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Compassion for those who wish us harm
- Thread starter MaddLlama
- Start date
Feathers in Hair
World's Tallest Hobbit
(Hope it's okay to add a non-Buddhists' point of view! This is one of the topics that attracted me to Buddhism, though.)
For me, compassion involves understanding and love, as well as an element of sorrow that another being is suffering or has been put in a situation in which they are being made to suffer. (Or have made themselves to suffer.) Pity is more sadness directed outward.
For me, compassion involves understanding and love, as well as an element of sorrow that another being is suffering or has been put in a situation in which they are being made to suffer. (Or have made themselves to suffer.) Pity is more sadness directed outward.
The difference between compassion and pity is the amount of dignity one bestows on another.
"John" feels compassion for "Jane" if she suffers but if he also believes she has the resources to do better.
"John" feels pity for "Jane" if she suffers but if he also believes she's stuck in her position.
To pity is to ultimately demean another and to lower their dignity. In the case of the murderer, if he were to be pitied, it would imply that he has no possibility for rehabilitation or redemption. From the Buddhist standpoint, to pity the murderer would imply that he does not have Buddha-nature.
Does that make sense?
Peace,
Mystic
"John" feels compassion for "Jane" if she suffers but if he also believes she has the resources to do better.
"John" feels pity for "Jane" if she suffers but if he also believes she's stuck in her position.
To pity is to ultimately demean another and to lower their dignity. In the case of the murderer, if he were to be pitied, it would imply that he has no possibility for rehabilitation or redemption. From the Buddhist standpoint, to pity the murderer would imply that he does not have Buddha-nature.
Does that make sense?
Peace,
Mystic
michel said:
Same but different. LOL
Both perspectives I believe identify compassion as having the capacity of walking a mile in another's shoes.
Peace,
Mystic
Feathers in Hair
World's Tallest Hobbit
MysticSang'ha said:
Same but, in your case, better stated! :hug: (I'm sorry to have barged in- compassion is just one of those topics that fascinates me.)
PureX
Veteran Member
Compassion is empathizing with another persons difficulties, including their flaws, because we know that we have experienced, or could be experiencing much the same things, ourselves. Pity, on the other hand, presumes that we are above or beyond suffering from the difficulties of the other fellow. Compassion looks the other man in the eye, as an equal. But pity looks down on him.MaddLlama said:
Understanding the human condition is akin to direct experience of the divine essence: when we realise what we share with those who wish to harm us, the antagonism evaporates. If it is true, it does not "become" anything, much less pity: it merely transcends resentment and in doing so releases the negativity etherically, so that only the positive remains. This I believe sources compassion for us and enables our hearts to show it in equal measure, on occasion, to either friend or foe.