Drikung Chetsang Rinpoché

If there is no inherent existence, what use is compassion?

 When we speak of a lack of inherent existence, we must understand it as a universal characteristic of all phenomena. If you focus on just that and realize the non-inherent existence of all phenomena but do not have any other aspect to your practice, this will block your progress. You come up against a wall, and can’t progress farther. If you really perfect this, if you really see the ultimate nature of things in their lack of inherent existence, then you are no longer bound to anything in samsara, and you attain nirvana. But that functions as a sort of stopping point, a blank wall. You can’t go any farther; you can’t achieve the benefits of living beings. You can’t even achieve your own ultimate benefit. You’re stuck! You have to go back and develop compassion in order to achieve Buddhahood because compassion cuts the other extreme view, clinging to the concept of non-inherent existence, or nihilism. Wisdom and compassion are developed

separately and joined together in the practice so as to obtain Buddhahood. It happens only through joining these together. So it’s important not to emphasize the absence of inherent existence too much. One has to always develop compassion and join those two together. Then there is no problem in attaining Buddhahood.

Book :

The Practice of Mahamudra

Book by Drikung Chetsang Rinpoché

Snow Lion Publications