Hi Everybody!
Please come in for a break and see these fantastic lectures I found for You.
What is Compassion?
My Lessons:
Ten years ago, my Mom told me I did not have enough compassion for others. I remember saying: "whatever you say Mom" and going on with my chores. A few years later Mom left the planet suddenly from quick heart attack. She was here alive and well one day but gone the next. Dad was still here in a Nursing Home from effects from a stroke 15 years before. I stepped up to the plate for Dad when Mom left. It was my daily trips to the nursing home to see Dad and all his friends that began my journey into lessons in Compassion. Everyone living in that nursing home was there because they could not take care of themselves in independent life.
I watched all the old people help each other get to the lunch room, which was a long process. Some could walk. Others held on to the wall rail. Some were in wheelchairs and could roll themselves to the table (like Dad). Some had to be lifted to the chairs and wheeled in. They all taught me compassion by example. Maybe these people did not have the quality of life that we have, but they were very much alive. We had meals together, shared all holidays, all the trials and tribulations of daily life, laughter and tears!
One of the old ladies asked me everyday: "how tall are you?" Everyday I would say 5'6". Then she would say: Me too. That was it-that was all she could say-one question-how tall are You? Then she would smile a big smile and roll up to the table. I know she loved seeing me by the way her eyes lit up, but she just could not talk any other words.
Dad could still talk, but his ideas where somewhat disconnected from a severe stroke years before. He thought he owned the whole nursing home and it was our house as he did not remember the ranch house he built. One day Dad and I were sitting in the living room watching football on the big T V. Out of silence he asked me: 'when did I become a rich bitch?' As this was not normal talk for Dad, I asked him what was he talking about. He demanded to know what made me go out and buy a Big T.V.!!!
He was mad that I spent too much of his money on this T.V. (Of course, I did not buy the T.V. as it was property of the nursing home). So I did the only thing I could do-I lied. I told Dad, I did not buy the T. V. but the Church had donated it to "his" living room. Then everything was okay and we went back to watching the game.
One more quick story, then we will go on to the lesson on compassion I found for You today!
The Head Nurse met me at the door one day and invited me to her office to a discuss a problem my Dad had that morning. It seems Dad had forked some old man with his fork. The Nurse wanted me to tell Dad he could not fork people. So I had a little chat with Dad and asked him if he remembered stabbing someone with a fork. Yes, he remembered that. I asked what happened. He told me the old man came over to his table and tried to take some food off Dad's plate so he stabbed his hand with the fork. I tried the logical approach by telling Dad he could not stab anyone else. He said he wouldn't, so I left the room to go back to the office. When I got to the door, I heard Dad saying: unless the s.o.b. sticks his hand in my plate to take some food.
I reported to the nurse that the problem was the other man, not Dad. I said Dad agreed not to fork anyone unless their hand is in his plate. Problem solved-the old man never put his hand near Dad's plate again.
I did not know when I was a little girl, I would one day grow up and have a discussion with my Dad about forking someone. You never know what will be around the corner in your life. Since the 'forking incident', I have made one new plan in my life: If I go to a nursing home, I am taking my own fork!~
The 2 lectures I have for You tonight could be the most important words You will ever hear. I hope everyone in the World will view this information. Enjoy!
Compassion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compassion is the virtue of empathy for the suffering of others. It is regarded as a fundamental part of human love, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection andhumanism —foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.
Compassion is often regarded as emotional in nature, and there is an aspect of compassion which regards a quantitative dimension, such that individual's compassion is often given a property of "depth," "vigour," or "passion." The etymology of "compassion" is Latin, meaning "co-suffering." More virtuous than simple empathy, compassion commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering. It is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism. Inethical terms, the various expressions down the ages of the so-called Golden Ruleembody by implication the principle of compassion: Do to others what you would have them do to you.[1]
The English noun compassion, meaning to suffer together with, comes from the Latin. Itsprefix com- comes directly from com, an archaic version of the Latin preposition and affixcum (= with); the -passion segment is derived from passus, past participle of thedeponent verb patior, patī, passus sum. Compassion is thus related in origin, form and meaning to the English noun patient (= one who suffers), from patiens, present participleof the same patior, and is akin to the Greek verb πάσχειν (= paskhein, to suffer) and to itscognate noun πάθος (= pathos).[2][3] Ranked a great virtue in numerous philosophies, compassion is considered in almost all the major religious traditions as among the greatest of virtues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion
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Centrality of Compassion in Human Life and Society
Uploaded by StanfordUniversity on Oct 22, 2010
October 14, 2010 - His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaks on the centrality of compassion in Maples Pavilion at Stanford University. He shares his thoughts on the necessity of friendship, altruism, family, selflessness, and religion, from the perspectives of such wide-ranging disciplines as education, social psychology and the neurosciences.
Stanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/
Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford:
http://ccare.stanford.edu/node
Dalai Lama Home:
http://www.dalailama.com/
Charter for Compassion:
http://charterforcompassion.org/
Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford
Stanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/
Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford:
http://ccare.stanford.edu/node
Dalai Lama Home:
http://www.dalailama.com/
Charter for Compassion:
http://charterforcompassion.org/
Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford
Category:
The link below is to the You Tube Video Site. The explanation of the video at this link is below if you care to learn more about application.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_xqCg2nIQ8&playnext=1&list=PL3A1585C4EDE6E82D&feature=results_video
Role of Compassion in Education and Wider
Societal Context
Uploaded by StanfordUniversity on Oct 28, 2010
October 15, 2010 - This session focuses on the place of compassion, both in individuals" lives and in larger societal contexts, such as understanding across peoples and cultures as well as the future course of education." It examines how compassion and altruism can be brought into social and educational systems and what the benefits might be.
SStanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/
The Dalai Lama at Stanford:
http://dalailama.stanford.edu/
Stanford Institute for Neuroinnovation and Translational Neuroscience (SINTN):
http://neuroscience.stanford.edu/
Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford (CCARE):
http://ccare.stanford.edu/node
Dalai Lama Home:
http://www.dalailama.com/
Charter for Compassion:
http://charterforcompassion.org/
Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford
SStanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/
The Dalai Lama at Stanford:
http://dalailama.stanford.edu/
Stanford Institute for Neuroinnovation and Translational Neuroscience (SINTN):
http://neuroscience.stanford.edu/
Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford (CCARE):
http://ccare.stanford.edu/node
Dalai Lama Home:
http://www.dalailama.com/
Charter for Compassion:
http://charterforcompassion.org/
Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford
Category:
Of course, one more great Lecture:
just push play
Harry's Last Lecture on a Meaningful Life:
The Dalai Lama
Uploaded by StanfordUniversity on Oct 22, 2010
October 14, 2010 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama presents the 2010 Rathbun Lecture, sharing his reflections on how to lead a fulfilling life of purpose and moral values. He focuses on how one can be a valuable member of society and life a live filled with compassion even in the modern world.
The Rathbun Lecture was part of the Dalai Lama's 2010 trip to Stanford. In addition to the Rathbun lecture, His Holiness gave two other public speeches to members of the Stanford community. The Dalai Lama is the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet as well as being a global icon.
Stanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/
The Dalai Lama at Stanford
http://dalailama.stanford.edu/
Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford
The Rathbun Lecture was part of the Dalai Lama's 2010 trip to Stanford. In addition to the Rathbun lecture, His Holiness gave two other public speeches to members of the Stanford community. The Dalai Lama is the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet as well as being a global icon.
Stanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/
The Dalai Lama at Stanford
http://dalailama.stanford.edu/
Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford
Category:
Compassion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Continued text from above:
Religious and spiritual views
[edit]Judaism
In the Jewish tradition, God is the Compassionate and is invoked as the Father of Compassion:[4] hence Raḥmana or Compassionate becomes the usual designation for His revealed word. (Compare, below, the frequent use of raḥman in the Quran).[5] Sorrow and pity for one in distress, creating a desire to relieve, is a feeling ascribed alike to man and God: in Biblical Hebrew, ("riḥam," from "reḥem," the mother, womb), "to pity" or "to show mercy" in view of the sufferer's helplessness, hence also "to forgive" (Hab. iii. 2);, "to forbear" (Ex. ii. 6; I Sam. xv. 3; Jer. xv. 15, xxi. 7.) The Rabbis speak of the "thirteen attributes of compassion." The Biblical conception of compassion is the feeling of the parent for the child. Hence the prophet's appeal in confirmation of his trust in God invokes the feeling of a mother for her offspring (Isa. xlix. 15).[5]
Lack of compassion, by contrast, marks a people as cruel (Jer. vi. 23). The repeated injunctions of the Law and the Prophets that the widow, the orphan and the stranger should be protected show how deeply, it is argued, the feeling of compassion was rooted in the hearts of the righteous in ancient Israel.[5] Compassion, empathy, altruism, kindness and love are frequently used interchangeably in common usage.
