The Most Beautiful Passage of the Suttas

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As a mother would risk her life
to protect her child, her only child,
even so should one cultivate the heart limitlessly
with regard to all beings.1
With goodwill for the entire cosmos,
cultivate the heart limitlessly:
above, below, & all around,
unobstructed, without hostility or hate.
Sn 1:8  Goodwill

It would be great if we all followed this teaching in our daily lives. While the above passage is from the Pali suttas, it better describes the Bodhisattva ideal than anything I’ve ever read.

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This is a perfect image to go along with the above passage:

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For this life at this time,

If you have no satisfactory teacher, then take this sure Dhamma and practice it. For the Dhamma is sure, and when it is rightly undertaken it will be to your welfare and happiness for a long time.
Apaṇṇaka , Majjhima Nikāya 60

But it is lovely to engage with, benefit from Ayya (pl) and Ajahn (pl).

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Here is a more recent picture

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One of my favorites:

Then the Blessed One exclaimed: “So you really know, Kondañña? So you really know?” And that is how Ven. Kondañña acquired the name Añña-Kondañña — Kondañña who knows.

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Protecting oneself, bhikkhus, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself. SN47.19

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