Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c9.s1.11

c9.s1.11

If a householder feels an excessive affection for his son but for none others, he must correct himself by reflecting that Bodhi is attained by one (i) who is samacitta (even-minded), (ii) who is exerting himself rightly (samyak-prayukta) to attain bodhi, and (iii) who does not make distinctions (anānātvacārin). He is to regard his son as an enemy (lit. not friend), as he being the object of excessive affection, is the cause of detracting his father's mind from the doctrines of Buddha. He is to correct himself by thinking that "he himself comes from one place and his son from another; that all beings are his sons, and he is the son of all beings." Thus a gṛhī bodhisattva must not regard anything as his own².