An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life by The Dalai Lama

Author:The Dalai Lama [Lama, The Dalai]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: PHI022000
ISBN: 9780316045834
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Published: 2008-10-23T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

COMPASSION

WHAT IS COMPASSION? Compassion is the wish that others be free of suffering. It is by means of compassion that we aspire to attain enlightenment. It is compassion that inspires us to engage in the virtuous practices that lead to Buddhahood. We must therefore devote ourselves to developing compassion.

EMPATHY

In the first step toward a compassionate heart, we must develop our empathy or closeness to others. We must also recognize the gravity of their misery. The closer we are to a person, the more unbearable we find that person’s suffering. The closeness I speak of is not a physical proximity, nor need it be an emotional one. It is a feeling of responsibility, of concern for a person. In order to develop such closeness, we must reflect upon the virtues of cherishing the well-being of others. We must come to see how this brings one an inner happiness and peace of mind. We must come to recognize how others respect and like us as a result of such an attitude toward them. We must contemplate the shortcomings of self-centeredness, seeing how it causes us to act in unvirtuous ways and how our own present fortune takes advantage of those less fortunate.

It is also important that we reflect upon the kindness of others. This realization is also a fruit of cultivating empathy. We must recognize how our fortune is really dependent upon the cooperation and contributions of others. Every aspect of our present well-being is due to hard work on the part of others. As we look around us at the buildings we live and work in, the roads we travel, the clothes we wear, or the food we eat, we must acknowledge that all are provided by others. None of these would exist for us to enjoy and make use of were it not for the kindness of so many people unknown to us. As we contemplate in this manner, our appreciation for others grows, as does our empathy and closeness to them.

We must work to recognize our dependence on those for whom we feel compassion. This recognition brings them even closer. It requires sustained attention to see others through less self-centered lenses. We must work at recognizing their enormous impact on our well-being. When we resist indulging in a self-centered view of the world, we can replace it with a worldview that takes every living being into account.

We must not expect our view of others to change suddenly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.