54. Train wholeheartedly

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

A wholehearted commitment is about seeing something through to the end. It’s not about making a big splash to see what happens, thinking that all is well and good if things work out and then moving on to something else if they don’t. A total, wholehearted commitment doesn’t involve sporadic outbursts but rather a judicious expenditure of energy over the long term. Courage is also an essential element in our practice, and it’s far better to overestimate what we want to achieve than to underestimate it. We should never think, “I’ll just aim small because I only have the capacity to become a slightly better person.” Our expectations must be realistic and we have to fulfill them in a graduated manner, but we should always set our goals high and do what we can without “hope” or “fear.”

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

Twenty-three Deity Nairatma Mandala, c. 1375. Central Tibet, Sakya-affiliated monastery. Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on cloth; overall: 82.5 x 72.4 cm (32 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art