From The Spiritual Path: A Compilation of Teachings by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
Compassion is a deep commitment to bring about the end of suffering. The vow of a Bodhisattva is to return in whatever form necessary, under any conditions, in order to accomplish this. We are told that in one of the Buddha’s previous lives, he was a huge female sea turtle. This turtle saw a shipwreck, and she thought: “The sailors are about to drown. I must help them.” With that compassionate intention, she swam to the sailors and supported them until they reached land. The exhausted turtle then fell into a stupor on the beach. So deep was her sleep that she did not feel the thousands of insects who began to eat away her body. They consumed her to the point that she awoke with intense pain. She started to move away but realized that if she went into the water to wash off the insects, they would all die. Since there were eighty thousand of them and only one of her, she thought: “Their nature is the same as mine, and since there are so many more of them than there are of me, it’s much better to let them live.”
Thus she allowed the insects to consume her. Just before she died, she made a wish: “I pray that when I attain enlightenment, the first ones I teach will be the insects that were eating me and the sailors I helped. May they attain enlightenment quickly after I do.” Later on, the sailors became the Buddha’s first disciples in the Deer Park, while the eighty thousand insects were eighty thousand celestial beings who came to hear His teachings. This story exemplifies the dynamic of equanimity, loving kindness, and compassion.
This precious dynamic occurs when you become convinced that only the end of suffering and the realization of true nature are important. It gives rise to wisdom, stability, and intensity of determination. The turtle understood the fragile nature of the eighty thousand insects: not long after their ample meal, they would need more food. Or, if the turtle had entered the water, they would have lost their good meal and suffered greatly by drowning.
© Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo
