Buddhism Beliefs: We Are Family

Seeing all beings as having once been our mother in countless past lives is one of the most fundamental Buddhist beliefs. This belief leads to the development of universal compassion.

The neighbor who parks too close to your driveway? At some point, he was the one who taught you to walk. The stranger at the grocery store with thirty items in the “10 or less” line? Quite possibly the person who once stayed up all night nursing you through a fever.

This practice isn’t confined to Tibetan Buddhism. This is a Buddhist teaching, and really, a universal principle. It’s not limited to humans, either. The sparrow outside your window, the ant on the sidewalk, the cat who ignores your existence until mealtime: each has, in some distant past, played a loving, protective role in your life.

Developing Universal Compassion and Bodhicitta

When we remember the immeasurable kindness of all beings by reflecting on the kindness we’ve received in just this life, gratitude blooms in our heart. This right view sparks the wish to give back. From this wish arises loving-kindness: the sincere hope that all beings know happiness.

Cultivating this view deepens into great compassion, the aching wish for all to be free from suffering. Then comes the most extraordinary intention—to take personal responsibility for the lasting and liberation of others. We realize that the surest way to help others is to awaken ourselves. And so, bodhicitta is born: the vow to reach enlightenment, not for our escape alone, but so that every being may awaken alongside us.

Author

Admin