Germany, 23 Aug 2015 - 29 Aug 2015

Tulku Lobsang founded this Wisdom Sword Practice—a moving meditation with a sword. This powerful technique harnesses our inner power, bringing us swiftly into the present moment, slaying our habitual patterns of thought.

We are trapped by our thoughts of the past and the future. They are like shadows following us, obscuring the light of the present moment. We hide in those shadows, full of fear from the past and expectations of the future. Our conceptual mind keeps us in a hell of our own making. We need to cut our head! We need Tog Chöd.

Tog Chöd is a powerful, dynamic practice. This dance with a sword brings us straight into the present moment. We need to be brave to be in the present moment. Its flowing movements are decisive and empowering as we stomp on our enemies, which are our own negative emotions. There are no enemies outside ourselves, and when we realize this we can stop struggling with the external world and learn to create our own reality. But, even then, our biggest obstacle is laziness. Through Tog Chöd we come to know our inner power and in this way we overcome our laziness.

Tulku Lobsang developed Tog Chöd. It is based on the traditional Yaman monk dances and Kalachakra movements, but created in direct response to the needs of those of us in the modern world. We need a practice to release us from our conceptual mind, a practice that connects us with our power.

The sword symbolizes our own innate wisdom. Wielding this sword we cut through our conceptual mind. We cut our thoughts of fear and expectations that keep us from being in this beautiful present moment. With wisdom we can transform our negative emotions and truly change ourselves. We only need to decide to do it.