What is Compassion?

MEDITATION ON COMPASSION: “…..Mirror mirror on the wall…”

There is much and perhaps heightened mention of and seeking ofcompassion- the need for and the apparent lack of, - in recent world events. The word slips more and more frequently into statements about need for humanitarian aid and intervention in any one of the planet’s given disaster zones - as if ‘humanitarian relief’ such as food, water, etc, and other forms of assistance are inadequate to remedy and resolve the ever-present human suffering. The word compassion has also become an essential term in the ongoing campaign, world-wide, to promote animal rights and to eradicate animal suffering and abuse, be it evidenced in puppy mills or in the desecration of mammals such as the elephant population for the theft of their tusks or sharks for their fins. The list goes on. The examples are legion…..indeed endless.

Let us dig deep to establish an understanding of the definition of the concept of compassion, both in its esoteric and pragmatic applications, and how it comes to currently be the word of the day as the necessity for its practice grows exponentially, given the condition of the world as it is now evolving:

“Empathy…sympathy…altruism…..Compassion is that mysterious capacity within each of us that makes it possible for suffering that is neither our own nor of our concern, to affect us as though it were…an instinctive and selfless insight that reveals to us the existence of our own true being in every living creature.” Now, this definition gives rise to questions not easily answered:

-IF compassion is indeed within each of us, why does it appear to be in such short supply?

-IF the suffering is not our own “concern”, what makes it become such?

-WHEREIN lies the quality of the “mysterious” in this “capacity”?

-Since the “instinctive” varies widely from one individual to another, does not, therefore, the capacity for compassion?

-How many among humanity are capable of “selfless insight”?

-WHAT is meant by the “true being in every living creature”? Is the “true being” a synonym for the soul?

-And, finally, if we are compassionately connected to “every living creature”, then can we conclude with any veracity that compassion is the exclusive domain of human beings?

You might ask – isn’t everyone imbued with a sense of compassion, with a sense of the humanitarian and/or the humane? Why, then, does abuse exist? War? Torture? And the host of miscellaneous atrocities which cause suffering – mental and physical. And all of which gives rise to the very essential question of man’s innate goodness or lack thereof. For if suffering, and the imposition of suffering is evil, and is imposed by segments of mankind upon other segments of mankind, can we say affirmatively and unequivocally that man is good, that man is fundamentally compassionate? Is it a flaw of nature itself that human nature is a mix of good and evil – of the compassionate and the uncompassionate? While one might be inclined to insist vehemently that all are more or less compassionate, this question is not so easily answered. And this is one of the central questions in any narrative about/any dialogue on the subject of compassion, and very much at the heart ofthis meditation, along with the concomitant questions which it raises:

-Can we conclude that everyone is born with a sense of compassion?

-Are there those whose characters are more easily disposed to the acquisition, development, and exercise of compassion? And if so, how do you explain that phenomenon (one might call it)?

-What, if any, is the role of environment in the development of compassion?

-Does the level of compassion vary widely from one person to another?

-Are there geographical, racial, national influences or other influences in the make-up of compassion or is the genus of compassion bound only by the factor of the human species?

-And if compassion is a ‘human’ ‘virtue’ (as many, but not all, philosophers have categorized it), how do we explain compassionate acts by a variety of species in the animal ‘kingdom’ which have been overwhelmingly documented by the likes of Jane Goodall? Or the well-known acts of dolphins which rival in effectiveness the saving and healing arts of an Albert Schweitzer, one might say…?

-What does compassion look like in an individual…in a society?

-Is ours a compassionate society?

-Does compassion have a ‘friend’? Does it have an ‘enemy’? If so, what?

Thus it is that, while for a philosophical meet-up, an examination of compassion may include some interesting historical/philosophical perspectives - ranging from Schopenhauer’s contention that compassion is the true basis of morality – to the contention of a spate of others (Plato, Spinoza, Kant, to name a few) that compassion is “worthless” - to the dichotomous views of Nietzsche - such an examination would do little more than inform of the evolution of thought on ‘compassion’ rather than provide insight into the world of the twenty-first century and the status of compassion at this time in history; and it is not, therefore, the central purpose of this meditation. Let us look, rather, to the question of compassion as endemic to the survival of the human race and the nature of its role in that survival. Let us look at compassion which is the ‘glue’ to the survival of any species, and ask ourselves if humanity’s glue is drying up, and what might be the consequences of such…..

Some quotations to ponder:

-“Compassion is the beginning of being; without it everything is chaos.” (F. Gulen)

• “The highest realms of thought are impossible to reach without first attaining an understanding of compassion.” (Socrates)

-“Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.” (Confucius)

-“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” (Albert Einstein (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9810.Albert_Einstein))

-“One love, one heart, one destiny.” (Bob Marley)

-“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” (Dalai Lama XIV (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/570218.Dalai_Lama_XIV))

-“…..for there is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one's own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.” (Milan Kundera (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6343.Milan_Kundera))

-“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” (Albert Schweitzer (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/47146.Albert_Schweitzer))

-“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” (Lao Tzu (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/l/lao_tzu.html))

-“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nelsonmand447262.html)” (Nelson Mandela)

-“For a lot of people, Superman is and has always been America's hero. He stands for what we believe is the best within us: limitless strength tempered by compassion, that can bear adversity and emerge stronger on the other side. He stands for what we all feel we would like to be able to stand for, when standing is hardest. (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jmichaels557215.html)”( J. Michael Straczynski (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/j_michael_straczynski.html))