Our "I" is Self-Deceiving

It is common worldly knowledge that by believing untrue information to be true we fall into confusion and are harmed. Similarly, by believing phenomena to be inherently existent when in fact they are not inherently existent, we are also harmed. For example, with respect to the different ways in which there can be a consciousness of 'I', there is a definite difference between the way the 'I' is apprehended when desire, hatred, pride and so forth are generated based on this 'I', and the way the 'I' is apprehended when we are relaxed without any of those attitudes being manifest.
Similarly, there is the mere consciousness that apprehends an article in a store before we buy it, and there is the consciousness apprehending that article after it has been bought, when it is adhered to as 'mine' and grasped with attachment. Both these consciousnesses have the same object, and in both cases the mode of appearance of the article is the appearance of it as inherently existent. However, there is the difference of the presence or absence of our adhering to it as inherently or independently existent.
...a consciousness conceiving inherent existence precedes any bad consciousness, leading it on by the nose, and also accompanies, or aids, many other bad consciousnesses as well. Thus, if there were no ignorance conceiving inherent existence, then there would be no chance for desire, hatred and so forth to be generated.
--from The Buddhism of Tibet by the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins,

Who Are We?

As human beings we are deeply insecure and we do not know who we truly are. Of course this problem does not show on the surface of our lives. We are always telling ourselves who we are, based on this notion that we are separate from everything else. This sense that "I am separate" is the ground of our sense of self. It is reinforced by various false identities that we cling to, notions that "I am this" or "I am that." Whatever beliefs we have about ourselves are just another extension. Most of the time when we look around, we immediately see that our surroundings are validating these false identities. For this very reason, it is a challenging endeavor to deconstruct this illusion of self.
Every time we look into our mirror we might have some thought about ourselves. Each of these thoughts adds up. They become the conceptual bricks we use to keep building this illusory castle of self. Yet, there is a suspicion that this notion of self might be very fragile and transient, and this thought is silently lurking somewhere in our consciousness. Most of the time this suspicion is not brought into the light of awareness, but if it is, some deep, inner wisdom will arise without choice.
Our suspicion of the fragility of this false notion of self can go in one of two directions. In general it becomes a source of fear, anxiety, and insecurity. We often see people who are fearful and overly defensive when it comes to their own identity. We ourselves tend to become fearful if our identity is threatened. But at other times the suspicion can go another way. When that happens, it can be a life-changing revelation that can lead us to the realization of the highest level of truth. This idea is not some new, lofty theory. It is timeless wisdom that has been realized by many people in human history. Buddha taught this wisdom, and in his tradition it is called anatman or "no self." Anatman, or "no self," is the term used to mean that one has seen through this false sense of self. One has seen that this false sense of self is merely an identification with one's roles in life. It is just a mask, not the truth.
--from No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten,

We Must Cultivate and Develop our Compassionate Nature

The question then is "How do we cultivate and develop this bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment?" The key, and the root, is great compassion. Compassion here refers to a state of mind that makes it utterly unbearable for us to see the suffering of other sentient beings. The way to develop this is through understanding how we feel about our own suffering. When we become conscious of our own suffering, we have a spontaneous wish to be free from it. If we are able to extend that feeling to all other beings, through realizing the common instinctive desire we all have to avoid and overcome suffering, then that state of mind is called 'great compassion'.
All of us have the potential to develop that kind of compassion, because whenever we see people who are suffering, especially those close to us, we immediately feel empathy towards them, and witness a spontaneous response within our minds. So all we have to do is to bring that potential out, and then to develop it to become so impartial that it can include all sentient beings within its embrace, whether friend or foe.
To cultivate this great compassion within ourselves, first of all we need to develop what is called loving-kindness, a feeling of connectedness or closeness with all living creatures. This closeness and intimacy should not be confused with the kind of feeling we normally have toward our loved ones, which is tainted by attachment...ego and selfishness. On the contrary, we are seeking to develop a feeling of closeness towards other sentient beings, and affection for them, by reflecting on the fact that suffering is inherent in their very nature, on the helplessness of their situation, and on the instinctive desire they all have to overcome suffering.
The greater the force of our loving kindness towards other beings, the greater the force of our compassion. And the greater the force of our compassion, the easier it will be for us to develop a sense of responsibility for taking upon ourselves the task of working for others. The greater that sense of responsibility, the more successful we will be in generating bodhicitta, the genuine altruistic aspiration to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all.
--from Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, translated by Thupten Jinpa and Richard Barron, Foreword by Sogyal Rinpoche, edited by Patrick Gaffney

No Pain, No Gain

Understanding the power of the path provides the inspiration that keeps us going forward; exploring its pain provides the understanding of what holds us back. It doesn't take long to discover the power, nor to feel the pain. Waking up hurts. And if we don't understand why, we will run from the pain and abandon the path. There are countless people who have become spiritual dropouts, or who are lost in detours because they have not understood hardship.
When your arm falls asleep, it prickles and burns as it returns to life. Frozen fingers sting when they thaw; we jolt awake when the alarm clock rings. But physical instances of anesthesia are mild compared to the anesthesia born of ignorance, and so is the level of discomfort upon awakening. The longer something has been asleep, the more painful it is to wake it up. If your fingers are merely cold, it is easy to warm them up. But if your fingers are frozen solid, it hurts like hell when they thaw. According to the traditions, unless one is already a buddha, an "awakened one," one has been snoring from beginningless time, and it can really hurt before we completely wake up. Mingyur Rinpoche writes,
"I'd like to say that everything got better once I was safely settled among the other participants in the three-year retreat.... On the contrary, however, my first year in retreat was one of the worst in my life. All the symptoms of anxiety I'd ever experienced--physical tension, tightness in the throat, dizziness, and waves of panic--attacked in full force. In Western terms, I was having a nervous breakdown. In hindsight, I can say that what I was actually going through was what I like to call a 'nervous breakthrough'."
--from The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship into Joy by Dr. Andrew Holecek

