For the Eternal God is God supreme, the great, the mighty and the awesome God who shows no favour and takes no bribe, but upholds the cause of the orphan and the widow and befriends the stranger providing him with food and clothing. You must too befriend the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:17-19
It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but sick. Matthew 9:12
The Lord said to Moses: "(...) You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, and they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans. If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. If you take your neighbour's cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; for it may be your neighbour's only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbour cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate." Exodus 22:21-27
Non-violence and kindness to living beings is kindness to oneself. For thereby one's own self is saved from various kinds of sins and resultant sufferings and is able to secure his own welfare. Mahavira.
You can't imitate Christ by imitating his external behavior. You've
got to be Christ. Then you'll know exactly what to do in a particular
situation, given your temperament, your character, and the character and
temperament of the person you're dealing with. No one has to tell
you. But to do that, you must be what Christ was. An external imitation
will get you nowhere. If you think that compassion implies softness,
there's no way I can describe compassion to you, absolutely no way, because
compassion can be very hard. Compassion can be very rude, compassion
can jolt you, compassion can roll up its sleeves and operate on you. Compassion
is all kinds of things. Compassion can be very soft, but there's
no way of knowing that. It's only when you become love - in other
words, when you have dropped your illusions and attachments - that you
will know. DeMello, Anthony. Awareness. P.96. Submitted to L-Center
Discussion Group by Gary Horn mailto:ghorn@uswest.com
We should be able to refuse to live if the price of living be the torture of sentient beings. Mahatma Ghandi.
Until we extend our circle of compassion to include every living creature we cannot enjoy "World Peace." Albert Schweitzer.
Which religion gives the greatest joy to God? That which inspires human beings to practice Ahimsa (non-violence) and compassion to all creatures. Vallabha Acharya.
(...) we see that no person is without a sense of compassion, or a sense of shame, or a sense of courtesy, or a sense of right and wrong. The sense of compassion is the beginning of humanity; (...). Mencius, a Confucian philosopher, quoted after: Novak, Philip, The World's Wisdom. P.136.
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world. Tao Te Ching 67, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom. P.164.
True morality includes compassion for others in their ignorant wrongdoings. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.77.
One whose heart is filled with the love of God cannot willfully hurt anyone. When you love God without reservation, He fills your heart with unconditional love for all. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.117.
Everyone in the world. whether man or woman,
is dying and continually passing through the agony of death.
Regard their words as the final injunctions
which a father gives his son. In this way
consideration and compassion may grow in your heart,
and the root of hatred and jealousy may be cut away.
(...)
Rumi, Mathnawi VI, 761-768, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.72.
Visiting the sick always brings benefits.
Maybe the sick person is a hidden saint,
or maybe he is a friend of the Way, (...)
Even if he is your enemy,
your visit might turn him into a friend,
or at least lessen his dislike of you.
There is much more to be said,
but so as not to be tedious, the gist is this:
befriend the whole community.
Rumi, Mathnawi I, 2140 ... quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.169.
The Buddhist concept of compassion (in Sanskrit, karuna) does have similarities to the kind of love that Christian theologians call agape (in Greek, "spiritual love" as opposed to eros, "sexual love"). Both karuna and agape can be characterized as pure, selfless love that transcends petty human preoccupations. Nevertheless, (...) In Buddhism, there is no self, soul, or God - nothing to relate to, or to give up, in the expression of compassion. Instead, it is perceived as simply and absolutely the natural thing to do. Jack Maguire. (2001). Essential Buddhism. P.147.
To engender altruism, or compassion, in myself, I practice certain mental exercises which promote love toward all sentient beings, including especially my so-called enemies. For example, I remind myself that it is the actions of human beings rather than human beings themselves that make them my enemy. Given a change in behavior that same person could easily become a good friend. Freedom in Exile. The Autobiography of Dalai Lama. P.207.
If a man has some spiritual gift and feels compassion for those who do not have it, he preserves the gift because of his compassion. But a boastful man will lose it through succumbing to the temptations of boastfulness. St. Mark the Ascetic (4th Century C.E.), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.110.
See the related subjects: Charity, Filial Piety, Human Love, Justice, Mercy, Righteousness, Service, Tolerance
Last updated: 2007/01/01