h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there, just to let you know i will be subbing your entry.

If i have any questions i will be back!! and i will let you know before i send it back to the editors so you can give it a quick check



Mort

Thanks, Mort, I look forward to hearing from you when you're done with it.

Chai

TONGLEN - a Tibetan Buddhist technique to release the transformative power of compassion

I haven't started subbing it yet, but the first thing i would say is the title. Because it is so long it actually widens the viewable screen, meaning you have to scroll to read along.

Would you have an objection to a change such as

Main Title = Tonglen

with a subheader containing the rest of the title?

Or if you have another suggestion i would be pleased to hear it.

Mort

Hi Mort,

Yes, a subheader would be fine. I only wrote that one as long as it was, because I was asked to by some hootoo Buddhists who felt the word Tonglen by itself was too obscure.

Cool,

Chai

Thats great! I will let you know when it is sorted then



Mort

Just a couple of annoying questions for you!

**'Noble Middle Way' of the Buddha in the eighth century. The saying translates roughly as, 'Giving away all victory, and taking unto oneself all defeat'. It is also described by the early Buddhist sage, Shantideva, as, 'exchanging self for other'.

Do you mean the original translation of Noble Middle Way? and which language? or is it an interpretation of the ideals of the Noble Middle Way?


**'dung on the field of bodhi'

Is bodhi a foreign word or just a term (what does it mean? - may need to footnote the meaning)
What language? the same as upaya?

(Although i realise these are recognised terms in the art of Tonglen)


**HH the Dalai Lama - what does the HH stand for?

**sitting-meditation - is this a specific form of meditation (as opposed to a physical sitting?)



Sorry to be thick, but i am not familiar with these terms so i dont want to misinterprate them and also when it hits the front page there will be other idiots like me reading it!!

Oh sorry about the title - i have only just read the peer review thread - should have read it first. You must think we are mad, telling you one thing and then the opposite and then back again.

Anyway, it is nearly done so it should go back to the editors by the end of the week but i will let you know when i have finished with it before it does go back.



Mort

Good Medicine: How to Turn Pain into Compassion With Tonglen Meditation
by Pema Chodron

You called it Tonglen by Pema Chodron - was it the above casette/cd/vid you were referring to? as i will have to use the full name. (just checking in case there is another one)

Also the Snowlion reference will have to be taken out as it is classed as a commercial site and not the only provider of the tapes. (i know - what a drag!!)



Mort

Hi Mort,

I'm in a bit of a hurry just now, so I can't answer all of your questions, but here are the answers to the ones I recall off the top of my head:

(1)"HH" the Dalai Lama stands for His Holiness.

(2)Tonglen, by Pema Chodron is a booklet I got from Snowlion, not a DVD/cassetteVideo. Though it's good to know there is such a one, and it would be a good reference to include anyway, ( even if I haven't seen/heard it.)

(3)Bodhi is a sanskrit word ( like upaya ) meaning roughly the "enlightened" aspect of mind, as in terms such as "bodhicitta," which translates as enlightened mind, and "bodhisattva," an enlightened being who defers ultimate "nirvana", or final liberation, until all suffering beings are liberated. ( What a hornet's nest that question turned out to be.

(4)Noble Middle Way etc. No, "taking onto oneself all defeaat and giving away all victory," is not a translation of Noble Middle Way ( which is a general term used by Buddhists to describe Buddhism ) it is a translation of a saying by Padmasambhava, which would probably have been in either Tibetan or some dialect of Sanskrit, but I've never seen a Tibetan version of the saying quoted anywhere.

(5)Sitting meditation is a general term used in Buddhism to describe meditation where one is sitting down ( surprise surprise )in contrast to, say, walking meditation, as practised in Sri Lanka etc., so it implies something more than merely sitting down.

(6) Regarding the Snowlion reference, I will see if there is a publisher mentioned for Pema's book. Should have that to you later today. OK?

Cheers, Ciao,

Chaiwallah

Hi, I've checked the publishers for the Tonglen book by Pema Chodron. Vajradhatu Books, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Cheers,

Chai

Thanks for checking up on publishers - as it is available from general suppliers then i wont need to list them (had it been a specialist publisher then i may have been able to get away with naming them.)

The finished version is at A1045784

You will notice some restructuring, mainly the techinque passages altogether and the explanation of it sectioned together.

I hope you are happy with it. If i have altered something that changes or misinterprates the meaning of anything then please let me know. However some changes i probably made for stylistic or structural reasons.

Mort