Courageous Compassion

Compassion--the wish and intention to alleviate the suffering of others. It is the unconditional care and concern for all beings, the ability to realize and appreciate that everyone, not just ourselves, not just those we care for--but all beings--experience loss, disappointment, pain, and hence suffering. 

This explanation of the virtue of compassion with its double qualities of “wish and intention” is subtly different from what usually comes to mind when people think of compassion. Various dictionary definitions include the “sympathetic consciousness of other’s distress together with a desire to alleviate it” and “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” 

So on one hand we have “sympathetic desire, pity, concern.” On the other, “wish and intention.”

As with so much in Buddhism, “intention” is vitally important. Intentions lead to karmic consequences. But the use of intention here is even more than cause and effect. We do not just have sympathy, do not just feel pity and concern. We do not even have just the desire or wish to alleviate the suffering of others. We have the intention--the determination to act in a certain way. We have resolve. We are not passively hoping, which is certainly better than not hoping or not caring, rather we committed to doing something to help.   

But before we rush out to “do something” in the name of compassion, we need two other virtues as well. First, we need  wisdom. Actually we already have wisdom. What we need is our wisdom to be accessible and to function. Currently, our wisdom lies buried deep within our true natures. Our problem is that due to our bad habits and wandering thoughts that seem to refuse to calm down, that wisdom has little opportunity to rise from within us and be active.   

In addition to wisdom, we need a second virtue--we need courage. Courage is the mental and moral strength to withstand fear and difficulty. It entails firmness of mind and will in the face of extreme difficulty. It is a quality of temperament that enables one to hold one’s own and to not be overwhelmed when encountering obstacles.

How easy is it to be overwhelmed? Can’t happen to me? It can happen to the very best of us.

In the Western Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha, there are uncountable bodhisattvas, awakening beings who are dedicated to helping all others end suffering not just to end it for themselves. Widely known in this world and often depicted standing to Amitabha’s left is Avalokitesvara, or Guanyin, Bodhisattva. Avalokitesvara is often translated as “Great Compassion Bodhisattva” and “She who hears the cries of the world.” 

A very long time ago, Avalokitesvara vowed that if she ever became disheartened in saving sentient beings, may her body shatter into a thousand pieces. Once, after liberating countless beings from the hell realms by telling them the teachings of the Buddhas, she looked back down into the hell realms. To her horror, she saw that the hell realms were quickly filling up again! 

In a fleeting moment of despair, she felt profound grief. And in that moment, in accordance with her vow, her body shattered into a thousand pieces. She beseeched the Buddhas to help and many did. Like a fall of snowflakes they came. One of those Buddhas was Amitabha. He and the other Buddhas helped to re-form her body into one that had a thousand arms and hands, with an eye of wisdom in the palm of each hand. In this way, she could more wisely reach out to help all beings.

Whether you view this as a true account or a legend, there are some very important lessons here that can help us in our practice of compassion. Before we can truly help, we need to use wisdom. Often when we try to help others, we act impulsively and erratically, not wisely. We rush in to help one day and then feel like giving up the next. Without a pure, calm mind, we can lose our balance and fall from great enthusiasm to mind-numbing discouragement. 

Only when our minds are calm and our wisdom functioning will we know how to truly benefit others. The reality is that as worthwhile as it may seem, it will not do us much good to sit around hypothesizing about what should be done in various situations because until we face that particular situation, we do not know how we will react. Without a calm clear mind, our emotions, habits, fears will all come thundering to the fore and we will find ourselves not helping, but very probably making things worse. All our good ideas will be forgotten. Or if remembered, they won’t help because this situation will not be just like the one we had imagined. We had a plan for that one. But not for this.

It would be far wiser to dedicate time to the practice of learning how to calm our minds so that our wisdom can arise. By doing so, when our minds are calm, we will intuitively know how best to act in any situation, how best to help any being, with wisdom. 

What we also learn from the account of Avalokitesvara is the importance of courage. With courage, we will have the moral strength to persevere and withstand difficulties and our own negative emotions. When Avalokitesvara’s body had shattered into a thousand pieces as per her vow, she didn’t give in to her grief over how, despite all her time and efforts, beings were again pouring into the hell realms. She didn’t in that moment of despair give in to feelings of insecurity and confusion, and doubt that she was capable of making any real, lasting difference. She didn’t give in to her feeling of horror and become paralyzed by the enormity of her chosen task. She didn’t just think how her own body was shattered and give in to fear of what would personally happen to her. 

She did none of these.

In an instant, she resolutely determined to move forward, and she humbly beseeched those who had preceded her in perfecting their compassion and wisdom to help her. She courageously refused to be overwhelmed by what had happened. She calmed and focussed her mind and asked for help. Her intention and wish was not to be made whole for her own sake. Her intention and wish was to help all beings forever end suffering and attain lasting happiness. And this is why so many Buddhas came to help, like a fall of snowflakes they came.

In Avalokitesvara’s hearing the cries of the world, she is the embodiment of courageous compassion. We can learn much from her example. As we learn how to develop the wish and intention to help others, we need to stop reacting from emotions for unless we stop, we will continue to be carried away by our feelings, desires, and expectations. It will be like trying to jump in the ocean to to rescue someone who is drowning forgetting that we ourselves are unable to swim! Drowning along with someone who is sinking in their suffering will do nothing to help them.

We also need to realize that an individual’s circumstances are the result of their past karmas. We all reap what we sow. We should not get wrapped up in egoistic thoughts, thinking that “I” can fix the problem. It may very well not be possible for us to positively affect another’s situation. This realization does not mean that we should stop caring about others or dismiss their difficulties as being their own fault or not help when we are able to wisely do so. After all, just as they have planted the causes for difficulties, pain, and suffering, we have planted the same causes. So we are in no position to judge or blame others. 

As we wisely, courageously help others we need to remember not to be discouraged when what we hoped and expected to happen fails to happen. Instead, we should let go of our expectations and egoistic viewpoints and instead focus on the other’s situation. So often, our wanting to alleviate their suffering may be of benefit to them in ways we cannot foresee.

With the wish and intention to alleviate the suffering of others, with the calm, clear mind that is free from self-interest, with the intuitive wisdom that will enable us to act for the best, and the resolve to not give up in the face of difficulties and rising emotions, we will have the moral resolve to do what is right. To do what is courageously compassionate.