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Tonglen Meditation’s Effect on Levels of Compassion and Self-Compassion: A Pilot Study and Instructional
Guide
Daphna McKnight
Thesis Completed as Part of the Upaya Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program
2010-2012
Author’s Note
Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to the author at
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Abstract
This is the first known empirical study of the Tibetan Buddhist Tonglen meditation practice, which is intended to increase compassion, in addition to reducing fear and egotism. This small, pilot study examined changes in self-compassion and compassion for others through a pre/post intervention study design (α=.05).
Subjects (n=9), who were novice meditators, were guided through three 18-minute Tonglen meditation sessions, one session every 48 hours. Results, based on the Related Samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, showed a statistically significantly increase in the total scale score of self-compassion (p=.030) and in the self-compassion subscale, Common Humanity (p=.027) as measured by the self-report questionnaire, Self-
Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003a). An increase in compassion for others after Tonglen meditation could not be determined through the self-report questionnaire, Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (Hwang, Plante, &
Lackey, 2008). A discussion of the findings and suggestions for future Tonglen research follows, as does an extended literature review of a “cousin” compassion meditation practice, loving-kindness meditation (LKM) and of mindfulness meditation (MM) as it relates to compassion. This thesis also includes a Tonglen script and a “troubleshooting” guide for those teaching Tonglen to novice practitioners.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my husband for his practice and his on-going love and support, my father and stepmother, mother, and sisters who have faith in me even when they are not sure exactly what I am up to, and my Grandfather, H. Glen Mills, whose parting gift allowed me to take this chaplaincy training program.
My thanks also goes out to Kevin Handley, my motivation coach, Lynette Monterio, who offered initial support and technical suggestions, Corey Cooper who ran the statistical analysis on the data, and the
University of the West Library staff who helped me access articles quickly and efficiently. Special gratitude also goes to Roshi Joan Halifax for creating and guiding us through such an amazing, far-reaching program, and to Maia Duerr, Donna Kwilosz, the chaplaincy sangha, and the residents at Upaya Zen Center for their ongoing support.
I would also like to note that a few sections of this paper have been adapted, with permission, from early drafts of my Ph.D. dissertation, particularly the literature review and the section explaining tonglen meditation. The Tonglen Focus Group Study is original research for this thesis as are other sections including the Tonglen Troubleshooting Guide.
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Table of Contents
Abstract ...... 2 Acknowledgements ...... 3 Preface ...... 6 Introduction ...... 8 Calls for the use of Tonglen Meditation ...... 9 Tonglen and Buddhist Chaplaincy ...... 10 Tonglen Meditation ...... 11 History of Tonglen ...... 11 Tonglen Preliminaries ...... 12 Practice of Tonglen ...... 14 Literature Review ...... 16 Compassion Definitions ...... 16 Compassion Benefits ...... 23 Tonglen: Empirical Research ...... 24 Loving-Kindness Meditation ...... 26 Mindfulness Meditation ...... 37 Support for Study Design ...... 42 Tonglen Study ...... 45 Research Question and Objectives ...... 45 Assumptions and Constraints ...... 45 Significance of the Study ...... 46 Method ...... 46 Participants ...... 46 Procedures ...... 46 Measures ...... 47 Results ...... 48 Discussion ...... 52 References ...... 61
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Appendices ...... 67 Tonglen Troubleshooting Guide ...... 67 Tonglen Script ...... 73 Self-Compassion Scale ...... 77 Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale: ...... 78 Additional Posttest Questions – Written Short Answer ...... 79 Small Group Oral Questions (Conducted post posttest) ...... 80 Demographic Questionnaire (Post Posttest) ...... 81 Demographic Responses Based on the 9 Participants Who Finished the Study ...... 84 Informed Consent ...... 85 Dedication of Merit ...... 87
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Preface
My interest in Tonglen began in the early 2000s, when I worked as a senior training consultant at a large corporation. I had been taught Tonglen and had read about it, but had not practiced it much. I was definitely a novice. One day in a meeting, the animosity between two teams I consulted for flared up worse than usual. People were at each other’s throats and nothing positive was being accomplished. I suddenly felt a flash of anger myself, which was unusual, and I began to tell myself that these “idiots” were wasting my time and my life. As I got all riled up, a part of me watched my reaction in a bit of shock and then realization.
