His reason is that if we can start off with some basic feel for emptiness, we can begin loosening our grasping to ourselves and phenomena as real.

The suffering actually comes from our own self-centered attachment, based on not fully wanting to do what we’re doing.

Instead of letting

he emphasized the themes of lojong and tonglen: letting go of self-importance and developing altruism.

We either react outwardly by losing our temper, or inwardly with negative thinking and judgments.

Guilt and self-aggression are actually forms of self-importance in disguise.

This space, which is not a void but is pervaded by enlightened awareness, is called the alaya.

The countless ways that we suffer can be put into three categories: physical, emotional, and mental.

But is that love completely selfless? No, because its basis is you. If your love were free of self-importance, then it wouldn’t matter if these children were yours or not. All that would matter would be your understanding that these are sentient beings who want to be happy and free from suffering just as much as you do.