CAN I GET BEYOND THE "EGOTISTIC 'I' "?

Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, For the Benefit of All Beings: A Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva, translated from the Tibetan by The Padmakara Translation Group, with a Foreword by Tulku Pema Wangyal (Boston & London: Shambhala, 2009) ("What do we mean by Bodhisattva?  Bodhi means enlightenment, the state of devoid of all defects and endowed with all good qualities. Sattva refers to someone who has courage and confidence and who strives to attain enlightenment for the sake of all beings. Those who have this spontaneous, sincere wish to attain enlightenment for the ultimate benefit of all beings are called Bodhisattvas. Through wisdom, they direct their minds to enlightenment, and thorough their compassion, they have concern for beings. This wish for perfect enlightenment for the sake of others is what we call bodhichitta, and it is the starting point on the path. By becoming aware of what enlightenment is one understands not only that there is a goal to accomplish but also that it is possible to do so. Driven by the desire to help beings, one thinks, For their sake, I must attain enlightenment! Such a thought forms the entrance to the Mahayana. Bodhichitta, then, is a double wish: to attain enlightenment in itself, and to do so for the sake of all beings." Id. at 12. "To be patient means not to get angry with those who harm us and instead to have compassion for them. That is not to say that we should let them do what they like. We Tibetans, for example, have undergone great difficulties at the hands of others. But if we get angry with them, we can only be losers. This is why we are practicing patience. But we are not going to let injustice and oppression go unnoticed." Id. at 74. "Putting ourselves in the place of others is very helpful for seeing the faults of the egotistic 'I,' and we become deeply disgusted with it. When we practice like this, using jealously as a tool, let us imagine that our old 'I' is very good-looking, well-dressed, wealthy, powerful, and has everything he needs. Then we imagine ourselves as an impartial spectator in the midst of a crowd of paupers, dressed in rags, the lowest of the low. Now observe the old 'I,' who since time without beginning has thought only of himself and has never given a thought for others. To further his own interests, he has enslaved others and has not hesitated to kill, steal, lie, slander, and selfishly indulge in sex. He has been nothing but a burden on others' lives. When we look at the egotistic 'I' in this way, true disgust will well up in our hearts. And as we identify ourselves with these other beings in all their misery, we will feel closer to them, and the wish to help them will grow." Id. at 111.).

Santideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life (Bodhicaryavatara), translated from the Sanskrit and Tibetan by Vesna A. Wallace & B. Alan Wallace (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1997) (From Chapter V: Guarding Introspection: "Those who wish to protect their practice should zealously guard the mind. The practice cannot be protected without guarding the unsteady mind. / Untamed, mad elephants do not inflict as much harm in this world as does the unleashed elephant of the mind in the Avici hell and the like. / But if the elephant of the mind is completely restrained by the rope of mindfulness, than all perils vanish and complete well-being is obtained...." Id. at 47. From Chapter VI: The Perfection of Patience: "Anger destroys all the good conduct, such as generosity and worshiping the Sugatas, that has been acquired over thousands of eons. / There is no vice like hatred, and there is no austerity like patience. Therefore, one should earnestly cultivate patience in various ways. / The mind does not find peace, nor does it enjoy pleasure and joy, nor does it find sleep or fortitude when the thorn of hatred dwells in the heart...." Id. at 61.).