Awakening the Compassionate Heart

Sometimes the act of compassion may be just in recognising one’s own fear and anxiety, those things which come up in relationship to people we meet. Often we sweep such anxieties under the rug for the sake of being able to smile and put on a polite social act; but is this really giving something of value to the other person? It’s difficult sometimes to convince ourselves otherwise, but I think it’s worth having the courage to be more in touch with what our feelings genuinely are; to really be there with that anxiety, that worry, with that subtle fear and discomfort. Then we can begin to see what effect this is actually having upon our ability to communicate and to share.

What this is pointing to is that the call of the compassionate heart is really one where living and serving in society, and serving oneself through making one’s life meaningful, must come together. In Buddhism we talk of this in the qualities of the Buddha, in whom compassion and wisdom are always interacting. Compassion alone can easily be drowned by the sorrows of humanity; one can easily be overwhelmed by the pain in the world. But wisdom acknowledges, comes into contact with pain and suffering, and allows it to be just as it is; and because it does allow the pain and suffering to be fully as it is, the clouds may clear a bit and one can look through another’s eyes and yet have a different perspective, maybe see what the opportunities are, what the way out might be.

This reflection by Ajahn Santacitto is from Awakening the Compassionate Heart.