Often we see other sentient beings as hassles: "This mosquito is disturbing me.
Those politicians are corrupt. Why can't my colleagues do their work correctly?"
and so on. But when we see sentient beings as being more precious than a
wish-fulfilling jewel, our perspective completely changes. For example, when we
look at a fly buzzing around, we train ourselves to think, "My enlightenment
depends on that fly." This isn't fanciful thinking because, in fact, our
enlightenment does depend on that fly. If that fly isn't included in our
bodhicitta, then we don't have bodhicitta, and we won't receive the wonderful
results of generating bodhicitta--the tremendous purification and creation of
positive potential.

Imagine training your mind so that when you look at every single living being,
you think, "My enlightenment depends on that being. The drunk who just got on
the bus--my enlightenment depends on him. The soldier in Iraq--my enlightenment
depends on him. My brothers and sisters, the teller at the bank, the janitor at
my workplace, the president of the United States, the suicide bombers in the
Middle East, the slug in my garden, my eighth-grade boyfriend, the babysitter
when I was a kid--my enlightenment depends on each of them." All sentient beings
are actually that precious to us.

--from Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig by
Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, published by Snow Lion Publications



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