"What are you normally thinking as you get dressed in the morning? What kind of intention do you have as you eat your breakfast? Most people would say, 'Not much.' But people never do anything without a reason. If you look closely, there is some vague thought about wanting to look nice, or wanting to feed yourself because you are hungry. Basically, it is all about you. We have this habit of thinking about ourselves about 23 3/4 hours of the day.
"Tibetans have a practice where they turn this kind of thinking completely around, so it is all about others. 'Why am I getting dressed this morning? So I can help every single living being reach their ultimate evolution into a Being of pure happiness.'
" 'Why am I eating breakfast? I need to nourish this body, so it can continue to work for the sake of every person on this planet, and beyond.' The action that we do may be just the same as before, but now it has a completely different intention — an intention that will dramatically change your world.
"Every single small action in your life can be done for others. This is a meditation you can practice doing anywhere, at any moment of the day — driving your car, taking a shower, even watching TV! As my Lama always says, 'Use the time.'
"It's fun to do secret acts of goodness all day long: acts that no one else is even aware of. Look around as you drive your car to work, at all the other people out there. Then, perfect your intention — see yourself driving to work in order to help them.
"When you master this way of thinking — when you really are living your life for the sole purpose of helping everyone (including yourself) get enlightened — then they will call you a bodhisattva: a person who is headed straight tor Enlightenment.
"Now you are starting to see why it is so important to learn how to open our hearts to others. Because it is others that get us enlightened."
