Bodhicharyavatara Chapter 8, Stanzas 155-159

Summarising the previous verses Rinpoche reminds us that so far we have been shown how to practise exchanging with others – firstly with their dissatisfactions based in wrong view; experiencing for ourselves how it is to be caught in the cycle of suffering caused by this arrogance and envy. Then by exchanging our own well being for their suffering as an expression of compassion in the recognition that we are equal and interdependent. The following steps in the training come in the next verses, first gently, then with a little more force.

To begin we are asked to contemplate the weariness that comes with entrapment in this never-ending cycle of samsara. Then to develop compassion, showing kindness firstly to ourself and then to others. We need, it says, to lessen our own sense of self importance, to see that we are only the chance result of a union of the sperm and seed of our parents and to cease perpetuating the desire to judge others differently; to see that by sharing our qualities and abilities we can create a better situation for everyone.

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