'Thoughts on Compassion for Compassion'

 

Thoughts about Compassion and Peace

Eastern and Western mysticism inspire me through the ideas of connection and compassion. Below are some ideas and quotes that inspire me.

A bodhisattva from China, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

 

This is a sculpture of a Bodhisattva and symbolises compassion. The meaning of the word Bodhisattva is: one whose being has become wisdom. The Bodhisattva, it is said, is only one step away from entering Nirvana. When the Bodhisattva enters Nirvana, he becomes a Buddha, but then his connection with the world is severed. It is no longer possible to help directly.

 

The Bodhisattva refuses to enter Nirvana because he is so concerned with the suffering in the world and wants to continue to help endlessly. In this image, the hanging arm symbolizes passing on the flow of universal wisdom to us humans. The motif is 'From compassion for compassion'. Connecting and collaborating with the Light Side of the Universe is reflected in the headdress in which a Buddha is present.

Here are some quotes that inspire me:

 

Compassion is not an attribute.
It is the LAW of LAWS - eternal Harmony, Alaya's SELF;
an endless universal essence, the light of eternal Justice,
the right arrangement of all things the law of eternal love.
The Voice of Silence, translated from the 'Book of Golden Precepts' by H.P. Blavatsky

 

'Let your Soul lend its ear to every cry of grief,
as the lotus opens her heart to drink in the morning sun.
Let not the bright Sun dry one tear of sorrow,
Before thou thyself hast wiped it from the sufferer's eye.
Yet let every burning tear fall on thy heart and remain there,
and never wipe it away till the pain that made it flow is removed.

The Voice of Silence, translated from the 'Book of Golden Precepts' by H.P. Blavatsky

 

"In the silence of the mind you find the truth of the heart.
There is no road to happiness; happiness is the road.
Truth is the liberation of the mind and the peace of the heart.
Only by losing, do we find ourselves.
The path to truth is a path of love and compassion.
You can traverse the whole world in search of happiness,
but all you have to do is look within.
Truth is like a rainbow, it has many colors
and each one is equally important"

Rumi, Persian Sufi poet. 13th century.

 

“The home we seek is in eternity.
The Truth we seek is like a shoreless sea.”

Conference of the Birds, 12th century Sufi poem

 

"Your heart is not a mirror bright and clear
If there the Simorgh's form does not appear.
No one can endure His beauty face to face,
and for this reason, by His perfect grace,
He makes a mirror in our hearts - look there
to see Him, search your hearts with utmost care."

Conference of the Birds, 12th century Sufi poem

Simorgh = firebird, inner god

 

"If you ever attain a clear vision of the unseen world,
only then will you be able to recognise the Source of Love.
By the fragrance of Love every atom in the world is intoxicated."

Conference of Birds, 12th century Sufi Poem

 

When we recognize in how many ways we are alike and that we are inseparable, we are able to develop empathy and compassion. By developing empathy and compassion, we are able to move forward toward forgiveness.

Desmond Tutu

 

Self-analysis should lead us to inexhaustible compassion.
We should always keep in mind that every living being
is an expression of the Infinite, regardless of its external capacity.
The gods await, Katherine Tingley

 

Those who are free from hateful thoughts will certainly find peace.
Peace comes from within.

Buddha.

 

Peace is not the absence of war. It is a virtue, a state of mind, it is the disposition for good deeds, trust and right.

Spinoza

 

Peace is not so much a goal far away in the future as a means by which we can reach that goal.

Martin Luther King.

 

He who does not know inner peace himself will not find peace in his encounters with other people either; and never can peaceful relations be established between individuals or between entire nations until one realizes this.

Dalai Lama

 

If anyone thinks love and peace is a cliché from the 1960s, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal.

John Lennon.