Bodhicitta, Bodhicitta

One who has bodhicitta as the primary motivation for all of his or her activities is called a bodhisattva.

It is described as the most fundamental aspect of the mind, and is said to be "brightly shining" whether or not this is realized. It is given no direct doctrinal interpretation in the Pali discourses; one way the Mahayana interprets it is as bodhicitta. Peter Harvey, Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.

Since all beings karmically connected ("all in the same boat", as it were), either we will all attain liberation or we will all drown in the ocean of samsra. Mahyna teaches that even those who have initially chosen personal liberation from samsra will be awakened eventually by Buddhas and entreated to develop bodhicitta and become fully enlightened in order to help liberate all sentient beings.

The Six Perfections (Pramits) of Buddhism only become true "perfections" when they are done with the motivation of bodhicitta.

Unfortunately they can also vanish again just as quickly, which is why many Buddhist traditions, and in particular the Mahyna, provide specific methods for the intentional cultivation of both absolute and relative bodhicitta. This cultivation is considered to be one of the most difficult aspects of the path to complete enlightenment.

Source: Wikipedia > Bodhicitta