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The
essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability
to recognize
the physical, material, and psychological suffering
of
others, to put ourselves
"inside the skin" of the
other. We "go inside"
their body, feelings, and mental
formations, and witness for
ourselves
their suffering. Shallow observation
as an outsider is not
enough
to see their suffering. We must become one with
the
subject of
our observation. When we are in contact with another's
suffering,
a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, "to suffer with."
Thich
Nhat Hanh |
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To
develop true compassion, first we must know that
suffering is real, and that sufferings hurt.
Thupten
Rinpoche |
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Compassion
is not religious business, it is human business; it is not luxury, it is
essential for our own peace and mental stability; it is essential for
human survival.
the
Dalai Lama
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The purpose
of the journey is compassion. When you have come past all the pairs of
opposites you have reached compassion.
Joseph Campbell |
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A
human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a
part
limited in
time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts
and
feelings, as something
separated from the rest—a kind of
optical
illusion of our consciousness. This
illusion is a prison
for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and to affection
for only
the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free
ourselves
from this
prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace
all living beings
and all of nature.
Albert
Einstein |
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When
we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient
beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning,
almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness
of each moment and each being, and from this can
grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.
Sogyal
Rinpoche
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If
we make our goal to live a life of compassion
and unconditional love, then the world
will indeed become a garden where all
kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.
Elisabeth
Kuebler-Ross
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Next
time you encounter someone in pain, don't just wince and
pass by with a shrug. Hurting people need a bit of color
to brighten
their dark places, and they need to remember the promise that
God
is with them right where they are. Where rainbows grow,
angels sing and courage becomes contagious. You can be
a rainbow gardener by opening your heart
even if you're in pain yourself.
Barbara
Johnson
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When
I'm bewildered and overwhelmed, I seek the gentle
guidance of a person I know will respond with compassion.
Life is complicated enough without having to listen to
the caustic remarks of someone's misdirected strength.
Patsy Clairmont
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Be understanding and
compassionate,
but not responsible for others.
Stephen C. Paul
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compassion
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If your compassion does not include yourself, it
is incomplete.
the Buddha |
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True
compassion flows fast, as if we were wounded ourselves,
yet without diminishing our strength.
Modern
Japanese inspiration
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Compassion
springs from a mind and heart deeply rooted in
simplicity, integrity, and a profound understanding of the
interconnected nature of all life. Compassion is a
transforming
quality of heart we cultivate, nurture, and refine. It is
rediscovered
through the falling away of the layers of fear, resistance, and
anxiety
that have the power to veil the innately compassionate
heart. Our
challenge may not be so much one of becoming more compassionate,
but one of learning to let go of the clouds of confusion that
obscure the powerful compassion within us.
Christina
Feldman
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I
cannot but have reverence for all that is called life. I
cannot avoid
compassion for everything that is called life. That is the
beginning
and foundation of morality.
Albert
Schweitzer |
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Anyone who does not exercise compassion is
ignorant of the reality
that everyone needs it at some time in life; or we forget that
someone
has blessed us with compassion at a time when we needed it.
Joseph M. Marshall III |
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Everyone
alive has suffered. It is the wisdom gained from our
wounds
and from our own experiences of suffering that makes us able to
heal.
Becoming expert has turned out to be less important than
remembering and
trusting the wholeness in myself and everyone else.
Expertise cures,
but wounded people can best be healed by other wounded people.
Only other wounded people can understand what is needed,
for the healing of suffering is compassion, not expertise.
Rachel Naomi Remen |
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It
is in identifying yourself with the hopes, dreams, fears, and
longings
of others that you may understand them and help them.
Wilferd A.
Peterson |
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Compassion
simply stated is leaving other people alone. You don't lay
trips.
You exist as a statement of your own level of evolution.
You are available
to another human being, to provide what they need, to the extent
that they
ask. But you begin to see that it is a fallacy to think
that you can impose a trip on another person.
Ram Dass |
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Compassion is a far
greater and nobler thing than pity. Pity has its roots in
fear, and a sense of arrogance and condescension, sometimes even
a strong
feeling of "I'm glad it's not me." . . . To train in
compassion, then, is to know all
beings are the same and suffer in similar ways, to honor all
those who suffer,
and to know you are neither separate from nor superior to
anyone.
Sogyal Rinpoche |
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I
would like to be known as a person who is concerned about
freedom
and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.
Rosa Parks |
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Have you
ever been with a child who feels different or challenged for
one reason or another? A loving and inspirational word or
two can work
wonders with a sensitive child. A gentle touch, a smile, a
compliment,
a warm look that implies, "Hey, you're okay and you're
loved" can make
a huge difference. And it works great with adults, too.
So how do we learn to be compassionate? The
people who are best
at being compassionate toward others have learned to be
compassionate
with themselves, first. Someone who talks lovingly to
himself or herself
excels in speaking loving words to others, and the opposite is
true. If you
verbally beat yourself up as a habit, you will tend to be
negative
toward other people, too.
Lucinda Bassett |
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The wisdom
that comes from having experienced heartbreak cannot
be bequeathed; it can only be gained through experience.
And having
truly felt it, we are far more likely to have compassion for
others. Anything
that takes us close to true compassion takes us closer to what
will one day
be an experience of even greater joy.
Marianne
Williamson |
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Compassion is the most precious of all gifts.
In times of sorrow and bewilderment,
it is what restores us and offers refuge. It is the force of
empathy in your own
heart that allows you to reach out and touch the broken heart of
another. It is
rooted in the heartfelt acknowledgement that others, like
ourselves, yearn to be
free from suffering and harm, and be safe and happy. It is
compassion that rescues
us from despair and helplessness, that provides a refuge of
peace and understanding
inwardly and outwardly. Compassion does not claim to be a
quick-fix for the age-old
causes of suffering, nor is it a magic wand that will sweep away
sorrow. But it is
our commitment to compassion and our willingness to nurture it
in every moment that gives meaning to life.
Christina
Feldman |
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compassion
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Compassion
is both teacher and student.
When we show it, we teach it to others.
When we feel it, we learn how it heals.
Leslie
Levine |
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Compassion
is the skillful way to respond to pain and difficulty.
It is what makes it possible to open to what is occurring
instead
of shutting it out or walling off against it.
Dawna Markova
I
Will Not Die an Unlived Life |
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Let
us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate.
Compassion
is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with
others to places
where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But
this is not our
spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is
to do away
with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for
it.
Henri Nouwen |
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Compassion
is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s
a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own
darkness well
can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion
becomes
real when we recognize our shared humanity.
Pema Chödrön |
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God
calls all of you to take the path of the inner truth--and that
means taking responsibility for everything that's in you:
for what
pleases you and for what you're ashamed of, for the rich person
inside you and for the poor one. Francis of Assisi called
this,
"loving the leper within us." If you learn to
love the poor one
within
you, you'll discover that you have room to have
compassion
"outside"
too, that there's room in you for others,
for those who are
different
from you, for the least among your brothers and
sisters.
Richard
Rohr |
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When someone accepts your help, that person is
giving you
a wonderful
opportunity. You're not only helping that
person
but you also have the
opportunity to grow in compassion. On seeing the suffering of another,
you have the opportunity
to feel in your heart the suffering of that person.
When
your
heart softens and you feel compassion for that person,
you
become more selfless and rise closer
to God,
your Higher Power,
which is
complete compassion.
Michael Goddart
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