TF So all of this is about compassion.
JW: Yes. The word “com-passion” literally means “feeling with.” You can’t have
compassion unless you’re first willing to feel what you feel. This opens up a
certain rawness and tenderness— what Trungpa Rinpoche spoke of as the “soft
spot,” which is the seed of bodhicitta.
TF: It’s vulnerable.
JW: Yes. That’s the sign that you’re getting close to bodhicitta. That rawness is
also quite humbling. Even if we’ve been doing spiritual practice for decades, we
still find these big, raw, messy feelings coming up --- maybe a deep reservoir of
sorrow or helplessness. But if we can acknowledge these feelings, and open
ourselves nakedly to them, we’re moving toward greater openness, in a way that
is grounded in our humanness. We ripen into a genuine person through learning
to make room for the full range of experiences we go through.