Altruism is intelligent selfishness. -Dalai Lama

“Altruism has two aspects. Loving others does not mean that we should forget ourselves. When I say we should be compassionate, this does not mean helping others at the expense of ourselves. Not at all.  Sometimes I say the buddhas and bodhisattvas are the most selfish of all. Why?

Because by cultivating altruism, they achieve ultimate happiness. We, in our selfishness, are very foolish and narrow minded.  All we do is create more suffering for ourselves. The selfishness of the buddhas and bodhisattvas is functional and efficient. It allows them to achieve not only awakening, but also the capacity to help others. That is really worthwhile. For me, this proves that to create maximum happiness for oneself, one needs to develop compassion. This is Buddhist logic. If compassion induced misery, then it would be questionable. Why practice something that brings us more trouble? Just imagine if we all lived with no compassion, thinking only of ourselves. We would suffer greatly. The more you think of others, the happier you are. Altruism is intelligent selfishness.”

When we realize that our own happiness is tied in with the happiness of all beings, then we have taken the step from the Hinayana — the narrow or personal view — to the Mahayana or larger view.  At that stage in development, Buddhists take the Bodhisattva Vow — to put off individual nirvana until all beings can share in it.  That vow is considered to have 46 corollaries.    -HH the Dalai Lama, Imagine All the People