Living A Life of Compassion: Thoughts on Bodhicitta

To live without defenses is an impossibility. But still, we must try. All of us are so defended constantly protecting ourselves from pain and fear. It is the way of things. Buddhism, specifically Mahayana Buddhism, seeks to counteract our natural inclination to defend ourselves. The ultimate endpoint of Mahayana Buddhism is the Bodhisattva path, which is best illustrated in the Bodhisattva vows:

Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to save them.

Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to put an end to them.

Dharma gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.

The Buddha Way is unattainable; I vow to embody it.

The path is unattainable, but as Bodhisattvas in training, we vow to live it. The term Bodhicitta means a commitment to living the path and being a bodhisattva. Bodhicitta is born of compassion first and foremost, not just for those we love but even strangers and enemies. The first noble truth of Buddhism is that life is dukkha or suffering. We all suffer, and there is no escaping it. Bodhicitta means not run away from suffering in ourselves or other people. It means to live with an open heart.

Bodhicitta is intimately tied to the Buddhist teaching of anatta or non-self. As stated above, most of us desperately try to hold on to our…