Concluding Step 6 of Lojong Mind Training: From Liberation to Service
Concluding Step 6 of Lojong Mind Training: From Liberation to Service
Welcome to Satsang with Ajahn Samvara. In this post, we conclude our exploration of the sixth point of lojong — the commitments of mind training — and discover how true commitment transforms not just ourselves, but everyone around us.
Full Satsang with Ajahn Samvara is available on YouTube
Understanding True Commitment in Mind Training
When we talk about commitment to mind training, it’s essential to recognize that this is fundamentally a commitment to yourself — to your enlightenment, empowerment, and spiritual liberation. But here’s what many people get wrong about commitment: they think of it as drudgery, as something heavy and difficult they’re bound to fail at.
The truth is quite different. Commitment to mind training should feel like success and victory. It’s work that develops you, makes your life stronger and better. Yes, there’s substantial work involved — you have to be impeccable, precise,, and constructive in your approach. You must take complete responsibility for yourself with no excuses.
This commitment requires you to do the work — whether it’s in meditation and mindfulness, exercise and diet, or your career. There’s no room for “somebody else’s fault” or “I don’t care.” You have to take responsibility and do what needs to be done.
The Evolution from Self to Others: The Thornton and Ruthie Story
Let me share a powerful story that illustrates how commitment evolves from personal discipline to service of others. About thirty years before the Civil War, there lived two slaves in Louisville, Kentucky: Thornton and Ruthie Blackburn.
A Dream of Freedom
From childhood, Thornton would tell his mother, “Mom, I’m gonna be a free man.” He constantly planned escapes to the North, always saving every bit of money he could for this dream of freedom. When he met and married Ruthie, his commitment expanded beyond himself.
The crisis came when Ruthie’s owner died. Due to debts, they had to sell all their property, including Ruthie. Because she was beautiful, which was dangerous for a slave woman, they planned to sell her into sex trafficking in New Orleans.
The Power of Commitment to Others
This was Thornton’s moment of choice. He had always been committed to his own freedom, but now his wife was about to be taken into a horrible life. This is where his commitment transformed from personal to inclusive of others — and that’s when he found the power to actually act.
Using his savings, Thornton obtained counterfeit traveling papers for himself and Ruthie. Dressed in their Sunday best, they began their dangerous journey North. If caught, they would face arrest, jail, being returned to their owners, and likely severe beatings or even death.
Through several close calls where they had to show their papers, they successfully made it to the North and to freedom. But Thornton’s commitment didn’t end there. A few years later, he returned South with new papers and rescued his mother using the same dangerous method.
The Difference Between Trying and Committing
This brings us to a crucial distinction: you must be a committer, not a trier. When you’re facing life-or-death consequences like Thornton was, you don’t “try” — you either succeed or you face devastating results.
Why “Trying” Doesn’t Work
Think about it in practical terms. If you take your scuba diving regulator to a shop for repair and they charge you for “trying” to fix it, that’s not acceptable. When you’re underwater breathing through that regulator, “trying” could be fatal. You need professionals who are committed to succeeding.
The same applies to all areas of life. When everything is trivial to you and you’re just “trying” things to see what happens, you develop an unintentional life. You become subject to the whims of karma without developing personal power or directing your spirit to higher conditions.
Finding Your Commitment Path
People often get confused by too many choices, like my foreign student who spent two hours in an American grocery store overwhelmed by all the different types of tuna, bread, and butter options. He ended up leaving and getting pizza instead.
The solution is simple: commit to the highest, brightest thing in front of you. As Ramakrishna taught, if you want to dig a well to reach water, don’t dig a little here and a little there. Commit to one spot and keep digging until you reach water.
The Zen Principle of Mastery
There’s a profound truth from Daoism: any one way of anything brings you to the essence of the way of everything. Whether it’s martial arts, archery, or any other practice, mastery in one area brings you to essential awareness of all existence.
In “Zen in the Art of Archery”, a Western student learns from a master that meditation and archery are the same practice. In both, you must still the mind until the self disappears. In archery, you become the bow, the arrow, and the target. The master demonstrated this by hitting a bullseye in complete darkness from 30 meters away.
The Multiplication Effect of Serving Others
Once you establish personal discipline and commitment, something magical happens when you expand that commitment to include others. This creates exponential power and results.