Just like me, all of these people wanted to be happy, but we were all going about it in ways that were bringing us more suffering. One woman really wanted to be at home with her newborn twins, but her husband was out of work, and she could not afford to take a long maternity leave. Another person was a middle aged, middle manager. She was a single parent who was terrified she would be laid off, never find another job, and not be able to take care of her family. As I looked around the table, I saw that just like me, everyone had problems, and we were all acting out, trying to somehow make our situation better even though it was at the expense of everyone else and our own sanity as well.
For some reason, I suddenly started to do stealth Tonglen. No one knew what I was doing, but I felt much calmer and more caring about myself and the others in the room. Before long, everyone had settled down and issues were resolved much more calmly. I began to silently do Tonglen at every meeting I attended because it made me feel better, helped me act more compassionately towards those around me, and allowed me to take a broader perspective of situations, which was very useful for problem solving. After that one horrible meeting, other meetings I attended, and secretly practiced Tonglen at, were very civil, and work was accomplished fairly painlessly. I did not think much of that; however, several months later, I crossed paths with a couple of managers who were on their way to a meeting. They told me jokingly that I was going the wrong direction; to which, I replied that I tended to avoid meetings I did not really have to go to. Then they both told me that they liked it when I was at meetings because when I was there people were nice to each other and work got done. That really struck me. Tonglen was the only variable I could think of. My presence had not made this kind of difference before doing Tonglen, and even after I had started Tonglen, my level
7 and style of participation in the meetings had not changed. I was a novice Tonglen practitioner, but only a few minutes of practice at a time seemed to make a difference to a roomful of people.
The managers’ comments have stayed with me over the years, and I was very surprised to learn that there are no published studies on the effects of Tonglen, so this paper and my PhD dissertation have given me the opportunity to begin to explore the possible power and benefits of Tonglen meditation.
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Tonglen Meditation’s Effect on Levels of Compassion and Self-Compassion: A Pilot Study and
Instructional Guide
Introduction
While the past decade has finally seen an inquiry into the nature and benefits of compassion, research findings and practical applications have been slow to trickle down to the general population. Most people have never been taught techniques for increasing their level of compassion even though studies have shown that higher levels of compassion increase social connectedness, resilience, and satisfaction with life while decreasing pain, depression, and feelings of isolation (Carson et al., 2005, Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey,
Pek, & Finkel, 2008, Hutcherson, Seppala, & Gross, 2008). There is also a large body of research showing the positive effects of the Buddhist practice of mindfulness meditation, often in the form of Mindfulness
Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), on mental and physical health (Shapiro & Carlson, 2009), but researchers are only just beginning to examine the efficacy of Buddhist compassion practices. The Buddhist compassion practice used primarily in research to test whether compassion can be voluntarily generated has been loving- kindness meditation (LKM), also known as metta meditation; the origins of which are found in the earliest
Buddhist scriptures and commentaries (e.g.: Scriptures: Sutta Nipata 145, Paṭisambhidā-magga ii.30.
Commentary: Visuddhimagga, ch. IX).
Tonglen meditation, traditionally considered a compassion practice common to all Tibetan Buddhist traditions, has yet to be empirically studied even though it has been available to the general Western public since at least 1992 with Sogyal Rinpoche’s book, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (Sogyal, Gaffney, &
Harvey, 1994). Tonglen has roots in India but became more developed as part of a set of Lojong (or mind- training) practices, which were codified approximately 900 years ago. The Lojong practices were developed to enhance a person’s capacity for compassion as well as to end ego clinging, connect with suffering, end the fear of suffering, and ultimately realize one’s enlightened-nature. If Tonglen truly is a meditation that increases compassion, and it can be practiced outside of a Buddhist context, it is important to study it in order to offer people a way to easily increase their levels of compassion and thus enhance their wellbeing as well as that of others. This paper will look at the history of Tonglen, place it within the context of Buddhist
9 chaplaincy as well as current compassion research, and through a focus group study, begin to assess novice meditator’s experiences with the practice of Tonglen. This research will aid in the structuring of a larger study of Tonglen’s ability to increase a person’s level of compassion, and it will inform a set of guidelines to help Tonglen instructors deal with common teaching/practice issues that may arise for beginners of the practice.
