Seven Points of Mind Training
The Seven Points of Mind Training
Root Text of the Mahāyāna Instruction
by Geshe Chekhawa
Oṃ svasti.
There are many different ways of presenting the instructions on mind training according to the Mahāyāna, but the tradition of Geshe Chekhawa follows seven points: 1) the preliminary teachings of the supporting instructions; 2) the main practice of training in bodhicitta; 3) how to bring adversity onto the path to enlightenment; 4) how to apply the practice throughout one's whole life; 5) the measure of mind training; 6) the commitments of mind training; and 7) the precepts of mind training.
1. The Preliminaries
First, train in the preliminaries.
This consists of three contemplations: i) on the difficulty of finding the freedoms and advantages; ii) on death and impermanence; and iii) on the trials of saṃsāra.
2. The Main Practice
Training in bodhicitta has two parts: i) training in ultimate bodhicitta and ii) in relative bodhicitta.
i. Ultimate Bodhicitta
This consists of the preparation, main part and conclusion.
Preparation
Take refuge and generate bodhicitta, then pray, and offer the seven branches. Sit up straight and breathe in and out twenty-one times, without error.
Main Part
Consider all dharmas as dreamlike.
Examine the nature of unborn awareness.
Let even the antidote be freed in its own place.
Rest in the ālaya, the essence of the path.
Conclusion
Between sessions, be a conjurer of illusions.
ii. Relative Bodhicitta
This has two parts: meditation and post-meditation.
Meditation
Train in the two—giving and taking—alternately.
These two are to be mounted on the breath.
Post-Meditation
Three objects, three poisons and three sources of virtue.
In all activities, train by applying slogans.
Begin the process of taking with yourself.
3. Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment
When all the world is filled with evil,
Transform adversity into the path of enlightenment.
i. Intention
Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment through Relative Bodhicitta
Drive all blames into one.
Meditate on the great kindness of all.
Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment through Ultimate Bodhicitta
Meditating on delusory perceptions as the four kāyas
Is the unsurpassable śūnyatā protection.
ii. Action
The fourfold practice—of accumulating merit, purifying negative actions, offering to harmful influences, and offering to the Dharma protectors—is the best of methods.
Whatever you encounter, apply the practice.
4. Applying the Practice throughout the Whole of Life
The essence of the instruction, briefly stated,
is to apply yourself to the five strengths (of impetus, familiarization, wholesome seeds, revulsion and aspiration).
The mahāyāna advice for transference
Involves the same five strengths. Conduct is important.
5. The Measure of Mind Training
All teachings share a single purpose.
Of the two witnesses, rely upon the principal one.
Always maintain only a joyful attitude.
If this can be done even when distracted, you are proficient.
6. The Commitments of Mind Training
Train constantly in three basic principles. (Not to transgress the mind training commitments, not to be reckless, and not to fall into partiality.)
Change your attitude, but remain natural.
Don’t speak of injured limbs.
Don’t ponder others’ flaws.
Train first with the strongest destructive emotions.
Abandon any expectations of results.
Give up poisonous food.
Don’t be so loyal to the cause.
Don’t lash out in retaliation.
Don’t lie in ambush.
Don’t strike a vulnerable point.
Don’t transfer the ox’s burden to the cow.
Don’t be competitive.
Don’t misperform the rites.
Don’t reduce gods to demons.
Don’t seek others’ misery as crutches of your own happiness.
7. The Precepts of Mind Training
Do everything with a single intention.
Counter all adversity with a single remedy.
Two tasks: one at the beginning and one at the end.
Whichever of the two—prosperity or destitution—occurs, be patient.
Keep the two—commitments of the Dharma in general and mind training in particular—even at your life’s expense.
Train in the three difficulties. (When mental afflictions arise, it is difficult to notice them in the beginning, difficult to avert them in the middle and difficult to interrupt their continuity in the end.)
Acquire the three main provisions. (Meeting a good teacher, practising authentically with a workable mind, and gathering the conditions conducive to Dharma practice.)
Cultivate the three—devotion, enthusiasm and maintenance of the precepts— that must not decline.
Keep the three inseparable. (Ensure that your body, speech and mind never deviate from virtue.)
Apply the training impartially to all.
It is vital that it be deep and all-pervasive.
Meditate constantly on those who’ve been set apart.
Don’t be dependent on external conditions.
This time, practise what’s most important.
Don’t misunderstand. (Avoid misplaced patience, intention, relish, compassion, pursuit, and joy.)
Don’t be inconsistent.
Train wholeheartedly.
Gain freedom through discernment and analysis.
Don’t be boastful.
Don’t be irritable.
Don’t be temperamental.
Don’t seek acknowledgement.
Conclusion
The essence of the nectar-like instructions
for transforming into the path of awakening
the five prevalent signs of degeneration
was passed down from the one from Golden Isle.
When karmic seeds left over from former trainings were aroused in me,
I felt great interest, and so, without regard for suffering or disparagement,
I sought instructions on subduing ego-clinging.
Now, even in death, I shall have no regrets.
There are many different versions of this root text, with variants in sequence and the number of slogans, but this presentation accords with Gyalse Tokme Rinpoche’s instruction manual. Maṅgalam.
| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2025.
Bibliography
Tibetan Edition
ʼjam mgon kong sprul blo gros mthaʼ yas (ed.) “theg pa chen po’i gdams ngag blo sbyong don bdun ma’i rtsa ba.” In gdams ngag mdzod. Paro: Lama Ngodrup and Sherab Drimey, 1979–1981. Vol. 3: 8–11
Secondary Sources
Ga Rabjampa. To Dispel the Misery of the World: Whispered Teachings of the Bodhisattvas. trans. Rigpa Translations. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2012.
Thupten Jinpa. Mind Training: The Great Collection. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2006.
Version: 1.5-20250304
