Be Free Where You Are by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Parallax Press
Published: 2011-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

Understanding Makes Compassion Possible

Understanding is the substance out of which we fabricate compassion. What kind of understanding am I talking about? It is the understanding that the other person suffers, too. When we suffer, we tend to believe that we are the victims of other people, that we are the only ones who suffer. That is not true—the other person also suffers. He has his difficulties, his fears, and his worries, too. If we could only see the pain within him, we would begin to understand him. Once understanding is present, compassion becomes possible.

Do we have enough time to look into the condition of the other person? The other person may be an inmate like us or a guard. If we look, we can see that there is a lot of suffering within him. Maybe he does not know how to handle his suffering. Maybe he allows his suffering to grow because he does not know how to handle it, and this makes him and other people around him suffer. So with this kind of awareness or mindfulness, you begin to understand, and understanding will give rise to your compassion. With compassion in you, you will suffer much less, and you will be motivated by a desire to do something—or not do something—so that the other person suffers less. Your way of looking or smiling at him may help him suffer less and give him faith in compassion.

I would describe my practice as the practice of cultivating compassion. But I know that compassion is not possible without understanding. And understanding is possible only if you have time to look deeply. Meditation means to look deeply in order to understand. In the monastery where I live, we have plenty of time to do the work of looking deeply. In a correctional house, there is also plenty of time and opportunity to practice looking deeply. It is a very good environment to practice looking deeply so that compassion can grow as a liberating factor. I think that if one, or ten, or twenty of you practice compassionate looking, you can transform this place in no time at all. You can bring paradise right here.

For me, paradise is a place where there is compassion. When there is compassion in your heart, you need only to breathe in and out and look deeply, and understanding will come. You will understand yourself and become compassionate toward yourself; you will know how to handle your suffering and take care of yourself. Then you will be able to help another person do the same, and compassion will grow between you. Thus, you become a Buddha, a bodhisattva who brings compassion into his environment and transforms Hell into Paradise. The Kingdom of God is now or never. This is very true. And it could be that you have more opportunities to practice than many of us. What do you think?

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.