Student and Teacher

Together on the Path

This excerpt is from a talk between Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Chogyal Rinpoche during Chogyal's online series HeartTalk in February 2023. In this talk Chogyal Rinpoche asks Tenzin Rinpoche about what compassion means for him.

Chogyal Rinpoche: What is compassion or what does bodhicitta mean for you? How do you practice in your real life?

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche: Compassion in a general sense means to care about others and support others. Typically in Buddhist terms, though, when we say compassion or bodhicitta, it is about our focusing on achieving enlightenment in order to help other people; may I achieve some sense of awakening or liberation in order to help other people. The focus here is twofold: a focus on oneself achieving something, awakening; as well as very much a focus on others, so I can help others. It's going beyond the suffering of myself and the suffering of others. That is the core part of the traditional Buddhist definition of compassion. We have a word, nying je, which means may all the beings not suffer. May they go beyond suffering. Sem je is another term. So two different words, nying je and sem je, but both are equally good. That's more of a classic definition.

I've been thinking about this a lot, and it's always a deep sense of openness that matters the most. Openness means being open to everyone, whether they are friends or enemies, people I know or don't know. So I think fundamentally being open is the core part of good compassion. You cannot really have good compassion unless you are open, because otherwise you will be biased. Sometimes one's compassion can be a very self-centered compassion. I'll do that if you do this for me. I'll care about you if you love me. I'll care about you if you are a good Buddhist. This kind of compassion is always conditional. So it's not so helpful.

Personally for me, I feel I'm always just trying to be optimistic, and I'm trying to help anybody, anybody who is in need. And it is something that I can do. I feel like if at any time I can do anything for anybody, then that is the only moment when I have that opportunity to do it. If I don't take action in that moment, then I might not be able to do it the next time, because maybe I won't have the resources to do it then, or the time, or I might not be capable of doing it later because of conditions of health. Or even because the person may not ask me next time.

So I see that every moment in life is a very important moment of helping and serving others. And to do so as selflessly as possible. Because selfless means openness. The more selfless you are, the more open you are.

Of course as a human being, we always have some conditions. Boundaries are there. But recognizing a boundary and trying to open up as much as possible is the practice. Yes, we all have some weaknesses. But the ability to watch yourself all the time, amidst conditions, and to develop the ability to see the opportunity that you have in every given moment to support others, that's what I feel is most beneficial, and that's the way I try to live.