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"Compassion is a two way street."
-Frank Capra
There are many aspects or "virtues" of Unselfish Love and compassion is
perhaps the greatest of all
these virtues. Compassion means to feel and care for others. It is a
profound emotion prompted by realizing the pain of others. Compassion can thus
help us to take Loving action to alleviate another person's suffering.
"Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others.
It crushes and destroys the pain of others. Thus, it is called compassion. It is
called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed." – The Buddha.
Acting upon compassion makes us feel better about ourselves because we know in our
hearts that we are doing the good thing. There is no better feeling than helping others
and thus it helps both the giver and the one who is given to. It's a win/win
situation. Acting upon
compassion builds self-esteem. A person who has no compassion is truly empty and
cold. For a good example of that, and seeing the effects of compassion, watch
the movie “Groundhog Day”.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be
happy, practice compassion." – The Dalai Lama
Like all emotions, compassion should not solely dictate our actions. It
should be accompanied with intelligence and accuracy for if compassion alone dictates our actions
they could be harmful. This is because we never have the full picture in regards
to our actions and their effects. Here’s a nice parable about that,
along with several other good lessons:
A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day, a small
opening appeared in the cocoon; the man sat and watched the butterfly for
several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then,
it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if the butterfly had
gotten as far as it could, and it just couldn't get any further. Then the man,
overwhelmed by sadness for the butterfly’s struggling, decided to help the
butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of
cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small,
shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected
that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support
the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly
spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled
wings, and it was never able to fly. What the man clouded by his emotions
didn't understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle through the
tiny opening were necessary to force fluid from the body of the butterfly into
its wings so that it would be ready to fly once it achieved its freedom from the
cocoon.
Throughout the scriptures of many religions can be found the teachings on the
importance of compassion, here are just some of the examples in the major world
religions. For more information about world religions go to the
world religions page.
Compassion or “karuna” is at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings. He was asked
by his secretary, Ananda: "Would it be true to say that the cultivation of
loving kindness and compassion is a part of our practice?" To which the Buddha
replied, "No. It would not be true to say that the cultivation of loving
kindness and compassion is part of our practice. It would be true to say that
the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion is all of our practice."
The first of what in English are called the Four Noble Truths is the truth of
suffering or dukkha (unsatisfactoriness or stress). Stress is identified as one
of the three distinguishing characteristics of all conditioned existence. It
arises as a consequence of the failure to adapt to change or anicca (the second
characteristic) and the insubstantiality - lack of fixed identity, the
horrendous lack of certainty - of anatta (the third characteristic) to which all
this constant change in turn gives rise. Compassion made possible by observation
and accurate perception is the appropriate practical response. The ultimate and
earnest wish, manifest in the Buddha, both as archetype and as historical entity,
is to relieve the suffering of all living beings everywhere. The noted American
monk Bhikkhu Bodhi states that compassion "supplies the complement to
loving-kindness: whereas loving-kindness has the characteristic of wishing for
the happiness and welfare of others, compassion has the characteristic of
wishing that others be free from suffering, a wish to be extended without limits
to all living beings. Like metta, compassion arises by entering into the
subjectivity of others, by sharing their interiority in a deep and total way. It
springs up by considering that all beings, like ourselves, wish to be free from
suffering, yet despite their wishes continue to be harassed by pain, fear,
sorrow, and other forms of dukkha. At the same time, it is emphasised that in
order to manifest effective compassion for others it is first of all necessary
to be able to experience and fully appreciate one's own suffering and to have,
as a consequence, compassion for oneself. The Buddha is reported to have said, "It
is possible to travel the whole world in search of one who is more worthy of
compassion than oneself. No such person can be found." For more
information on Buddhism go to our page on
Buddhism.
