Whatever we do as our practices, it is necessary to have the
motivation of universal compassion, or bodhicitta. One of the more
important reasons is that our yearning for happiness and well being
is shared by all sentient beings. The reason why we haven't
achieved enlightenment is our self grasping attitude, which binds
us to samsara. Cultivating compassion is a direct antidote to self
grasping. The Buddha taught 84,000 teachings to eliminate 84,000
emotional attachments. But all of them can be traced back to the
self cherishing attitude. The direct antidotes to this are the
understanding of emptiness and the practice of compassion.
http://medicinebuddhasangha.org/teachings/moonbeams_mahamudra.html