The Thornton and Ruthie Impact
When Thornton and Ruthie were captured in Detroit and faced being returned to slavery, their story inspired hundreds of people. The community rallied to help them escape, leading to their move to Canada before eventually being extradited by request of the governor of Michigan, and then ultimately a precedent-setting court case of 1833 that established international laws against extraditing people to face cruel punishment.
Their personal commitment to freedom became a catalyst for broader social change and liberation for countless others.
Business Transformation Through Service
Consider Jim Miller, founder of Jan Co Janitorial Services in Cincinnati. For twenty years, he built a successful business that made him a millionaire, but he struggled with employee turnover and attendance.
When Miller visited his employees’ neighborhoods and truly understood their struggles, he transformed his company’s mission. Instead of just focusing on profits, he hired a “success manager” to help employees achieve their personal dreams — whether that meant going back to school, buying a house, or simply getting reliable transportation to work.
The results were extraordinary. His employees became happier and more committed, which enabled Miller to grow his business from $1 million to $60 million annually while creating far more positive impact in people’s lives.
From Trouble to Treasure: Reframing Challenges
When facing any commitment, we naturally weigh troubles against treasures, risks against rewards. The key is not to inflate the troubles in your mind while minimizing the potential treasures.
I remember when I was learning computer programming, I was terrified of it. I had a dream about a giant computer monster attacking me. When I stood up to it with commitment, saying, “I’m going to fight you and win,” the monster crumbled and revealed just a cute little hamster underneath.
This taught me not to make mountains out of molehills. When you commit to something important, don’t add your fears and limiting beliefs on top of the actual work required.
Not Dwelling on Perceived Faults of Others
A crucial aspect of commitment in mind training is learning not to dwell on the perceived faults of others. When Thornton and Ruthie saw prosecutor Alexander Frazier arrive at their Canadian trial, they thought he was there to destroy them. Instead, he had secretly organized their rescue in Detroit and was now there to argue for their freedom.
This teaches us that even people who seem like obstacles or enemies might actually be sources of help. We must maintain positive thoughts about others and recognize that sometimes what appears negative initially can lead to tremendous good.
The Dharma in Difficult Situations
Sometimes wisdom and growth come from unexpected sources. While working on the Manhattan Project, Dr. Joseph Blatt was questioning his involvement in creating nuclear weapons. When a colleague asked him, “Why did you get into science in the first place?” it reconnected him with his original intention, which was to help people, giving him the strength to leave the project and return to medical research.
Even Satchel Paige, the legendary baseball player, discovered his gift while serving time in juvenile detention after throwing a rock that injured someone. His mentor, Reverend Moses Davis, taught him to “put down the rock and pick up the baseball,” transforming his life and leading to his extraordinary career.
The Complete Transformation
The ultimate goal of mind training commitment is complete transformation — what one Zen story illustrates beautifully. A Buddhist monk, dissatisfied with what he saw as corruption in Shaolin temple, left to learn sword fighting from a secular master. To develop the master’s technique of making enemies fall simply by shaking his sword, the monk had to learn to completely still his mind.
In pursuing purely martial goals, he discovered the very Zen awareness he had been seeking spiritually. Sometimes we find what we’re looking for in the most unexpected places.
Your Path Forward
Whether you’re dealing with great people or difficult people, good situations or challenging ones, the key is to see the enlightenment potential in everything. Commit to success, empowerment, and liberation in all circumstances.
Remember:
Start with commitment to yourself and your own development
Expand that commitment to include others for exponential power
Be a committer, not a trier
Don’t inflate troubles while minimizing treasures
Avoid dwelling on perceived faults in others
Look for the dharma and growth opportunity in every situation
True commitment in mind training isn’t about forcing yourself through drudgery. It’s about recognizing that this work develops you into someone stronger, more capable, and more free. When that commitment extends to serving others, it becomes a source of tremendous power and positive change in the world.
The commitments of mind training ultimately lead us from personal liberation to becoming instruments of liberation for all beings. This is the path from individual awakening to universal compassion — and it begins with your commitment today.
From a Satsang given by Ahjan Samvara on the Lojong Teachings. Full Satsangs are available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ahjan_samvara
Continue your journey of mind training with dedication, consistency, and compassion for all beings.
Take Ahjan Samvara’s course on Gratitude:the Buddhist way out of suffering into Joy: https://www.udemy.com/course/gratitude-the-buddhist-way-out-of-suffering-to-joy/
