Bodhicitta is the aspiration for all sentient beings to attain the greatest benefit— liberation and Buddhahood. It is the wholehearted resolve to strive toward this goal, making the vow to attain Buddhahood oneself for the sake of others. In essence, it is what we often express as: “For the benefit of all sentient beings, I vow to attain Buddhahood.”
Of course, the notion of “benefit” can be understood on many levels. Broadly speaking, it can be divided into temporary benefit and ultimate benefit. Temporary benefit includes material comfort as well as emotional and psychological well-being. At times, even a mother's strict discipline toward her child may constitute a genuine benefit. Ultimate benefit, however, is to lead beings to awakening and ultimately to Buddhahood.
To devote oneself wholeheartedly to spiritual practice, sparing no effort, with every action and every endeavor directed toward bringing both temporary and ultimate benefit to sentient beings—this powerful and unwavering motivation is called bodhicitta.
I. Taking All Sentient Beings as One's Object
Bodhicitta has two indispensable elements. The first is the attitude of embracing all sentient beings as the object of one's aspiration. This means relating to every sentient being with complete impartiality, leaving no one outside the scope of one's compassion. Whether they are flies, mice, hungry ghosts, or beings in the hell realms, whether they are one's own mother or one's bitterest enemy, all are to be regarded with equal concern. Here, taking all beings as one's object means equality. One must never think, "I will liberate those who are close to me, but not those who have harmed me."
For this reason, regarding the Four Immeasurables—loving-kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), empathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā)—practiced prior to bodhicitta, some traditions maintain that one should first cultivate equanimity, a view precisely grounded in this reasoning. Others hold that one should begin with compassion and gradually expand it until it embraces all sentient beings equally.
Such theoretical discussions admit different interpretations, and there is no need to become preoccupied with them. What is certain is that impartially embracing all sentient beings is a defining characteristic of bodhicitta, and it serves as a reliable measure for examining whether genuine bodhicitta has arisen within ourselves.
Of course, from the perspective of dependent origination, the ways in which we relate to different beings may appropriately vary according to circumstances. This is an expression of wisdom rather than partiality. Nevertheless, we should carefully examine our own hearts: deep down, do we truly regard this person as we would our own mother? Are we genuinely willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of that person's liberation?
There have been bodhisattvas who, for the liberation of a single sentient being, willingly accepted suffering in the hell realms for countless kalpas. Now ask yourself: what if that being were your enemy, or someone guilty of the gravest wrongdoings? How would you respond? Reflect carefully upon this.
When, regardless of whether beings are good or evil, friend or foe, your heart naturally gives rise to an equal, gentle, and tender wish for their liberation—and when this wish becomes even stronger than your own desire for temporary happiness—then you have begun to develop a compassion that is relatively impartial, broad, and all-embracing.
— Excerpted and compiled from Genuine Bodhicitta and Conceptual Bodhicitta
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
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