There are various sets of lojong aphorisms; the most widespread text in the Sarma traditions is that of Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (12th century).
They contain both methods to expand one's viewpoint towards absolute or ultimate bodhicitta, such as "Find the consciousness you had before you were born"[5] and "Treat everything you perceive as a dream",[6] and methods for relating to the world in a more constructive way with relative bodhicitta, such as "Be grateful to everyone"[citation needed] and "When everything goes wrong, treat disaster as a way to wake up.
"[citation needed] Prominent teachers who have popularized this practice in the West include Pema Chödrön,[7] Ken McLeod, B. Alan Wallace, Chögyam Trungpa, Sogyal Rinpoche, Kelsang Gyatso, Norman Fischer and the 14th Dalai Lama.
[8] Lojong mind training practice was developed over a 300-year period between 900 and 1200 CE, as part of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism.
According to one account, Chekhawa saw a text on his cell-mate's bed, open to the phrase: "Gain and victory to others, loss and defeat to oneself".
[9] Two commentaries to the root texts of mind training have been written by Kelsang Gyatso (founder of the New Kadampa Tradition) and form the basis of study programs at NKT Buddhist Centers throughout the world.
The first, Universal Compassion[19] is a commentary to the root text Training the Mind in Seven Points by Chekawa Yeshe Dorje.
In 1994, Shambhala Publications first published Start Where you Are, A Guide to Compassionate Living[21] by Pema Chödrön, which is mostly commentary on the Lojong slogans.
[22] In 2006, Wisdom Publications published the work Mind Training: The Great Collection (Theg-pa chen-po blo-sbyong rgya-rtsa), translated by Thupten Jinpa.
This is a translation of a traditional Tibetan compilation, dating from the fifteenth century, which contains altogether forty-three texts related to the practice of mind training.
Among these texts are several different versions of the root verses, along with important early commentaries by Se Chilbu, Sangye Gompa, Konchok Gyaltsen, Dalaielan Roebuck and others.
[24] In 2016, Shambhala Publications published The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life[25] by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, with foreword by Pema Chödrön.