The spiritual principles and methods found in this book are at the heart of the path of the bodhisattva. The bodhisattva is one who’s committed to ending suffering and bringing about happiness for all beings throughout time and space.

This may sound like an impossible goal that has nothing to do with our daily lives. But the way of the bodhisattva can be practiced by anyone, anywhere, at any time. To the extent that we practice it, we can be certain we’ll be of true and lasting benefit to ourselves and others. We’ll learn how to do that in this book.

Everything the bodhisattva does comes from a heart of wisdom and compassion. To be able to do this, the bodhisattva trains their mind in bodhicitta—the wisdom mind of great compassion—for the purpose of increasing their positive qualities and decreasing whatever stands in the way of their being of the greatest benefit.

This book is concerned with how we give rise to bodhicitta—how we practice, stabilize, deepen, and, ultimately, realize it. This training is made accessible through extensive, step-by-step teachings, questions and answers from group retreats, and over 50 meditation instructions that walk the contemporary reader through the 2500-year-old training of the bodhisattva.