Tong-len Brings You Closer to Enlightenment

Tong-len Brings You Closer to Enlightenment

Date of Advice:
January 2011
Date Posted:
January 2018

A student wrote that she was sick and asked Rinpoche what to do. Rinpoche gave this advice about the practice of tong-len, taking and giving.

My dear one,
Tong-len practice comes out best for you.

Each time you practice giving, there are numberless sentient beings in each of the seven realms—hell, hungry ghost, animal, human being, sura, asura and intermediate state—and there are so many things to give, including all your past, present and future merits, full enlightenment and all the results, as well as your own body in the form of a wish-granting jewel, your belongings, family members, friends, servants and so forth. It’s the same when you take all their suffering and its causes together.

You must do this practice. I would feel sorry if you didn’t.

When you practice giving to numberless sentient beings in each realm, you collect seven times numberless merits, like this, with every belonging and all your merits. You can’t imagine how much merit, like a wish-fulfilling jewel.

Each time you give, you purify many eons of negative karma. When you do this practice, you become closer to enlightenment each time.

Much love and prayers ...