Calls for the use of Tonglen Meditation
Even without scientific research to back up Tonglen’s purported benefits, its reputation as a compassion practice is being promoted, though still in small numbers, to professionals in peer reviewed journals for use on the professionals themselves, their students, and their clients; however, the authors do not appear to have much experience with or in-depth knowledge of Tonglen meditation, and they do not offer comments or concerns about teaching this practice to non-Buddhists. Cameron (2006) speaks of the relationship between ethics in nursing and the skill of listening, which requires, according to her, an open heart. She submits that an open heart may be attained by training in the practice of Tonglen. Gehart &
McCollum (2007) suggest that new therapists be taught Tonglen to promote compassion, which they believe is greatly lacking in Western psychological training. Another psychologist, Otani (2003) introduces the practice of Tonglen as having “much to offer to clinicians who are familiar with hypnosis” (p. 97). And
Gorman (2005) believes that, “Infusing the essential philosophy of Tonglen into nursing curriculum may assist us to guide our students, sending forth consummate practitioners of compassionate mind. Through
[Tonglen], we model behavior and attitudes to shape their practice” (p. 1). Thus, it is important for Tonglen’s benefits to be studied at this time. If it does not have the benefits traditionally ascribed to it, then it could be pointless or even detrimental to have whole nursing and psychology departments trained to use it. However, if Tonglen does offer the benefits of increased compassion, and perhaps other as yet unknown attributes, empirical studies will lend support to those calling for greater levels of compassion in the helping professions, offer a tool to accomplish this, and offer suggestions for optimal ways to teach Tonglen outside of its traditional Tibetan Buddhist context.
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Tonglen and Buddhist Chaplaincy
Compassion is one of the two wings of Buddhism, balancing the wisdom aspect and allowing the dedicated practitioner to fly steadily along the path of awakening, yet compassion is also ultimately inseparable from wisdom. The historical Buddha’s path to enlightenment stemmed from the compassion that arose in him at the suffering in the world. Every Buddhist tradition has its iconic image of compassion be it
Tara, the Tibetan female Buddha or the bodhisattva of compassion known by various names depending on the region such as Guanyin in China, Avalokiteshvara in India, Kanzeon in Japan, or Chenrezig in Tibet. The
Dalai Lamas are said to be incarnations of Chenrezig. Tonglen is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist compassion practice, taught by various Dalai Lamas and other Buddhist teachers, which may prove to offer practitioners the psychological and physical wellbeing that studies show those with high levels of compassion benefit from.
This relatively simple practice may be perfect for chaplains, Buddhist or otherwise, to use for themselves and to teach to other caretakers as well as clients. Chaplains, and most of their colleagues in the helping professions are at great risk of burnout from stress, but those with higher levels of compassion generally have access to more coping skills, the ability for broader perspective taking, and a greater resilience when dealing with the seemingly endless suffering of others (Neff & Pommier, 2011).
A recent article (Spandler & Stickley, 2011) speaks of the importance of compassion in mental health services, but it could easily apply to any healthcare environment. The authors believe that compassion is necessary in order for healthcare providers to understand practices and services that inspire hope and optimism in clients, and they believe it is imperative that compassion be extended beyond the individual.
