Thought of the week

There are usually three stages on the path to Enlightenment: individual liberation (pratimoksha), the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of beings (bodhichitta), and pure vision that recognizes the union of emptiness and appearances in all things. The first stage can be understood as the "individualistic" desire to liberate oneself from suffering [...]. However, Jigmé Khyentsé Rinpoche defines the concept of pratimoksha as the need to detach oneself from the very notion of an "individual." As long as one remains attached to the real existence of an individual entity - a unitary, autonomous, and enduring "self" - there is no chance of breaking free from samsara, and even less of liberating others from it.

Matthieu Ricard
carnets d'un moine errant p.654