TAKING AND GIVING - TONG LEN...

This practice is possibly the ultimate practice in altruism. It is definitely not easy, but if done well, it undermines one's selfishness quickly. Shantideva expressed the value of this practice as follows: "If I do not actually exchange my happiness for the sufferings of others, I shall not attain the state of Buddhahood and even in cyclic existence I shall have no joy."