Compassion Connecting East & West

March 22, 2021 Eastern Insights, Empathy - Compassion, Philanthropically, Sociocultural Issues No Comments

And North and South, of course, and everything in-between ― even past, present, and future.

Essential

A Compassionate attitude is to be received gracefully after sometimes earning it with huge effort and even danger to yourself. Sacrifices are unnecessary, but the person who is reluctant to make them can hardly attain a Compassionate stance. At least, this seems to me our all-human condition.

The essence of Compassion is universally profound and profoundly universal. [see: “Essence of Compassion”]

Depth

Compassion necessarily brings depth, even in superficial layers. After all, a pond has depth because of the complete pond, including the more superficial layers.

Only the total pond can be deep. Only the total person can be deep.

On the other hand, depth doesn’t necessarily bring Compassion. Necessary is also what I would call humaneness, a social orientation, an opening towards all humans, irrespective of nation or sex or denomination, and even – as on a children’s slide – to all sentient beings.

Our planet is small.

East and West, North and South are adjacent neighborhoods.

In-depth, in Compassion, we can recognize each other ― not just through ears and noses, but also through deeply overlapping patterns. In my view: the more profoundness, the more recognition.

That doesn’t make all people into uniform sausage. On the contrary, going deep makes one more sensitive to a myriad of big or small, yet always subtle differences. Also, it makes these differences more interesting.

“Hey, does this mean that to you? How fascinating!”

Not all about suffering

This may be a misunderstanding about Compassion. Compassion is SO much more than pity. It reaches all the spectrum of emotions, not only the suffering. Compassionately, one can see profound joy and happiness as well and rejoice in it.

It broadens one’s emotional pallet. Even more, it transcends emotions. This way, it connects all people in all circumstances at all levels.

Historically

You may recognize in the image the Chinese Bodhisattva of Compassion. [see: “Guan-Shi-Yin”] A beautiful element is that historically, this lady has substantially evolved from the Western Holy Mary, and both also from the much older African Yemanjá. From Africa, ironically, she travelled to Brazil where she met again with European Mary. Small planet indeed.

Of course, Compassion is as old as humanity ― actually, much older. Arguably, it came into being through the love of mother and child. This can even be traced in the human brain through neurotransmitters and structurally.

From that special relationship, probably, Compassion has broadened universally. In my view, this didn’t happen perchance, but through a universal – truly Universal – serendipitous necessity. Well, something like that; I don’t get it either.

Wherever there is extraterrestrial life, there is bound to be a growing tension between non-conscious and conscious processing ― thus suffering and the need to be treated with Compassion as well as the capacity for Compassion itself. I like the thought that this makes it infinitely trans-planetary.

Also, it may spread into the future on the wings of A.I. [see: “The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I.”]

Who can ask for more?