A classic articulation of the Golden Rule (see above) came from the first century Rabbi Hillel the Elder. Renowned in the Jewish tradition as a sage and a scholar, he is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and, as such, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. Asked for a summary of the Jewish religion in the "while standing on one leg" meaning in the most concise terms, Hillel stated: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah. The rest is the explanation; go and learn."[6] Post 9/11, the words of Rabbi Hillel are frequently quoted in public lectures and interviews around the world by the prominent writer on comparative religion Karen Armstrong.
Many Jewish sources speak of the importance of compassion for animals. Significant rabbis who have done so include Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch,[7] Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv,[8] and Rabbi Moshe Cordovero.[9]
Christianity
The Christian Bible's Second Epistle to the Corinthians is but one place where God is spoken of as the "Father of compassion" and the "God of all comfort" It reads as follows: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. Jesus embodies for Christians, the very essence of compassion and relational care. Christ challenges Christians to forsake their own desires and to act compassionately towards others, particularly those in need or distress.[10] Jesus assures his listeners in theSermon on the Mount that, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." In theParable of the Good Samaritan he holds up to his followers the ideal of compassionate conduct. True Christian compassion, say theGospels, should extend to all, even to the extent of loving one's enemies.
[edit]Islam
In the Muslim tradition, foremost among God's attributes are mercy and compassion or, in the canonical language of Arabic, Rahman and Rahim. Each of the 114 chapters of the Quran, with one exception, begins with the verse, "In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful,".[11]The Arabic word for compassion is rahmah. As a cultural influence, its roots abound in the Quran. A good Muslim is to commence each day, each prayer and each significant action by invoking God the Merciful and Compassionate, i.e. by reciting Bism-i-llah a-Rahman-i-Rahim. The womb and family ties are characterized by compassion and named after the exalted attribute of God "Al-Rahim" (The Compassionate).
The Muslim scriptures urge compassion towards captives as well as to widows, orphans and the poor.Zakat, a toll tax to help the poor and needy, is obligatory upon all Muslims deemed wealthy enough to do so (calculated by assessing the net wealth of an adult at the end of a year)(9:60). One of the practical purposes of fasting or sawm during the month of Ramadan is to help one empathize with the hunger pangs of those less fortunate, to enhance sensitivity to the suffering of others and develop compassion for the poor and destitute.[12] The Prophet is referred to by the Quran as the Mercy for the World (21:107); and one of the sayings of the Prophet informs the faithful that, "God is more loving and kinder than a mother to her dear child."[11]
Hinduism
In the various Hindu traditions, compassion is called daya, and, along with charity and self-control, is one of the three central virtues.[13]The importance of compassion in the Hindu traditions reaches as far back as the Vedas, sacred texts composed over a period prior to 1500 B.C. While the early Vedas sometimes glorify war and the worship of the war god, Indra, Indra too is compassionate towards humans & humanity, though he is war god, he is discompassionate towards Asuras - The evil people who cause sufferings to human race, the later Vedas demonstrate a greater sensitivity to the values of compassion. The central concept particularly relevant to compassion in Hindu spirituality is that of ahimsa. The exact definition of ahimsa varies from one tradition to another. Ahimsa is aSanskrit word which can be translated most directly as "refraining from harmfulness." It is a derivation of himsa which means harmful, or having the intent to cause harm.[14]
The prayers of Vasudeva Datta, for example, a 16th century Vaishnava holy man or sadhu, exemplify compassion within Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He prayed to the Lord Krishna asking him to "deliver all conditioned souls" because his "heart breaks to see the sufferings of all conditioned souls".