Generating Bodhicitta

Although we did not have the fortune to see Buddha Shakyamuni himself in person, we do have the great fortune of having access to his own precious teachings, which is actually superior to seeing him in person. The same is the case with masters like Nagarjuna and his immediate disciples. If we make the necessary effort, and undertake the practice and study, we can fully enjoy a benefit equal to that of having met them in person.
...So visualize in space, in front of you, all the exalted masters, including Buddha Shakyamuni, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, eighty mahasiddhas, the Nyingma masters, Atisha, the Kadampa masters, the five great masters of the Sakya tradition, the lineages of Lamdre practice, the great masters of the Kagyu lineage, such as Marpa, Milarepa, and also the great masters of the Gelugpa lineage, Lama Tsongkhapa, and all of their followers.
Around you also are the protectors who have taken the oath in the presence of Buddha Shakyamuni to safeguard and protect the precious doctrine of Buddha. Visualize as well the harmful spirits--actually an embodiment of your own delusions--from which you are being protected by the guardians. Also visualize various emanations of the buddhas actively working for the benefit of all living beings. Surrounding you are all sentient beings...undergoing the sufferings of their individual realms of existence. Now generate a strong force of compassion directed towards all these sentient beings, particularly your enemies.
Having created this mental image, question yourself as to how all these objects of refuge, the buddhas and the masters of the past, achieved such a high state of realization and reached a state where they can provide protection to all living beings. You will find that it is because of their having made effort in the practice of dharma in general and, in particular, the practice of bodhicitta*. Think as follows: "I shall, from today, follow in the footsteps of these great masters, and take the initiative of generating bodhicitta."
* The aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all beings.
--from The Path to Bliss by H.H. the Dalai Lama, translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, edited by Christine Cox

Transforming Our Negative Emotions

Following the Vajrayana teachings, we do not give up or reject anything; rather we make use of whatever is there. We look at our negative emotions and accept them for what they are. Then we relax in this state of acceptance. Using the emotion itself, it is transformed or transmuted into the positive, into its true face.
When, for instance, strong anger or desire arises, a Vajrayana practitioner is not afraid of it. Instead he or she would follow advice along the following lines: Have the courage to expose yourself to your emotions. Do not reject or suppress them, but do not follow them either. Just look your emotion directly in the eye and then try to relax within the very emotion itself. There is no confrontation involved. You don't do anything. Remaining detached, you are neither carried away by emotion nor do you reject it as something negative. Then, you can look at your emotions almost casually and be rather amused.
When our usual habit of magnifying our feelings and our fascination resulting from that are gone, there will be no negativity and no fuel. We can relax within them. What we are trying to do, therefore, is to skillfully and subtly deal with our emotions. This is largely equivalent to the ability of exerting discipline.
--from Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha by Ringu Tulku, edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs

The Mind and Body As One

Mind is empty like an illusion;
Separate from body, it cannot achieve.
Body also is like a wall;
Separate from mind it is without activity.
Similarly the yoga of seals....
-Shriparamadhya
Mind separate from body cannot openly display activities; body separate from mind is the same. Rather, actions must be done upon the aggregation of mind and body. Just so, here when practicing techniques for transforming basic--or ordinary--body, speech, mind, and activities into those of the fruit stage of Buddhahood, it is necessary both to cultivate (1) internal meditative stabilization on a divine body, on a vajra on a moon disc at the heart, on a seed syllable on a vajra in the throat, and on a vajra at the heart, and (2) at the same time to construct the appropriate gesture, or seal, with the hands. These must be done in unison, for it is said in Yoga Tantra ritual texts that if you fail to construct seals with the hands, the rite is nullified. Unlike on other occasions, it is not just that if the hand-seals are constructed, it is better, but if not, there is no fault of nullifying the rite. Here, they must be done.
--from Yoga Tantra: Paths to Magical Feats by H.H. the Dalai Lama, Dzong-ka-ba and Jeffrey Hopkins, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins,

Our Karmic Seeds

The person witnessing another person's suffering has only one appropriate response: "How can I help?" When karma comes to fruition and causes suffering, the response should never be, "This is your karma. It's your destiny, so I can't help." Your own karma may very well present itself as an opportunity to help a suffering person. Misunderstanding actions and their consequences can be disastrous.
From the Buddhist perspective, the type of fortune we encounter, happiness or sorrow, is not due to somebody doing something to us. If I win the lottery, it is not because Buddha selected me for a bonus. No god or buddha is responsible for what happens to us....This does not imply that a suffering person is morally degenerate any more than suffering the consequences of eating contaminated food does. The suffering we experience is due to karma accumulated under the influence of delusion and mental afflictions. This is true for all sentient beings.
The Buddhist response to the non-virtues we all commit while strapped to the wheel of samsara can be inspiring and encouraging. The Buddhist teaching is that it is possible to neutralize negative karmic seeds embedded in the stream of consciousness. Deeds cannot be undone, but it is possible to purify one's mind-stream so that the impact of karmic seeds will be nullified.
The method used to purify the mind-stream is the "four remedial powers" [remorse, reliance, resolve, and purification]. The metaphor for the effectiveness of the four remedial powers is that of burning a seed. Karma, like a seed, can be scorched in the fire of purification so that it will not sprout. The seed won't vanish, but it will not sprout.
--from Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind Training by B. Alan Wallace,