When we encounter other sentient beings throughout the day, it is good to remember that they are not their current body and mind. One afternoon, a friend and I were walking back from the forest surrounding the Abbey. We came across Mudita the moose walking along Middle Way Path with his huge rack. He was a little shy and trotted up the path and away from us. Then he turned around and looked at us just as intently as we looked at him. We share a universe with so many different kinds of sentient beings like Mudita, all of whom have been our parents in previous lives. We have been in very intimate relationships with them and received lots of kindness from them.

When we meet them again in this life, instead of just seeing them as that body or label, we should think, “There’s somebody to whom I’ve been very close in the past and who has been kind to me.” Or at least we can think, “There’s somebody who is just like me in wanting happiness and not wanting to suffer.” Therefore, whether you see grasshoppers, moose, peacocks, somebody you like, or somebody you do not like, let the feeling arise, “I want to be kind and have compassion for them.” In this way, we practise developing compassion to the point where we generate bodhicitta, the wish to attain awakening as soon as possible for the benefit of all beings.

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