Bodhichitta is peace. Sometimes I feel people misunderstand, or do not understand clearly, the difference between basic compassion and Bodhichitta. If you are able to spend a few hours doing something for somebody you don’t even know people might call you a bodhisattva. They may say, “Oh, he or she is so kind, they are a Bodhisattva.” This is not necessarily so. A kind person is not necessarily a Bodhisattva. Being kind is very good, being a compassionate person is very good, but it does not necessarily make us a bodhisattva. A bodhisattva has to be kind and compassionate for a reason. A bodhisattva is kind and compassionate in that they are working to establish all beings as Buddhas. In this way Bodhichitta is very specific.
Tai Situ Rinpoche
from the book
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Further quotes from the book Ground, Path and Fruition :
- Bodhichitta
- Space is like the mind
- The foundation of devotion
- The Lineage of Refuge
- Appreciating the recognition of our weaknesses
- Immoral and moral actions
- Getting lost in good things
- Practice Joyfully
- Hope and fear