His Holiness
The Third Dalai Lama
Sonam Gyatso
(1543–1588)
“Who should these poor mother sentient beings put their hope in, if not me? Who does the responsibility of freeing these mothers fall upon, if not me? Nothing could be a more shameful and embarrassing act than ignoring these kind mothers and selfishly working only to free yourself from samsara!…Now I shall ignore myself and, by every means possible, I shall lead all sentient beings as limitless as space to the unsurpassed happiness of liberation by freeing them from the sufferings of samsara.”
From The Essence of Refined Gold – Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by His Holiness the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso As translated in: The Essence of Superfine Gold: A Guide on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by the Third Dalai Lama. Translated by Dr. Chok Tenzin Monlam. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.