
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/ she has their difficulties, fears and worries too. If we could only see the pain within them we would begin to understand them. 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 someone you know well or have only known for a short time. If we look we can see that there is allot of suffering with them at that moment. Maybe they do not know how to handle their suffering. Maybe they allow suffering to grow because they do not know how to handle it, and this makes them and other people around them suffer.
This is the 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 or people around you may suffer less or be uplifted and helping them to bring them out of their suffering.
your way of looking or smiling at someone may help them suffer less and give them faith and 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 and temple where i go to pray and meditate we have plenty of time to do the work and look deeply.
in our lives we also have plenty of time if we make it.
Practice looking deeply so that compassion can grow as a liberating factor in your life and practice looking deeply to develop compassion for other around you even those who you may not see eye to eye with.
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 other people do the same and compassion will grow between us all. This is very true and it can be that you have more opportunity to practice than you may think.
what do you think?