[edit]Buddhism
Main article: Karuṇā
Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion. It is called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed. - The Buddha.[15]
Compassion or karuna is at the transcendental and experiential heart of the Buddha's teachings. He was reputedly asked by his personal attendant, Ananda, "Would it be true to say that the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion is a part of our practice?" To which the Buddha replied, "No. It would not be true to say that the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion is part of our practice. It would be true to say that the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion is all of our practice."[citation needed]
The first of what in English are called the Four Noble Truths is the truth of suffering or dukkha(unsatisfactoriness or stress). Dukkha is identified as one of the three distinguishing characteristics of all conditioned existence. It arises as a consequence of the failure to adapt to change or anicca (the second characteristic) and the insubstantiality, lack of fixed identity, the horrendous lack of certainty of anatta (the third characteristic) to which all this constant change in turn gives rise. Compassion made possible by observation and accurate perception is the appropriate practical response. The ultimate and earnest wish, manifest in the Buddha, both as archetype and as historical entity, is to relieve the suffering of all living beings everywhere.[16]
The Dalai Lama has said, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." The American monk Bhikkhu Bodhi states that compassion "supplies the complement to loving-kindness: whereas loving-kindness has the characteristic of wishing for the happiness and welfare of others, compassion has the characteristic of wishing that others be free from suffering, a wish to be extended without limits to all living beings. Like metta, compassion arises by entering into thesubjectivity of others, by sharing their interiority in a deep and total way. It springs up by considering that all beings, like ourselves, wish to be free from suffering, yet despite their wishes continue to be harassed by pain, fear, sorrow, and other forms of dukkha."[17]
At the same time, it is emphasised that in order to manifest effective compassion for others it is first of all necessary to be able to experience and fully appreciate one's own suffering and to have, as a consequence, compassion for oneself. The Buddha is reported to have said, "It is possible to travel the whole world in search of one who is more worthy of compassion than oneself. No such person can be found."[citation needed]
Jainism
Further information: Ahimsa in Jainism
Compassion for all life, human and non-human, is central to the Jain tradition. Though all life is considered sacred, human life is deemed the highest form of earthly existence. To kill any person, no matter their crime, is considered unimaginably abhorrent. It is the only substantial religious tradition that requires both monks and laity to be vegetarian. It is suggested that certain strains of the Hindu tradition became vegetarian due to strong Jain influences.[18] The Jain tradition's stance on nonviolence, however, goes far beyondvegetarianism. Jains refuse food obtained with unnecessary cruelty. Many practice veganism. Jains run animal shelters all over India:Delhi has a bird hospital run by Jains; every city and town in Bundelkhand has animal shelters run by Jains. Jain monks go to lengths to avoid killing any living creature, sweeping the ground in front of them in order to avoid killing insects, and even wearing a face mask to avoid inhaling the smallest fly.
[edit]Neuroscience
In a recent small fMRI experiment, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and colleagues at the Brain and Creativity Institute studied strong feelings of compassion for both social pain in others, and physical pain in others. Both feelings involved an expected change in activity in the anterior insula, anterior cingulate, hypothalamus, and midbrain, but they also found a previously undescribed pattern of corticalactivity on the posterior medial surface of each brain hemisphere, a region involved in the default mode of brain function, and implicated in self-related processes. Compassion for social pain in others was associated with strong activation in the interoceptive, inferior/posterior portion of this region, while compassion for physical pain in others involved heightened activity in the exteroceptive, superior/anterior portion. (Compassion for social pain also activated this superior/anterior section, but to a lesser extent.)
Activity in the anterior insula related to compassion for social pain peaked later and endured longer than that associated with compassion for physical pain.[19]
[edit]Psychology
A recent international survey suggests that compassion toward animals is correlated with compassion toward human beings.[20][21][22]Earlier studies also established the links between interpersonal violence and animal cruelty.[2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion
TOP IMAGE CREDIT:
File:Spirit of Compassion2.jpg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. |
en:User:Neelix is the originator of this photo, he hold the copyright, he released it to the public domain. This photo depicts a personification of compassion as represented by a statue)
Spirit of Compassion (Doctor), one of the twelve life-size statues "Spirits of America" flanking either side of the 1,000 seat theatre inThe American Adventure pavilion at Epcot theme park. http://www.disney-pal.com/Epcot/american_adventure_fun_facts.htm
.....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek. See You Next Time.
Sending Love Out to Everyone in the World. Hold on to Your Compassion and practice using this Gift.
I hope we can all rise above the things that divide us as humans and unite with two things that bind us:
Humanity and the Future for our Children and Grand Children.
We are all Created of Stardust and Dreams (truth according to my Mom), from Pure Love. Now You know where You came from.
Time to learn where we are going.
We CAN rise to the occasion together
for Pure Love. We MUST.
Please hold my hand. I do not want to be afraid of You anymore. I do not want You to be afraid of me.
Bonus: just push play
O+O
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