe inwardly because I knew the magnitude of this
kind of situation—the hardest call for all concerned is when it involves a
child. I prayed for strength as I hurried toward the ER. The RN told me
there were actually two children, siblings, and doctors were performing
CPR but it didn’t look good at all. I felt my whole body tighten as I