According to Mahayana Buddhism, we should not be content with seeking merely our own liberation; we need also to consider the welfare of other living beings.

There are countless beings trapped in the prison of samsara experiencing an unlimited variety of sufferings.

Whereas each one of us is just one single person, other people are countless in number; therefore, the happiness of others is much more important than our own happiness. For this reason, we must enter the Mahayana path, the supreme method for benefiting all living beings.

Mahayana means the ‘great vehicle to enlightenment’. The gateway through which we enter the Mahayana path is by generating the mind that spontaneously wishes to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all living beings. This precious mind is called ‘bodhichitta’.

For more information on bodhichitta, see the books Universal Compassion and Meaningful to Behold.