Great Compassion in Lamrim is the profound desire to free all sentient beings from suffering, seeing their pain as one’s own and striving for their ultimate happiness.
The first seven steps on the Great Scope of Lamrim focused on people, with the final step being the complete exchange of self with other. Lamrim teachings take this approach because it’s easier for people to relate to other people. When considering emotions like affectionate love, it can be challenging to generate much intensity for an earthworm.
Once practitioners arrive at the point where they can hold all humans to equally high regard, higher than they regard themselves, the next step is to extend that same caring and compassion to all living beings without exception, including earthworms.
Meditation on Great Compassion
Great Compassion is considered the very heart of the Mahayana Buddhist path. It goes beyond ordinary compassion and encompasses an unwavering dedication to alleviating the suffering of all sentient beings equally, without discrimination.
Practitioners of Great Compassion aspire for the complete freedom from suffering and the attainment of lasting happiness for all beings, not just for oneself or a limited circle of loved ones. It transcends personal preferences and extends even to those considered adversaries.
The practice of Great Compassion involves deep contemplation of the suffering endured by all beings in samsara, including birth, aging, sickness, death, and various forms of physical and mental anguish. Great Compassion includes the aspiration for the ultimate liberation of all beings from the cycle of samsara (birth and rebirth) and their attainment of enlightenment.
Practitioners of Great Compassion strive to empathetically identify with the suffering of others, feeling it as if it were their own. This identification deepens the commitment to alleviate the suffering of all beings.
Great Compassion naturally reduces self-centeredness and self-cherishing attitudes. It redirects the focus from one’s own needs and desires to the well-being of others, dismantling ego-clinging.
Great Compassion motivates individuals to engage in altruistic actions, both in thought and deed, with the aim of benefiting others and contributing to their spiritual awakening.
The Practice of Giving: Understanding Generosity as a Core Buddhist Virtue
Great Compassion is a pivotal element in the Bodhisattva’s journey to Buddhahood. It propels the Bodhisattva to develop the perfections (paramitas) and engage in practices that lead to enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
Exploring the Six Perfections: Transforming Mind and Spirit by Embracing Buddhist Virtues
Contemplation
Consider what you read in this post and focus on the following first-person narrative:
I feel the suffering of countless other beings, trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth, aging, sickness and death. They must bear the sufferings of physical and mental pain in this life and countless future lives. I must permanently alleviate their pain and liberate them from their suffering.
Object of Meditation
When we feel the suffering of all living beings and the determination to liberate them from their pain arises, this determination to liberate all beings from suffering is the object of medtiation.
We should hold this feeling in our heart for as long as possible. When we arise from meditation, we should feel this determination arise with each being we encounter in daily life.
Tibetan Buddhist Lamrim teachings on Great Compassion highlight the aspiration to alleviate the suffering of all sentient beings and guide them towards liberation and enlightenment. It represents the pinnacle of compassion and is considered a transformative force that leads to selfless service, the Bodhisattva ideal, and the ultimate goal of Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.
~~wink~~
Anatta