Bodhichitta by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Author:Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Great Compassion

Great compassion, which is mahakaruna in Sanskrit and nyingjé chenpo in Tibetan, is even more than immeasurable compassion, which wishes all beings to be free from suffering. The label “great” is added when the thought also includes the wish that we ourselves should work to free all beings from suffering and its causes. If we exclude even one sentient being from our compassion, or if we lack the wish to free all beings ourselves, it means we have still not realized great compassion. Bodhichitta depends on having great compassion for all sentient beings.

In the lamrim texts great compassion comes after loving-kindness, but that is not necessarily the sequence. Whichever comes first, when we meditate on the kindness of all sentient beings, we generate the wish that they all have happiness and be free from suffering, and so loving-kindness and compassion both arise.

One of the most popular Jataka Tales is how, when he was a bodhisattva, the Buddha sacrificed his body for a starving tigress and her cubs. At that time Shakyamuni Buddha and Maitreya Buddha were brother bodhisattvas. One day, they came across the tigress and her four cubs in the jungle, starving to death. The tigress could only lie there, too weak to try to find any food for her cubs, and it was obvious that they would all soon die. Immense compassion arose in the minds of the two brothers. The one that would become Maitreya prayed hard that they would find a favorable rebirth and left, very upset with the plight of the animals. Shakyamuni, however, could not stand to think that there was nothing he could do, and so he went to the tigress and cut his flesh so she could drink his blood and regain her strength. Then he offered his whole body; she and her cubs were able to feed from him and so were saved from starvation. As the tigers were chewing his bones, eating his flesh, and drinking his blood, he prayed that not only would they manage to live from this sacrifice but also that in a future life they would become his disciples and he would be able to lead them to enlightenment. Because of his great compassion and the strong connection made with the tigers, this came true.

At this great act, the earth shook six times and the gods showered a rain of flowers from the sky. Although Maitreya actualized bodhichitta before Shakyamuni, Shakyamuni attained enlightenment first because of the strength of his great compassion.

Another famous story is of Asanga and the wounded dog. Asanga meditated for twelve years in order to see Maitreya but was unsuccessful until one day he saw a wounded dog, infested with maggots, and with great compassion tried to help it. He was going to remove the maggots when he realized by helping the dog he would hurt the maggots. He therefore cut a small piece of flesh from his leg and put it on the ground for the maggots, but then he

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