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 Ground, Path and Fruition
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