Compassion is not something to keep locked inside yourself. It is something to express in action. This compassion must persist beyond the thought, “If only their suffering would come to an end.” If we focus too long on wishing for something that we never pursue and that never happens, we run the risk of falling into a depression ourselves. When compassion arises, it is the time to act.
17th Karmapa
from the book
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Further quotes from the book Interconnected :
- A genuine sense of affection
- Individualism or interdependence
- Gratitude
- The power of our senses
- The full vividness of direct contact
- Self-discipline
- Inner conditions of interdependence
- Dismantling the walls that separate us
- Extend yourself and connect
- You exist in connection with others
- Remaining indifferent to the suffering of animals
- The opportunity to love
- Our life is like a vast net
- Extending gratitude in all directions
- The air we breathe
- An important source of closeness and love
- The imagination to see the other as free and happy
- Self-reliance
- Knowing more is not a substitute for feeling more