Stillness · “Stillness Reveals”
The Preliminaries
To generate urgency and right motivation for practice by reflecting deeply on the rarity and preciousness of human life, the certainty of death, the workings of cause and effect, and the unsatisfactoriness of cyclic existence.
The four reminders in 5 lines: Sit and reflect, slowly and repeatedly, on four things — this human life is rare and precious and you have it now; death is certain and its hour unknown; actions carry consequences; chasing and avoiding on repeat never brings lasting peace. Let it land not as gloom but as resolve: life is brief and precious, so use it to train the mind and help others. This is the ground beneath the slogans and tonglen.
What it is
Before any active mind-training, the lojong tradition prescribes a contemplative groundwork: the “four reminders” (the four thoughts that turn the mind). They are sustained reflections on (1) the rarity and preciousness of this human life, (2) the certainty of death and the uncertainty of its hour, (3) karma — that actions have consequences, and (4) the unsatisfactoriness of cyclic existence (samsara).
The point is not morbidity but motivation: seen clearly, the brevity and preciousness of life convert vague intention into urgency, and direct attention toward what actually matters. The first lojong slogan is simply: “First, train in the preliminaries.”
The Method
Practised as a slow, deliberate contemplation — thinking each reminder over and over until it shifts from idea to felt conviction:
- Settle the mind. Sit, steady the breath, arrive in present stillness.
- Contemplate precious human birth. Reflect that a human life with the freedom and capacity to practise and to do good is rare and hard to obtain — and that you have it now. Let the sheer good fortune of the present opportunity land as gratitude, not as pressure.
- Contemplate impermanence and death. Reflect that death is certain, its timing unknown, and that nothing material accompanies you. Traditional framing: do not assume tomorrow; what would matter if today were the last? This sharpens priorities and dissolves trivial preoccupation.
- Contemplate karma — cause and effect. Reflect that actions have consequences: skilful, kind actions tend toward wellbeing; harmful, self-centred ones toward suffering. (Whether or not one accepts the literal cross-life doctrine, the contemplation orients you toward responsibility for how you act.)
- Contemplate the unsatisfactoriness of samsara. Reflect that chasing fleeting pleasures and avoiding pains, on repeat, never yields lasting peace — the very structure of grasping keeps producing dissatisfaction. This loosens the compulsive pursuit and frees energy for practice.
- Let it land as resolve. End not in gloom but in a settled motivation: this life is precious and brief, so I will use it to train the mind and benefit others. That resolve is the doorway into the rest of lojong (the slogans and tonglen). (Sourcing note: “First, train in the preliminaries” is Chekawa’s slogan; the four reminders are the standard lamrim/lojong list, traceable to Atiśa’s lineage and Bodhipathapradīpa. Faithful summary of the traditional contemplation.)
Source & Lineage
Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna (982–1054) structured the graduated path (lamrim) in his Bodhipathapradīpa (Lamp for the Path), which begins with the foundations later distilled into the four reminders; he carried this to Tibet, founding the Kadam approach.
The instruction to begin with the preliminaries was fixed as the opening slogan of mind training by Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1101–1175) in Training the Mind in Seven Points. The four reminders remain the standard entry to lamrim and lojong across all Tibetan schools.
The Traditions' versions
Memento mori (Stoic / Christian) — “remember you must die” as a daily corrective on priorities; near-identical in function to reminder #2.
- Gratitude / savouring practices — reflecting on the rare good fortune of one’s life; mirrors “precious human birth.”
- Maraṇasati (Theravāda) — Buddhist mindfulness of death as a structured meditation.
- Examen / life review — reflective stock-taking of actions and their fruits; echoes the karma contemplation.
- “If you had one year to live” exercises — secular motivational reframes built on mortality salience.
Common refinements
Turning it morbid. The death reminder is meant to clarify priorities, not induce dread. If it sinks into gloom, you’ve missed the resolve at the end.
- Treating it as a one-time read. These are contemplations to repeat until felt; reading the list once changes little.
- Skipping straight to “advanced” practice. Trungpa and the tradition insist the preliminaries are the ground — without them, the slogans and tonglen lack motivation and stay shallow.
- Pressure instead of gratitude. “Precious human birth” should land as good fortune and opportunity, not as guilt about wasting time.
- Getting stuck on the metaphysics. You can practise the motivating reflection without resolving your beliefs about literal rebirth; don’t let the doctrine block the contemplation.