Healing Anger

Why should one work so hard to please people, doing all sorts of things for others in order to make them feel happy? If one can't bear one's enemy's happiness, then why should one do all sorts of things to make anyone else happy?
Shantideva explains an inconsistency regarding this issue. He notes that when praise is directed toward oneself, when people speak highly of oneself, one not only feels happy but also expects others to be happy when they hear this praise. However, this is totally inconsistent with one's attitude toward others. When people praise others, then not only does one disapprove of others' happiness but one's own peace of mind and happiness are destroyed as well. So there seems to be an inconsistency when it comes to relating to praise directed toward oneself and praise directed toward others.
Then, especially for a Bodhisattva practitioner who has dedicated his or her life to bringing about joy and happiness in others and leading them to the ultimate state of happiness, to be jealous of others' happiness and joy is totally inappropriate. In fact, one should feel that if other sentient beings of their own accord, from their own efforts, gain any little experience of happiness and joy here and there, we should be all the more grateful, because without our helping them, they have been able to achieve these joyful experiences and happiness.
--from Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective by the Dalai Lama, translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa

About Our Consciousness

Consciousness is eternal. Its continuity never ceases. But it is not permanent. Permanence refers to the fact that something does not change from moment to moment. And this, of course, consciousness does do. It is impermanent in this sense, but it is still eternal. The continuity of the moment never ceases.
--from Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists

"In general, clear light is of two types--the objective clear light that is the subtle emptiness [of inherent existence], and the subjective clear light that is the wisdom consciousness realizing this emptiness."
--from Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth by Lati Rinbochay and Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (in honor of the passing of Lati Rinpoche)

Our Countless Lives Since The Beginningless Time

"...Because there is no findable beginning to sentient life and cyclic existence, one must have had an infinite number of previous lives; and all other beings must share this same situation. Thus it follows that there is no place in which we can say we have not taken birth and there is no sentient being we can say has not been our parent. In fact, each and every sentient being has been our parent countless times."--the Third Dalai Lama
The kindness of the mother is chosen as the example of the intensity of kindness that all beings have shown us, because generally in samsara the mother's concern is something very strong and obvious. We can see the kindness of a mother not only in humans but in animals. A mother dog will starve herself to feed her pups and will die to protect them. In the same way, even if our mother were strange to us in some ways she still would have instinctively and unconsciously shown us great kindness. All beings have loved us in this very same way, sacrificing their food for us and even dying to protect us because their love for us was so strong. The people who are friends, enemies, and strangers to us in this life showed us the great kindness of a mother in countless previous lives.
Actually, there is no imperative that mother love be the model used here if doing so should cause a problem. If we have serious problems in our relationship with our mother, or if we were orphans and an aunt or uncle brought us up, we could just as easily take whomever we feel has been most kind to us and use him or her as an alternative model. We then contemplate how all sentient beings have been born into this same relationship with us in countless previous lives and have shown us these same kindnesses. We have to learn to see all sentient beings in that person's image.
As a result of this meditation one gains a feeling of spontaneous familiarity with all other sentient beings, a recognition that they are somehow very close to us and very precious.
--from The Path to Enlightenment

Compassion is an Attitude

..beginning with an attitude
Of love for all living creatures,
Consider beings, excluding none,
Suffering in the three bad rebirths,
Suffering birth, death and so forth.
The" attitude of love" to which the text refers is the affection which sees all living beings as lovable. The stronger our affection the more easily compassion arises and the more intense and steadfast it is. Compassion can arise without it, but it will not be consistent. Unless we see all living beings as near, dear, appealing and beloved, we won't care what happens to them. On the contrary, we may even wish more suffering on those we dislike. That affection is what a doting mother feels for the apple of her eye, what a dog-owner feels for a beloved pet--a warm feeling that makes you want to hug and pat and say, "Adorable!"
At present our feelings of affection are restricted to those we like and, even then, vanish quite quickly if they do something that goes against our wishes. It's a tall order to ask us to feel affection toward all living beings. It doesn't come naturally, which is why we need to train ourselves to see them in a new way.
--from Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment commentary by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam

The Importance of Self-Cultivation

Cultivating an aspiration to help other sentient beings becomes a cause for wanting to achieve Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. These are the two levels of the awakening mind of bodhichitta.
Such a mind cannot be cultivated in a mere few months or years, but this does not mean it cannot be cultivated at all. If you continue your practice to cultivate bodhichitta, a time will come when you will be successful. For example, in the initial stage you may not even understand the meaning of the word bodhichitta. You might wonder how you could ever cultivate such a mind. But through repeated practice and familiarity, you will gradually come closer to such a mind.
It is the nature of conditioned things that they change depending on causes and conditions. So it is important to recall the advantages and benefits of such a mind and cultivate a strong determination to achieve it. Make ardent prayers. Whether you sleep, walk, or sit, you should think: "How good it would be if I could cultivate such a mind." Try to cultivate bodhichitta even on an aspirational level. If you spend your days in such repeated and persistent practice, you can definitely develop it. Make the determination to cultivate it even if it will take many aeons. As Shantideva prays in his Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life:
As long as space endures
And as long as sentient beings remain,
May I too abide
To dispel the sufferings of all sentient beings.
--from Stages of Meditation by the Dalai Lama, root text by Kamalashila, translated by Geshe Lobsang Jordhen, Losang Choephel Ganchenpa, and Jeremy Russell

Hindrance to the Path

As practitioners we will face many obstacles and sidetracks on our path to liberation, and these will provide us with many challenges along the way. We shouldn't allow our practice to become interrupted due to these obstacles and sidetracks, such as the appearance and disappearance of the many friends we will have over the course of our lives.
We also shouldn't allow our practice to become interrupted by a change in the availability or quality of food and shelter. And we shouldn't allow our practice to become interrupted by the obstacles and sidetracks presented by the many distractions of mind that are readily available in the mundane world of our external environment. We shouldn't allow our practice to be interrupted by obstacles and sidetracks that arise due to the desire and attachment we feel for loved ones, or our aversion to enemies, or our indifference towards others. Finally, we should not allow our practice to become interrupted by our desire to accumulate wealth, or by our attachment to our material possessions. Only an advanced practitioner, motivated by deep bodhichitta, can get through these obstacles and avoid these sidetracks to reach their goal of liberation from samsara.
--from Heartfelt Advice by Lama Dudjom Dorjee