As for the rest of the practitioners, some seek their own liberation. Although we all like to claim to be Mahayana practitioners, in reality, many of us only practice to liberate ourselves. Things like practicing the preliminaries, liberating animals, burning incense, and performing prostrations are all done for the purpose of accumulating merit for ourselves. These activities are not much different from working or handling family affairs: working is for our own living, not others’; practicing the five preliminaries and listening to teachings are for our own liberation, not others’ either. Everything is done for our own sake.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO THE VAJRAYANA PATH -Vajra Master and Empowerment