They speak of the importance of nurturing compassion within the context of the healthcare system, “through relationships, cultures, and healing environments” (Spandler & Stickley, 2011), but acknowledge that the development of compassion is rarely, if ever, prioritized. The authors do not explain how compassion can be increased in order to generate systemic changes in the healthcare system, but Tonglen may be a very practical intervention. It is designed to breakdown any egoistical focus, which is not only rife in healthcare settings, but in any hierarchical system, and it encourages the development of connections among people,
11 even antagonists; thus, reducing a mentality of us vs. them and right vs. wrong. In the healthcare setting, if chaplains, doctors, nurses, staff, patients, and families all had an easy to use technique like Tonglen to increase compassion, reduce stress and pain, increase resilience, and generate a sense of wellbeing and social connectedness, patients would most likely spend fewer days in the hospital, work place violence and burnout could be greatly reduced, and the various systems within the healthcare setting may become more healthy and resilient themselves with possibly only a few minutes of Tonglen a week. Since chaplains often have access to all levels of people in a healthcare setting, and they are at a very high risk of burnout themselves, they may be the perfect initial users and subsequent purveyors of Tonglen; thus, generating a healthier, stronger climate of compassion, hope, optimism, and general wellbeing.
Tonglen Meditation
History of Tonglen
Tonglen has traditionally been taught as just one of many practices in the tradition of Tibetan Lojong
(mind-training), which is often attributed to the famous Bengali teacher, Atisha (980-1054 CE), who brought the second dissemination of Buddhism to Tibet. The seeds of the Lojong teachings, and thus Tonglen, were planted by classical Indian Buddhist treatises, particularly those of Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland (c. mid- second to mid-third century CE) and Santideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (c. eighth century
CE), (Jinpa, 2006). Despite tradition, historians have found no evidence that Atisha transmitted a cohesive mind-training system or even used the equivalent to the English term, “mind-training,” (Kongtrul & McLeod,
2005), but it is believed that he did learn mind-training techniques from the teacher, Serlingpa, in Indonesia, and then orally transmitted these teachings to various disciples in Tibet, including Drom-ron Rinpoche, who became the founder of the Kadampa Lineage (Kongtrul & McLeod, 2005). Drom-ron does use the term,
“mind-training,” in his writing, but these mind-training teachings handed down from Atisha were at first not widely taught and were not codified until about a century later when Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1102-1176) taught them in the systematized Seven Point Mind Training (Jinpa, 2006). Around this time, another lineage holder from Atisha’s line organized the teachings into Eight Verses on Mind Training (Jinpa, 2006).
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The various Lojong practices were initially considered secret (Jinpa, 2006), very advanced teachings
(Berzin, 1999), which eventually became a “shared heritage of all of the major schools of Tibetan
Buddhism” (Jinpa, 2006, p. 6). Wallace (2003) describes the seven points as being “designed to shift our attitudes so that our minds become pure wellsprings of joy instead of murky pools of problems, anxieties, fleeting pleasures, frustrations, hopes, and fears” (p. 7). The main divisions of the seven-point mind-training teachings are generally listed as the following (Kongtrul & McLeod, 2005):
1. The preliminaries, which teach the support for Dharma [the Buddhist teachings].
2. The actual practice, training in absolute and relative Bodhicitta [union of compassion and wisdom].
3. The transformation of adverse conditions into the path of awakening.
4. The utilization of the practice in one’s whole life.
5. The extent of proficiency in mind-training.
6. Commitments of mind-training.
7. Guidelines for mind-training.
Within the Seven Point Mind Training, Tonglen is taught as part of Point Two. Tonglen’s focus is on developing loving-kindness and compassion in the relative world, as well as learning to confront fear and egoistic tendencies. As a whole, though, the Lojong practices are spiritual/psychological teachings intended to bring practitioners to enlightenment (also referred to by different Tonglen scholars, as “Bodhicitta,”
“ultimate emptiness,” “awakening/awakened mind,” “nature of mind,” “ultimate reality,” and “natural awareness”).
Tonglen Preliminaries
Lojong teachings are often subdivided further from seven or eight main points into fifty-nine pith instructions. The ones most directly related to Tonglen practice are instruction number eight, “Alternately practice giving and taking,” and number nine, “Mount them both upon the breath.” But the first seven pith instructions are generally aimed at preparing the practitioner for the practice of Tonglen, and the fifty instructions that follow Tonglen are to direct the practitioner further along the path to realizing enlightenment. The first of the fifty-nine subdivisions (which is also the first of the seven main points) is to
13 train in the preliminaries (Gyalwa Gendum Druppa & Mullin, 1993, pp. 45–94), which is further subdivided into