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"In Praise of Great Compassion" book cover
Benefits of Cherishing Others

from

In Praise of Great Compassion

Volume 5 of The Library of Wisdom and Compassion

by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and
Ven. Thubten Chodron

Wisdom Publications

All good comes from benefiting others. That’s why I tell people: even if you want to selfishly care about yourself, the best way to achieve your own happiness is to take care of others. This applies even to people who are not interested in liberation or awakening. Cherishing others will bring them happiness and peace in this life.

We live in a society where we are completely interdependent. This is especially true now that people’s careers and knowledge are narrowed to specialized fields and we must depend on one another to complete our own projects. If we look out only for our own welfare, how will we be happy in an interdependent world? If we don’t care about the environment we share, we will create many difficulties and problems that future generations will experience.

We see that countries that care only for their own citizens exploit other nations, thereby evoking their ire. Similarly, groups that work only for their own benefit soon find themselves abandoned by others. If one member of a family is self-centered, the other members lose their wish to help him.

If we take whatever is good for ourselves and ignore others’ plight, we soon find ourselves living amidst a group of unhappy people. Their unhappiness will surely affect us; they will complain, they will resent our success, they might even try to steal our things.

On the other hand, if we work for the benefit of society as a whole, there is a better chance that those around us will be content and kind, and this will certainly make our life more pleasant!

On a personal level, if we are self-centered, we will lack genuine friends and will be lonely. When we have problems, others will not extend a helping hand. However, when we are kind and fair, others reciprocate and, as a result, we feel cared for and respected.