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Compassion
in Buddhism Pamela Bloom has been a practitioner of Buddhist meditation, with a special interest in spiritual healing, for more than twenty years. As a journalist, music critic, book critic, and travel writer, she has published in top publications in the country, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, High Fidelity, Musician, Downbeat, Parabola, Spirituality & Health Connoisseur, and Elle magazines. She is the Author of Brazil Up Close and Amazon Up Close, both of which won the Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Journalism, and On the Wings of Angels, about angel lore. She lives in New York state. Her excellent book, Buddhist Acts of Compassion, completely held my attention from the start. I was particularly attracted to the “compassion” part of the title. Sadly, compassion is a virtue that, it seems, we neither experience nor practice very frequently these days. Sometimes, stress is an “excuse” that may allow us to be distracted from the importance of compassion in our lives. For example, when someone is worried about having enough money to eat, or about that next promotion, or facing any of the every day challenges we all suffer, no matter our station in life, we may well ask, who has time for compassion? All too often, in the rush of things, we put compassion on the back burner and forget about it. The study of Buddhism as a spiritual discipline teaches us to balance our energies through development of an attitude of reasonable detachment. This kind of detachment can restore an inner sense of peace and serenity. Since we are in control of our reactions, we begin by changing our selves and the ways we react. This, in turn, changes how a situation affects us. (Buddhist detachment is similar to looking at a situation from a distance or with a more “objective” point of view.) We can learn to detach our egos from a situation to which we are reacting with stress or negative energy, leaving us free to practice and experience compassion more easily. Buddhism also teaches that unconditional love can be a bonus companion to compassion. The author, Pamela Bloom, shares several very moving, true stories demonstrating compassion: a Tibetan Buddhist prisoner was able to teach his jailers and torturers about compassion and strength. A Buddhist in a Boston community was able to connect with the thieves that stole his computer “because his compassion led him to forgiveness.” A husband and wife dissolved their marriage in order to share with others the love and compassion they felt for one another. They became Buddhist Monks devoted to “serving a higher good.” Bloom reminds us that compassion is one of the essential principles of Buddhism toward the spiritual goal to reach Nirvana through a supreme submission of the individual's desires toward the greater good of mental and moral purity. Bloom also shares a true story that takes place in 1972, about the Dalai Lama, who is a living example of compassion. These true stories will inspire you and offer ways to better understand how to practice compassion, one of the most beautiful spiritual qualities. Compassion is also an active form of sympathy, where there is an understanding of the troubles and sufferings of others. Another effect of these stories is that you may “see” yourself or people you know in them, so that you can form positive analogies about how to resolve some conflict in your life. An essential method to begin acting with compassion is to transform negative thoughts into positive ones. A positive attitude goes a long way to help achieve this. Jealousy, envy, hate, anger, and making snap judgments against people just because they are different from us... these are examples of some negative attitudes that must be adjusted into positive ones to promote compassion. When we quit letting ourselves be ruled so much by those negative attitudes, we not only find it easier to practice compassion, but we also find that we receive a surprising amount of compassion, as well. We all need compassion in our lives to some extent. Practicing it is a sure way to “reap what you sow.” No matter how difficult it may seem, we can practice compassion every day. This sublime little book gives us many hints about how to do this. I recommend this book to all those who would like to add a little more compassion to their lives. Marie-Claire
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