Quote of the Day - Dalai Lama

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   Kenna McHughposted 8 months ago

   
   "I really feel that some people neglect and overlook compassion because they associate it with religion. Of course, everyone is free to choose whether they pay religion any regard, but to neglect compassion is a mistake because it is the source of our own well-being."
   --Dalai Lama

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      k@riposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      This is such a beautiful quote!  I love the Dalai Lama.

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         Kenna McHughposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Yes, and a very appropriate quote, too.

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      threekeysposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      For some reason, I feel the word compassion has lost its meaning. What if we replaced the word compassion with tender-hearted or tenderness? Would that make the word come alive again.
      I believe we would be more tender-hearted with others if we could be more tender-hearted with ourselves when we slip up in life.
      The Dalai Lama can make the hardest things to sound so simple. But achieving a compassionate frame of mind or stance can take some people a life time or more.
      Thankyou for this quote today.
      Peace to you.

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         Kenna McHughposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         You have some strong points here. Perhaps, people need to learn more about their language - the meaning of words and such.  I like tender-hearted or tenderness.  I wish there were more Dalai Lamas in the world. It would be a much better place. Peace to you, you are welcome.

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   RTalloniposted 8 months ago

   It's important to take into account that compassion is not a simplistic concept, especially to be used by comfortable people to make themselves feel better about themselves when the world around them is in sad trouble. It is necessary to remember that the word is complex, replete with facets that run deep inside the same vein as its friend wisdom. Certainly there are simple compassions to be exhibited each day, but the word itself is much bigger than those evidences of human concern.
   
   Also, like the word love, the word compassion needs to be defined within context of its usage. Too often, when compassion is a factor in a situation the word justice absolutely must be a consideration, perhaps even a foil, because of neglectful or even criminal conditions that created the circumstances. The details in such cases can make compassion as complicated as love sometimes is.
   
   To add to the complexities, people often accuse others (even accuse God) of not being compassionate when they actually know nothing of the truth behind the details of a situation. Good or bad, back stories are crucial if we want to respond wisely. I suppose there could be religions that do not require members to be compassionate, but all that I am familiar with do call for it, as they call for wisdom, making those religions at least commendable in that area.
   
   As a Christian I belong to an organized religion, but that is not what makes me a Christian. We live in the days of grace that the New Testament teaches us about with clear instruction on how best to live for God's glory, the good of others, and ourselves. God loves mercy and He wants us to love it as He does. He desires for us to display His grace to a dying world.
   
   Love, mercy, compassion...they are all bound up in action. We may put our feelings aside and take action, but we can't just supposedly feel these things and take no action. Thinking that the feelings are enough is nothing. The feelings must be motivation to action if we are to call ourselves compassionate. 
   
   "Loving the unlovely" is a phrase sometimes used because we do not always feel like displaying compassion, just as we do not always feel like expressing love, but the phrase falls apart if we think we are better than those we consider unlovely. Honesty with ourselves about just how unlovely we really are and how merciful God has been to us does motivate Christians to action on behalf of others no matter how we feel at any given moment.
   
   The grace and peace of Jesus the Christ is the truest compassion and it is the beginning of our being able to display it to others around us. It is the only true joy we can offer others no matter our own or their circumstances.

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