The Christian Bible's Second Epistle to the Corinthians is but one place where
God is spoken of as the "Father of compassion" and the "God of all comfort". The
life of Jesus embodies for Christians the very essence of compassion. Christ's
example challenges Christians to forsake their own desires and to act
compassionately towards others, particularly those in need or distress. Jesus
assures his listeners in the Sermon on the Mount that, "Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy." In the parable of The Good Samaritan Jesus holds
up to his followers the ideal of compassionate conduct. True Christian
compassion, say the Gospels, should extend to all, even to the extent of one’s
own enemies. For more information on Christianity go to our page on
Christianity.
The prayers of Vasudeva Datta, a Vaishnava holy man (sadhu) from the 1500s,
exemplify compassion within Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Hinduism. He prayed to his
Lord (Krishna) as follows: "My dear Lord, You incarnate just to deliver all
conditioned souls. I now have one petition, which I wish You would accept. My
Lord, You are certainly able to do whatever You like, and You are indeed
merciful. If You so desire, You can very easily do whatever You want. My Lord,
my heart breaks to see the sufferings of all the conditioned souls; therefore I
request You to transfer the karma of their sinful lives upon my head. My dear
Lord, let me suffer perpetually in a hellish condition, accepting all the sinful
reactions of all living entities. Please finish their diseased material life [through
awarding them liberation from suffering]." (from the Chaitanya Charitamrita,
Madhya-lila, Chapter 15). For more information on Hinduism go to our page on
Hinduism.
In the Muslim tradition, foremost among God's attributes are mercy and
compassion or, in the canonical language of Arabic, Rahman and Rahim. Each of
the 114 chapters of the Quran, with one exception, begins with the verse, "In
the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate". The Arabic for compassion is
rahmah. As a cultural influence, its roots abound in the Quran. A good muslim is
to commence each day, each prayer and each significant action by invoking God
the Merciful and Compassionate. The Muslim scriptures urge compassion towards
captives as well as to widows, orphans and the poor. Traditionally, Zakat, a
toll tax to help the poor and needy, was obligatory upon all muslims. One of the
practical purposes of fasting during the month of Ramadan is to help one
empathize with the hunger pangs of those less fortunate, to enhance sensitivity
to the suffering of others and develop compassion for the poor and destitute.
The Prophet is referred to by the Quran as the Mercy of the World (21:107); and
one of the sayings of the Prophet informs the faithful that, "God is more loving
and kinder than a mother to her dear child.". For more information on Islam
go to our page on
Islam.
Compassion for all life, human and non-human, is central to the Jain tradition.
Though all life is considered sacred, human life is deemed the highest form of
earthly existence. To kill any person, no matter their crime, is considered
unimaginably abhorrent. The Jain tradition's stance on nonviolence, however,
goes far beyond vegetarianism. Jains refuse food obtained with unnecessary
cruelty. Many practice a lifestyle similar to veganism in response to factory
farming. Jains run animal shelters all over India: Delhi has a bird hospital run
by Jains; every city and town in Bundelkhand has animal shelters run by Jains.
Jain monks go to inordinate lengths to avoid killing any living creature,
sweeping the ground in front of them in order to avoid killing insects, and even
wearing a face mask to avoid inhaling the smallest fly. For more information on
Jainism go
to our page on
Jainism.
In the Jewish tradition God is the Compassionate and is invoked as the Father of
Compassion. Sorrow and pity for one in distress, creating a desire to relieve,
is a feeling ascribed alike to man and God. The Rabbis speak of the "thirteen
attributes of compassion." The Biblical conception of compassion is the feeling
of the parent for the child. Lack of compassion, by contrast, marks a people as
cruel (Jer. vi. 23). The repeated injunctions of the Law and the Prophets that
the widow, the orphan and the stranger should be protected show how deeply, it
is argued, the feeling of compassion was rooted in the hearts of the righteous
in ancient Israel. A classic articulation of the Golden Rule came from the first
century Rabbi Hillel the Elder. Renowned in the Jewish tradition as a sage and a
scholar, he is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud
and, as such, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. Asked for a
summary of the Jewish religion in the most concise terms, Hillel replied (reputedly
while standing on one leg): "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your
fellow. That is the whole Torah. The rest is the explanation; go and learn."
For more information on Judaism go to our page on
Judaism.
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