49. Always meditate on difficult points

• This is the Eleventh Slogan/Instruction of Point Seven, which consists of twenty-one instructions.
• Point Seven is “Guidelines for Mind Training”

It’s important to have joy and enthusiasm for our practice, but we should still find it challenging enough to test our capabilities for growth. Difficulties must be welcomed because it’s only by overcoming challenges that we develop. We should gradually introduce into our meditation those areas that we normally find upsetting or difficult, instead of choosing meditations that always ease our minds or make us feel good without requiring much effort on our part. If our practice becomes tedious, unproductive, or painful, we need to correct that instead of blaming the practice or succumbing to a defeatist attitude. The distinctive feature of lojong is the importance it places on topics that challenge our understanding, test our endurance, and stretch our mental capabilities.

Traleg Kyabgon, The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion through Training the Mind

Tantric Buddha Vairochana, c. 1150-1200. Central Tibet. Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on cloth; overall: 111 x 73 cm (43 11/16 x 28 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art