Today, I was thinking of the meaning of ‘compassion’. So, I looked it up. The first definition I came across was that that refers to the ‘understanding or empathy for the suffering of others’. But what strikes me about this definition is that there is a sense of detachment or passiveness, and perhaps more important, it is explained in a rationale way, defined by our understanding of others’ suffering. But, is it possible to truly understand others’ suffering? Human suffering is not the result of only external forces –actions of others, environment, etc., but by the contrary, it is mainly the result of our perceptions and responses to external stimulus, which are conditioned by our own experience, prejudice and moral that we have formed since we were born, first through our parents, and then through interactions with others and our life experiences. The other definitions I came across include references to actions we take once we understand or feel empathy for others’ suffering. From actions of omission –not causing harm, to actions of commission, which implies an active effort to provide comfort and relief to those in pain. Yet, these definitions are founded in the understanding of others’ suffering, and again I question whether or not we can truly understand others’ suffering in many occasions. So, I remembered what I read once in a book that a lady was reading in the Metro. And while I can’t reproduce the precise words and concepts, I believe there was a discussion on ‘compassion’ referred to love. That is, ‘compassion’ was explained as pure, unselfish love. It was not passive, but active, and it was not rationale, but entirely spiritual. It is only in the presence of pure, unselfish love that we do not need to understand then their suffering. We accept it without questioning what caused it, what he or she did or did not do that might have caused or prevented it. In other words, ‘compassion’ seems to me that is the ultimate love. And it cannot be mistaken by the love we have for those we miss and need, as that is in the end, selfish and, many times, precisely what keeps us from being compassionate to those who we claim to love the most. It is then when we are incapable of compassion for our own fault, as our prejudice and moral get in the way of accepting their suffering without questioning their character and their flaws. And perhaps, I just realized why I was thinking of ‘compassion’ today.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 19:52:52 +0000
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