hilitehead

“Within the practice of equalizing and exchanging oneself with others, this is the equalizing stage, where we develop the understanding that we and others are fundamentally equal. The next stage involves reflecting on the shortcomings of excessively self-cherishing thoughts, and their negative consequences, as well as reflecting in the merits of developing thought that cherish the well-being of others.

How do we do this? We begin by comparing ourselves with others. We have accepted that there is a fundamental equality between ourselves and others in terms of our respective aspirations to be happy and overcome suffering, and we have also recognized that all beings, including ourselves, have an equal right to fulfill that aspiration. No matter how important and individual person may be, and no matter how unimportant, in a wordly sense, others may be, so far as the basic fact of wishing to be happy and overcome suffering is concerned, there is absolute equality. So what is the difference between us? The difference is really a matter of numbers. No matter how important an individual is, the interest of that individual is the interest of only one being, whereas the interest of others is the interest of an infinite number of beings.”