Lama Zopa Rinpoche

All our happiness has come from other sentient beings
What I have been mainly talking about so far is how we must free ourselves from the
sufferings of samsara. In exactly the same way as we are suffering, there are numberless
other sentient beings who are also suffering: numberless hell beings, numberless hungry
ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless gods, numberless
demigods and numberless intermediate state beings. We are lost, but that is nothing. We are
just one being. There are numberless other beings continuously suffering in samsara.
Therefore, it is not enough to achieve the blissful state of peace, nirvana, for ourselves alone
while there are numberless other beings that need our help. We need to help all sentient
beings.
As I have often said, we have eyes and limbs so that we can run and grab the blind person
who is walking toward a precipice, mistakenly thinking there is a road there. That poor
stumbling sentient being cannot see the precipice, so it is up to us. That is the first reason for
helping sentient beings: because we can—they are suffering so much and we are capable of
helping them.
The next reason for helping sentient beings is that all our happiness comes from them. This
is summed up in the first verse of the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation:
Determined to obtain the greatest possible benefit
From all sentient beings,
Who are more precious than a wish-granting jewel,
I shall hold them most dear at all times.
This is so important. All our past, present and future happiness, including nirvana and the
great nirvana, enlightenment, comes from our good karma. And our good karma is the
action of the buddhas.
There are two actions of the buddhas: one is the buddha’s holy mind and the other is with us
sentient beings, our own good karma. We create positive actions only because we understand
karma—the cause of suffering and the cause of happiness—and our understanding of karma
is the result of having been taught by the buddhas.
A buddha’s actions come from a buddha; a buddha comes from a bodhisattva; a bodhisattva
comes from bodhicitta; bodhicitta comes from great compassion; great compassion is
generated by contemplating the suffering of all sentient beings. Therefore we can see that we
can attain enlightenment only by depending on the kindness of sentient beings.
The mind of great compassion—the cause of bodhicitta and thus a bodhisattva and thus a
buddha—can only be generated by understanding the suffering of each and every sentient
being. Every sentient being must be included: every hell being, every hungry ghost, every
animal, every human being, every god, every demigod, every intermediate state being. Not
even one is left out. That is their great kindness.
Therefore, great compassion comes from the numberless suffering sentient beings;
bodhicitta comes from the numberless suffering sentient beings; bodhisattvas come from the
164