(9.52) The result of a Bodhisattva’s meditation on emptiness
Is the ability to remain in the abodes of samsara
Out of compassion for those who suffer due to confusion,
And free from the extremes of attachment and fear.

We all want to help people. But our time with others is very short. We may even live with someone throughout our entire life, but then we are separated at death. If the person we care has not themselves attained liberation or enlightenment, they will be thrown once again somewhere in samsara. If we ourselves remain an ordinary being, we will not be able to do anything for them other than pray. Will be completely helpless and when we meet them again in our future lives, we will not recognize them. This is a major obstacle to our ability to help others. In contrast, if we gained the ability to return to samsara again and again, we would be able to continue to help lead these people gradually along the stages of the path. Only in this way can we eventually guide each and every living being to enlightenment.

But returning to samsara to help others is extremely dangerous if we ourselves still have delusions and we ourselves still risk taking further samsaric rebirth. We too could get thrown somewhere in samsara and lose the path and become lost for countless eons. How can we protect ourselves against such a danger? Shantideva explains the answer is, with a bodhicitta motivation, we gain a realization of emptiness. A Bodhisattva with a realization of emptiness is able to return to the abodes of samsara without ever being swept away by them. They are then able to remain with living beings and help guide them day by day, life by life, until they attain the final goal. Such bodhisattvas are in samsara but not of samsara.

(9.53) Since the realization of emptiness is the antidote that removes the darkness
Of the delusion-obstructions and the obstructions to knowing,
Why do those who wish to attain enlightenment
Not meditate on emptiness right away?

(9.54) Thus, it is quite inappropriate to cast aspersions
On those who hold the view of emptiness;
Rather, you should meditate without any doubt
On emptiness, lack of true existence.

Geshe-la has said on numerous occasions that the true meaning of meeting Geshe Kelsang is to gain the opportunity to realize emptiness. If all of reality is nothing more than a contaminated karmic dream and this dream is the nature of suffering, then the only thing that has true meaning is gaining the ability to wake up from the dream. There is nothing for us in samsara because in fact there is nothing even there. There is no part of the samsaric dream which is safe and we do not risk getting once again thrown into the lower realms. The vast majority of samara is unimaginable suffering. The only way to be completely free from the dangers of samsara is to end it.  To make it cease. To prevent it from ever arising again. The method for doing so is to realize the emptiness of all phenomena. We need to realize directly that it has never been anything more than mere karmic appearance. We need to end such appearance in such a way that it never arises again.

Other than striving for emptiness, tell me what makes our life meaningful?  There are many, many beneficial things we can do with our life, but what active is more meaningful than realizing emptiness motivated by compassion?  I feel there is nothing more meaningful than to strive to realize emptiness out of compassion, for me it is the most compassionate activity of all.  There are many meaningful things we can do with our life and many ways we can make samsara a little bit better. But is this good enough? Is this the most we can do? When we understand samsara and we understand emptiness we realize the most meaningful thing we can do is attain liberation and, even better, attain enlightenment so that we are able to help wake everybody else up from the nightmare that is samsara.