Julian of Norwich and Other Tibetan Lamas

“With al keping kepe thin herte, for lijf cometh forth of it.” (Wycliffe Bible, Proverbs 4.23) ₁

The third verse of Langri Thangpa’s 8 Verses reads “During all my activities I will probe my mind, / And as soon as an affliction arises – / Since it endangers myself and others – / I will train myself to confront it directly and avert it.” ₂ And in his commentary on this verse, in a chapter entitled, “Dealing with the Foe,” Geshe Sonam Richen begins his teaching with these words:

We must learn to notice at once any thought or feeling associated with the three poisonous emotions of desire, anger, and confusion and remind ourselves instantly that these emotions are our bitter enemies and will only hurt us and others … In a gentle but energetic way, remembering that these feelings are not inherently existent, we should stop them immediately. ₃

In his own teaching, His Holiness the Dalai Lama uses language and imagery that are both martial and medicinal about to respond to emotions that are afflictive:

This verse addresses how to combat these … afflictive emotions and thoughts. One could say that for a Buddhist practitioner, the real enemy is this enemy within–these mental and emotional defilements. It is these emotional and mental afflictions that give rise to pain and suffering. The real task of a buddhadharma practitioner is to defeat this inner enemy. ₄

The weapons to be unleashed and deployed are therapeutic “antidotes” that are identified as being affective in treating specific afflictive emotions:

What is being suggested is the application of antidotes that are appropriate to specific negative emotions and thoughts. For example, to counter anger, you should cultivate love and compassion. To counter strong attachment to an object, you should cultivate thoughts about the impurity of that object, its undesirable nature, and so on. To counter one’s arrogance or pride, you need to reflect upon shortcomings in you that can give rise to a sense of humility. ₅

This use of counteragents resonates with that the approach recommended in Christian texts of spiritual guidance, such as the 12^th century English text, the Ancrene Wisse: “Against all temptations … there are salves and remedies under God’s grace.” ₆ At another point in that text, the anonymous author writes:  

Pride and envy and anger, pain in the heart for worldly things, sad longings, and covetousness for possessions, these, and everything that flows from them, are heart-wounds; and they are the death-blow unless they are remedied. When the enemy strikes there, then indeed is the time to fear … The remedy for pride is humility; for envy, loving fellowship; for anger, long-suffering; for sloth, reading various works, spiritual comfort; for covetousness, contempt for earthly things; for meanness, a generous heart. ₇  

Endnotes

1. Vulgate: “omni custodia serva cor tuum quia ex ipso vita procedit” DR: “With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life issueth out from it.”
2. MT 275. Alternative translations: “In all my actions may I watch my mind, / And as soon as disturbing emotions arise, / May I forcefully stop them at once, / Since they will hurt both me and others.” (Eight Verses for Training the Mind: An Oral Teaching by Geshe Sonam Rinchen. Translated and edited by Ruth Sonam. Boulder: Snow Lion, 2001, page 45.) Lotsawa House: “In my every action, I will watch my mind, / And the moment destructive emotions arise, I will confront them strongly and avert them, Since they will hurt both me and others.” Retrieved from: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/geshe-langri-thangpa/eight-verses-training-mind
3. Eight Verses for Training the Mind: An Oral Teaching by Geshe Sonam Rinchen. Translated and edited by Ruth Sonam. Boulder: Snow Lion, 2001, page 45.
4. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “8 Verses for Training the Mind.” Oral teaching given on November 8, 1998 in Washington D.C. Retrieved from the website, His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama of Tibet: https://www.dalailama.com/teachings/training-the-mind/training-the-mind-verse-3
5. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “8 Verses for Training the Mind.” Oral teaching given on November 8, 1998 in Washington D.C. Retrieved from the website, His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama of Tibet: https://www.dalailama.com/teachings/training-the-mind/training-the-mind-verse-3
6. “Ancrene Wisse” in Anchoritic Spirituality: Ancrene Wisse and Associated Works. Translated by Anne Savage and Nicholas Watson. New York: Paulist Press, 1991, page 135. Expanded quotation: “Against all temptations … there are salves and remedies under God’s grace … Humility, generosity of heart, and all good practices are arms in this fight, and resoluteness in love over all the others. Whoever throws their weapons away wants to be wounded.” (Ibid.).    
7. “Ancrene Wisse” in Anchoritic Spirituality: Ancrene Wisse and Associated Works. Translated by Anne Savage and Nicholas Watson. New York: Paulist Press, 1991, page 149.