A piece of wisdom from
May 23, 2026 · Saturday
The quote
“Wei wu wei — "do not do." Action by non-action. A practical political handbook.”
— Ursula K. Le Guin · The Tao
The concept
Tonglen
The Tibetan practice of breathing in suffering, and breathing out relief, and the wider mind-training that grew around it.
When somebody is suffering, most cultures answer: distance yourself. Tibetan Buddhism answers: breathe them in. Tonglen, the practice of giving and taking through breath, is the most counterintuitive meditation in any tradition, and the mos…
A practice for today
Notice one moment today when the lesson of Tonglen. The Tibetan practice of breathing in suffering, and breathing out relief, and the wider mind-training that grew around it.
From the Bhagavad Gita
Verse 18.47
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्। स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्॥
“Better is one's own duty, though imperfect, than another's duty well performed. Performing the work fitted to one's own nature, one incurs no sin.”
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