Why must positive potential be dedicated and what should it be dedicated for?

Why must positive potential be dedicated and what should it be dedicated for?

It is important to dedicate our positive potential so it does not get destroyed by our anger or wrong views. Like the steering wheel guiding where the car goes, dedication will guide how our positive potential ripens. It is best to dedicate for the most extensive and noble goals. If we do so, all the smaller results will naturally come. If we set our destination as London, we will pass through Delhi and Kuwait along the way; we do not need a special ticket for those places. Likewise, if we dedicate our positive potential, however small, toward the ultimate happiness and enlightenment of all sentient beings, this automatically includes dedicating for a good rebirth and for the happiness of our relatives and friends.

Some people think, “I have so little positive potential. If I dedicate it for the happiness of everyone, then I won’t have any left over for myself.” This is not correct. By dedicating our positive potential to others, it does not mean that we have less for ourselves. We will not become paupers by sharing the good results of our actions with others. While dedicating our positive potential for the benefit of all beings, we can still make special prayers, for the happiness of a particular person who is having difficulties at that time.

─ Excerpted from I Wonder Why