Recommended Reading: On Compassion

-

 Topic: Recommended Reading: On Compassion

Today we will be discussing the book On Compassion, written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and available for free online.

Compassion, as defined by Path doctrine, is a recognition of and desire to ease the suffering in the world. Paradoxically, the secret to Compassion lies in not giving a shit; to have no emotional involvement whatsoever. It is only when we set our personal feelings aside that we are able to act with true and pure Compassion. While His Holiness does not put it quite that way, that is the basic idea in this book.

Let me provide you with a relevant example. It is easier to be Compassionate toward a trans person if you have no emotional involvement in what they call themselves. If you truly do not care if somebody is a man, a woman, or something in between, then you can treat them all with equal dignity and kindness. It is only because we like to categorize people and get emotionally attached to those categories, deliberately treating people differently based on gender expression, that we suffer so much when we encounter somebody who is not easily categorized, or who dares to change categories. Path doctrine, of course, teaches us to accept a trans person- or anyone who has chosen to reinvent themselves- for who they are now and to use an individual’s preferred name and pronouns.

Another relevant example is racism. The Compassionate person is by definition antiracist, because racism is the cause of a great deal of the suffering in the world and has been for centuries. Racism came about in large part because of a kind of base ignorance coupled with European self-aggrandizement, both of which are a kind of suffering, and went on to inflict suffering on every non-white person on the planet. Now we have people of color being oppressed by racism, and white people suffering ignorance and fear for their entire lives for no reason. But, by not giving a shit or making assumptions and instead simply accepting another person’s ethnicity or skin color and treating everyone as a unique and precious individual, not only do we demonstrate Compassion, but we give ourselves the opportunity to engage with and learn from everyone we meet.

Compassion always begins with Self-Control and Mindfulness, to see and recognize suffering both within and without. Compassion towards others is always easier when we address our own internal suffering; although letting go of harmful ideas is challenging at times, because we are too emotionally or viscerally attached to them. Sometimes it takes an external perspective to prompt us to examine our ideas and ask ourselves if we need to evolve in our thinking. Once we have faced and moved beyond toxic ideation, we can do our part to help others do the same. One thing a walker of the Path should never do, however, is attempt to force or bully another person into agreeing with you. Everyone is on their own Path, and we are obligated to respect the journeys that others are on, and let them come to Enlightenment in their own time.

Do you see how genuine Compassion requires emotional objectivity? Are there people you could be more Compassionate toward?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Sacrifice and the Path

-
  On Sacrifice and the Path   Sacrifice is a prevailing theme of many world religions, whether you are giving up life, time, or money. The idea is that you have to pay for salvation somehow; nothing is free, after all. Some religions have an entire laundry list of things you cannot do, things you must give up entirely in order to practice their faith. Some ask for money, either through tithes or “charitable donations.” The entire Christian faith is based on what is an objectively barbaric form of human sacrifice. The message is clear: to be saved, you must offer up something in return, or forgo something you once indulged in. A sacrifice must be made. Pagan spiritual traditions incorporate energetic reciprocity: to invoke the favors of the gods, certain offerings are made. These offerings can be physical or energetic in nature, either cream and honey to please the Fae folk, or personal psychic energy expended during a healing rite. These sacrifices are more personal (as ...
Read more

Beware the False Dichotomy

-
  The appeal of the dichotomy is understandable. It’s psychologically soothing to have two clear options, so we can act accordingly. Unfortunately, life is messy and complicated, and many of the dichotomies we embrace as a society are not only false, they are actively damaging. Consider the false dichotomy of “fight or flight,” of which I’ve written before. If you believe you only have two possible responses to perceived threat of trauma, you won’t realize that freeze, flop, and friend may be more appropriate to the situation. You could end up punching your boss, because running away is for cowards. Even worse, however, are the dichotomies we apply to sex, sexuality, and gender: you’re either gay or straight, male or female. What we are finally beginning to acknowledge is that these things exist on a spectrum, and the old labels just don’t work anymore. But there are still those who cling to these false dichotomies and refuse to recognize anyone’s identity if it doesn’t fit in ...
Read more

Path Doctrine on the Seven Deadly Sins

-
  Topic: Path Doctrine on the Seven Deadly Sins Today’s sermon is about the Christian list of seven “deadly sins” and how they relate to Path teachings. Some of these so-called sins are of the body, some are of the mind. But they must be subject to rational dissection so we can extract whatever value they may have. Lust is a body sin, and an easy one. The sex lives of others are none of our business, as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult and no harm is being done. If you are not hurting anyone or treating other people as things, feel free to lust after and even have sex with as many people as you want. Greed is one of the sins that you only commit in your head; the only problem with greed is that it can turn you into a power-hungry asshole. But there are wealthy people who still try to make the world a better place, so there is nothing wrong with greed itself. Gluttony is a body sin, and is contrary to the Virtue of Balance. If you find yourself overindulging, ...
Read more