Struggling for compassion...

Hey

Here's what I have been working on...

Thinking about power brought me to some observations.

The opposite of power is compassion. The purpose of power is the creation of the self. The little self thinks that it is increased by having power over others. The expansion of the true self is to see the connection with all others, and to be connected to all others is the road to enlightenment.

The pursuit of compassion then is so much more than the pursuit of power. And since I think I have had and used a little power in my day, I can tell you that having power is a whole lot easier than having compassion.

I say that to train in power is to train in the understanding of human need and to learn how to use those needs of others to your benefit.

They (the masters of virtue and compassion) say that to train in compassion starts with the four preliminaries.

They sit on a card on my desk at home. I read them everyday. I don't think I have ever wanted to understand them more than I do today. So I offer them to you.

Feel free to post your thoughts.

Les


In your daily life try to ...
1 . Maintain an awareness of the preciousness of human life.
2. Be aware of the reality that life ends: death comes to everyone.
3. Recall that whatever you do whether virtuous or not has a result; what goes around comes around.
4. Contemplate that as long as you are too focused on self-importance and too caught up in thinking about how good or bad you are, you will suffer. Obsessing about what you want and avoiding what you don't want does not result in happiness.

Pema Chodron
Tibetan Buddhist Monk and Writer.