"For as long as a single being remains stuck in the cycle of suffering, I will continue to do everything in my power to rescue and benefit others." This, in a nutshell, is the vow of the bodhisattva, the individual whose entire focus is the happiness and, ultimately, liberation of all. Quite the commitment.
In my tradition, Tibetan Buddhism, inspiration may be found in the example of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion. One of his many incarnations has 11 heads and 1,000 arms with an eye in the palm of each hand. Why? Well, while manifesting in a more moderate form, he takes the bodhisattva vow ("…and if I ever break my oath, may my head and my body break into a thousand pieces…"), guides countless beings to liberation, and, according to one account, has just succeeded in emptying the realms of great suffering of their inhabitants and is feeling pretty good about life. Until, that is, he happens to have another look and sees that those realms have already repopulated. There's just as much suffering as ever.
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