What is tonglen?
Tonglen is a Buddhist meditation technique.
The objective is developing self-compassion and compassion for other beings.
Steps to do tonglen
1. Imagine yourself as your purest, most compassionate version.
2. Pay attention to your breathing.
3. When you breathe in, imagine heat coming into your body. When you breathe out, imagine freshness going out of your body and expanding. Continue until you do it easily.
4. Choose a problem a person has, or one you have. When you breathe in, burn the emotional distress. When you breathe out, feel the freshness or send it to the person you are thinking of.
5. Extend this exercise to every person who has these issues.
Other ways to do tonglen
There are many different instructions to do tonglen. This is just one of them, inspired in a document written by Pema Chodron, but there are many others out there. Do some research and try different options until you find one that you feel it is working. Also, you can create your own version.