Today is the 3rd day of celebration of Saga Dawa, the birth, enlightenment, and nirvana month of Shakyamuni Buddha, 2600th year anniversary. The results of all our actions are exponentially increased, so be good! Please avoid harm to yourself or others as best you can. Such blessings amidst all the Covid-19 fear, anxiety, panic, and grieving. How can we balance all this? Empathy, or standing in the other person’s shoes, is too close and often emotionally overwhelming. We take a half step back emotionally, while keeping our heart open. This allows us more rational heartfelt perspective, not being thrown off balance by the intense suffering, and not owning the suffering as our own. That way we can make better decisions how to be effective in helping others, while at the same time preventing burnout.
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How to cultivate compassion
People are often confused about how to cultivate compassion. There are several approaches. One method is moving beyond empathy to compassion. Empathy is feeling like the other person is feeling. We often “take on” or […]
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We can change
We are now in the second half of the month the Shakyamuni Buddha became enlightened – Saga Dawa duchen. The fact that enlightenment was in fact achieved by one individual means we all can do […]
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Recognizing others’ suffering opens our hearts to compassion
We must be careful when we tap into the massive suffering in the world, not to be crushed and overwhelmed. Recognizing others’ suffering opens our hearts to compassion. It does not close our hearts. This […]