Self-grasping and Self-cherishing

This morning's reading has blown my mind.  I must share it with you.  One sentence says it all:  You can have no greater ally in your war against your greatest enemy, your own self-grasping and self-cherishing, than the practice of compassion.  ......from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, p. 189.  I know a few friends are studying this book with me and might enjoy contemplating this sentence with me.