The mind of compassion knows no bitterness nor judgment.
No good nor bad, no right nor wrong, no true nor false.
Only the wish for all beings to be happy.
~ Guanyin
"While I was in it, experiencing it, I felt like a tempest had beset me. Uncomfortable events and perceptions. My determination and willingness to observe (variable at best) is what carried me to a place that is a space in the spirit where I can grasp some small revelation of my Self.
...About this compassion thing --
it's turning out to be something very different from what I have understood it to be. It's not only a feeling of empathy, or wanting to alleviate the suffering of another, and the other meanings that are rather standard definitions. Compassion for all beings?
It's sometimes difficult to have an active compassion, even for those I 'perceive' as deserving of compassion. What of those I think don't deserve it? What of those who are violent, heinous criminals, murderers, child molesters, and rapists? The less horrifying end of the scale -- the ones to whom I react with indignation, distaste, jealousy, etc. Some examples - how dare you treat me like that? how dare you talk to me like that? Who do you think you are, being, doing, acting like that? <<<<<< All reactive thoughts to anything that threatens my precious image of myself at the moment.
>>>>> I'm a good person. I don't deserve this or that. I'm kind to others so why am I being treated like this or that? I reached out, so why didn't they reach back? .....on and on.
I discovered so many levels of it so far that my head is spinning! It is beyond insidious and pervasive. I think there are many sides to this 'thing' called compassion.
And I think it really must begin with having compassion for myself.
For me, this means initially practicing being with, and allowing without reacting to, the unwanted feelings that arise within me in correspondence to events. I believe the beginning of compassion is toleration of the part of the mind that throws out random definitions of events; pre-conditioned thoughts, to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
If I get into the story the mind wants to create, I suffer, and suffer unnecessarily for what seems like an eternity, and others suffer as well.
The mind can, does, and will try very hard to take away my innate free will.
In realizing the essential need to have compassion for myself first, and cultivating it as best I can, I then can realize that compassion for others is perhaps tolerating and allowing my own self-image-protection 'thoughts', or negative, fear-mongering 'thoughts' to rise and fall, so that I can begin to live from a place of all humanity's natural potential for goodness -- Spirit or Self with a capital S, instead of only self-mind. An admittedly daunting journey at times! I'm just starting to get my 'footing' in this place called groundlessness ---
the place, for me, that is Spirit.
