This month I started a year long course that I expect to be transformational.
I will be reading and reflecting on Shantideva's Way of The Bodhisattva, guided by Mingyur Rinpoche. I was struck right away by Shantideva's statement that he has written this book for himself, to strengthen his practice and had no thought to whether it would benefit others. And yet it has, helping countless spiritual devotees and leaders cultivate bodhichitta, the aspiration and practice of enlightenment.
It is so challenging to aspire to enlightenment, but if we can't do it for ourselves, then how can we truly believe that it is possible for others? It is in that tenderness, that actual physical and neurological tenderness around the longing for liberation that bochichitta is awakened.
The more I can be there, the more I can relax into the pain, the more I can root my concentration there, the more I will thrive in every way. And the more strength and wisdom I will be able to bring to the enlightenment of others.
