Compassion is often misunderstood. This is partly because we do not have an equivalent word in English that gives the full meaning of ‘nyingje’ or ‘karuṇā’. It includes enlightened wisdom to eliminate the deepest level of suffering, ignorance. There is no weakness or pity. It is fully engaged courage and wisdom to stand up to abuse and harm, external and internal. Internal delusions become the chief enemy. Sometimes it is tough love, embraced by wisdom, and free of anger. The motivation is to help everyone, the victim, and the aggressor. Stopping the aggressor from engaging in harmful actions, lessens his/her future negative consequences. Stopping abuse prevents harm to the victim. This requires strength and courage, hence the analogy of the Spiritual Samarai Warrior. Strong and wise, but without anger or violence. Pure love bathed in wisdom, concerned for the wellbeing of all others.
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The six paramitas
The wisdom side of the path is so counter-intuitive that it often seems opaque and unintelligible. The more merit we accumulate, the more the barriers to understanding wisdom start to come down. As the barriers […]
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Healthy self-confidence
In the last post I discussed boosting low self-confidence. It is important not to overshoot and become arrogant. Therefore, ‘healthy self-confidence’ is our goal. Healthy self-confidence is putting no one down, not myself and not […]
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Contemplative or analytical meditation
The second type of meditation is contemplative or analytical meditation. In this type of meditation we think about a certain topic like impermanence, compassion, or wisdom (shunyata). When we get some feeling, understanding, or an […]