One time I listened to a lot of CDs about how to be a bodhisattva. It was from an ancient Indian text and sort of explained by Pema Chodron. But this is not the point of the story.
The point is how do you become one? And what is one? One definition: a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings. The superstar bodhisattvas are people like Buddha and Jesus. They had it down. But, it turns out, we can all be bodhisattvas.
I went to a poetry reading last month and one person said that to support each others’ work was one form of being a bodhisattva. To be supportive is one way to reduce the suffering of others.
Today, I had a great discussion with two wise friends. One shared a story about something her father did for her mother. Her mother had to live in a mental institution for years. Her father visited every Sunday. Sometimes he would bake a chicken to bring to her. He would heat rocks in the oven and then store them under the chicken so it was warm when it arrived.
I remembered when I was a child, watching my mother wash my grandmother’s hair in the kitchen sink. She did the same with my grandfather. It struck me. I thought they could do it themselves. Maybe they could, but they needed help sometimes. I didn’t think too much about it but I felt something and I’ve always remembered it. My mom gently helped the more feeble in my family. It wasn’t heroic; it was practical.
My two friends and I talked about how caring for our loved ones in these sorts of ways are little bodhisattva acts. They are small habits of bodhisattvas.
To bring comfort is to reduce suffering.
Notice this in your own life. Start making it a habit to be a little bodhisattva.