Equalize Self and Other | Step 19 of Awakening in 30 Steps

Reflect on the spectrum of superiority and inferiority.

Where do you put yourself, consciously and unconsciously, and how does this impact your relations with others?

What are the reinforcements in evolution, family systems, culture, and media that determine an imbalance between self and other?

What will it take to equalize the sense of dignity of all mother beings so that we feel others are equally deserving of love and respect as ourselves, or ourselves as much as anyone else?

While differences between us are important, for this reflection the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan tradition of compassion training asks us to juice press all the ways we are alike beginning with the fact that we all want happiness and none of us, no even the tiniest creature wants to suffer.

When I get to this step I often hear JFK’s voice:

“So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”

Learn more about the gradual path to awakening with the Lam Rim Meditation course.