A common mistake we all make when communicating with others is to take them as they are, without considering what they could become. A person is a potential for change. Often, arguments arise in communication because we address the lower dimension of the other person rather than their most sublime aspect.
Address the Most Sublime Part
Every being has a soul, and is a soul—that is, a consciousness and a noble, pure principle. Some have reduced their soul to a shadow of itself through neglect and wrongful actions. Even if you despise what you see in this person now, that does not mean it will always be so. This individual can change and shine again. Therefore, when you speak to this person, think of the wonderful being they could become.
Forgive Today’s Flaws
If you have difficulty communicating with someone, it may simply be because you do not like that person. You may find them ill-mannered, unworthy, stupid, disrespectful, mediocre, or whatever else. That said, you can make an effort to address this person by considering what they could become. It is an effort, certainly, but it can transform the entire interaction. If this is too difficult for you, imagine that this person is 70 years old and has a lifetime of experience behind them. Perhaps that will help you in this task.
Change Your View of Others and Change Your View of Yourself
The daily effort you make to communicate better with others by drawing upon their most noble and eternal dimension ultimately changes you. This ability to be kind to others helps you develop your own consciousness.
Draw Inspiration from the Bodhisattvas
A bodhisattva is an awakened being in Mahāyāna Buddhism who delays their entry into nirvana to help all beings attain awakening through compassion. A model of wisdom and devotion, they embody qualities such as compassion—Avalokiteshvara—or wisdom—Manjushri.
Be the Light for the World
If there were to be only one motivation for your commitment to awakening, it would be to serve others. Awakening is not an abstract concept but a real experience of peace, commonly called happiness. If many people suffer, it is because they have not yet reached the level of consciousness that would allow them to detach from suffering. Your awakening does not belong to you alone: it spreads. Your discoveries touch your loved ones and resonate with all who read or listen to you. Any effort to improve your consciousness will have repercussions on the whole of creation. Nothing is more joyful than this inner commitment, whose cumulative effects surpass any other investment.
In a World Where AI Is the Norm, Humans Must Focus on What Is Essential
By alleviating the burden of labor and survival, AI paves the way for a world dedicated to awakening. But this promise depends on the intention of those who possess these tools—an intention that their choices do not seem to truly reflect. The desire for progress in consciousness should already animate our days, despite the daily grind that tears us away from ourselves. While waiting for the surplus productivity offered by AI to enable a life like that of a monk, free from the goodwill of donors, awakening remains accessible right now, right here.
You Are Going to Die, So You Might as Well Do So in the Most Beautiful Way Possible
What makes a knight’s death heroic? The knight’s death becomes heroic not solely because of the beauty of the story surrounding it, but because of the ultimate sacrifice it represents. A hero is someone who sacrifices themselves for others without thinking of their own life. It is ultimate humility, offering one’s body, one’s present, and one’s future to a cause without flinching. This is somewhat what the bodhisattva does.
The bodhisattva seemingly sacrifices everything, including the most precious thing: their own liberation. But they do so above all in a spirit of compassion, which means that their effort is not in vain but is fully aligned with their commitment. By definition, they work for the awakening of all creation by vowing to liberate themselves only when everyone else has been liberated. This is truly admirable.
Your Goal Is to Awaken Others
Many people lament not being accompanied or surrounded by people as awakened as themselves. They see this as a handicap, a burden to be avoided as quickly as possible. Bodhisattvas think differently. They see in these gaps in consciousness opportunities to do what they came to earth for: to awaken, that is, to dispel ignorance.
“The one who knows that they do not know: educate them.
The one who knows that they know: listen to them.
The one who does not know that they know: awaken them.
The one who does not know that they do not know: avoid them.”
— Lao Tzu
If you are facing someone less awakened than yourself, you must still ensure that this person is receptive enough so that your efforts are not in vain. The cycle of reincarnations may be unlimited, but your time in each one is not. You must know how to wisely allocate your capital of time and energy to those who can best progress thanks to you. It is futile to preach to a wall, or to put it another way, you cannot fill a jug that is already full.
