"The first time I heard about tonglen practice I thought it sounded really weird. I don’t connect with visualization type practices very well a lot of the time, so when I read that this was (sort of) a visualization practice I assumed it wouldn’t mean much to me. I was wrong. Tonglen is called the practice of sending and taking. It’s a sitting meditation practice. You sit and visualize inhaling the suffering as a black smoke and exhaling a clear blue light. We are imagining that we are taking suffering into ourselves and transforming it into love and compassion. This helps us to both develop compassion for others and also to loosen our attachment to ourselves. Someone once asked the Dalai Lama if tonglen practice really works; if it really helps others and lessens their suffering. “It doesn’t matter,” he responded, “it works to transform you.” That’s how I feel about it." Läs hela Daniel Scharpenburgs artikel här: http://thetattooedbuddha.com/2018/01/09/the-practice-of-tonglen-sending-receiving-with-the-breath-lojong-teaching/