69 It’s Never Too Soon to Develop Bodhicitta

Since in October 1950 Tibet was invaded by Chinese troops and has been oppressed ever since, today is a good day to practice Bodhicitta.
Alan tells the story of a Geshe Rabten he interviewed several times to be able to write down his life story. This Geshe explained to him that all of Dharma appears to him as either 1) being preparation for bodhicitta, 2) being bodhicitta, or 3) flowing out of bodhicitta. This underlines the importance of cultivating bodhicitta and not striving for the achievement of nirvana and then leaving everybody behind - which Alan sees as the only situation in which the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ is actually true. However, this would be to realize only half of your buddha nature.
Alan then starts with pieces of his own biography and how he was unsatisfied in his twenties with western, secular education as it was too fragmented and not infused with meaning. It seemed to have no center. What Alan later encountered and what the Dalai Lama often emphasizes as another way of educating people is that the core of all of education should be the science of the mind - that is, understanding the whole universe of experience from the inside-out. In a traditional Nalanda approach, there are four doors that lead to this center:
1) Healing: Whether you are a doctor, therapist, physiotherapist, etc. your aspiration is to heal. But you do not stop with healing the body - you see the interconnectedness of body and mind and therefore strive to heal all afflictions.
2) Reasoning: This concerns people with sharp minds such as philosophers, mathematicians, (quantum) physicists, etc. Their aspiration is to penetrate deep enough by way of logic so they will find nirvana. This is what is meant by the perfection of wisdom.
3) Creating: Technology, all of the arts, architecture, engineering and the like are in this category. Here the goal is to create in order to be of service to other sentient beings. However, here again one should acknowledge that one is also one’s own creator by being able to shape one’s mind.
4) Sound: This category relates to music, the voice and truth-speaking.
All four lead to the center - science of the mind - which marks the fifth category: the inner approach, which goes directly to the center.
Alan finishes his talk by citing Shantideva. The quote shows how one should not just aspire for bodhicitta but really engage in bodhicitta up to the point at which a continues flow of merit marks one’s actions, even if one is distracted or asleep. Thus, in such a state no matter what you do, your motivation to do it is always bodhicitta.

Meditation starts at 46:59