Compassion Quotes

Folklore and mythology, as well as man's catastrophic disregard for nature, are the meat of Joseph D'Lacey's horror. But the prime cuts are always compassion and surprise. ~ Adam Nevill

Spiritual literature can be a great aid to an aspirant, or it can be a terrible hindrance. If it is used to inspire practice, motivate compassion, ad nourish devotion, it serves a very valuable purpose. If scriptural study is used for mere intellectual understanding, for pride of accomplishment, or as a substitute for actual practice, then one is taking in too much mental food, which is sure to result in intellectual indigestion. (152) ~ Prem Prakash

Kindness is the sacred act to transform lives. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

The ultimate purpose of Zen,' I remembered the roshi telling me, 'is not in the going away from the world but in the coming back. Zen is not just a matter of gaining enlightenment; it's a matter of acting in a world of love and compassion. ~ Pico Iyer

From the Sun I learned this: when he goes down, overrich; he pours gold into the sea out of inexhaustible riches, so that even the poorest fisherman still rows with golden oars. For this I once saw and I did not tire of my tears as I watched it. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

This getting straight not only applies to people but to things as well, such as favorite music, disliked foods, special treats, avoided places, all your toys, etc. Everything must be rerun through your compassion machine. ~ Ram Dass

Contempt of others is the truest symptom of a base and bad heart,
while it suggests itself to the mean and the vile, and tickles there little fancy on every occasion, it never enters the great and good mind but on the strongest motives; nor is it then a welcome guest,
affording only an uneasy sensation, and bringing always with it a mixture of concern and compassion. ~ Henry Fielding

The new politicians resembled hyenas and foxes. In both hemispheres, the people quickly forgot. Compassion and rage shared the fate of autumn flowers, upon which settles hoarfrost: they had faded, withered, then died under the weight of rent, prices, inflation, soap operas and talk shows, family life, victories and defeats in stadiums. ~ Filip Florian

Ecclesiastes calls you the All-powerful; the Maccabees call you the Creator; the Epistle to the Ephesians calls you liberty; Baruch calls you Immensity; the Psalms call you Wisdom and Truth; John calls you Light; the Books of Kings call you Lord; Exodus calls you Providence; Leviticus, Sanctity; Esdras, Justice; the creation calls you God; man calls you Father; but Solomon calls you Compassion, and that is the most beautiful of all your names. ~ Victor Hugo

The self we wear must be discarded once a while to emerge anew, "Tyaag" to let go "Daya" compassion and "Shanti" must be adorned in the abode of thy heart, only then we shall become true warriors of peace, the lion of Durga and the music of Saraswati. ~ Abhishek Singh

Scream silently in your prayer; remember the pain of others. ~ Megan McKenna

Ultimately, it is impossible to separate word and deed ministry because human beings are integrated wholes - body and soul. It is both natural and necessary that ministers of mercy also minister the Word while they are in the process of meeting human needs, and that communicators of the gospel also show compassion with regard to the material needs of the people they are trying to reach. An integrative ministry means weaving together word and deed ministry as much as possible. ~ Timothy Keller

May your God
Extend to you
The same Love
And Compassion
You have Provided
To Others. ~ Kent Forrest

If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow them from behind. ~ Laozi

To feel overflowing love and almost unbearable compassion for all living creatures is the best way to fulfil the wishes of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Even if for the moment you cannot actually help a sentient being in an external way, meditate on love and compassion constantly over the months and years until compassion is knit inseparably into the very fabric of your mind. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Treat everyone with kindness, dignity, compassion and respect, irrespective of whether you think they understand or not. ~ Martin Pistorius

To one degree or another, everybody is connected to the Mystery, and everybody secretly yearns to expand the connection. That requires expanding the soul. These things can enlarge the soul: laughter, danger, imagination, meditation, wild nature, passion, compassion, psychedelics, beauty, iconoclasm, and driving around in the rain with the top down. These things can diminish it: fear, bitterness, blandness, trendiness, egotism, violence, corruption, ignorance, grasping, shining, and eating ketchup on cottage cheese. ~ Tom Robbins

There is a fine line between compassion and a victim mentality. Compassion though is a healing force and comes from a place of kindness towards yourself. Playing the victim is a toxic waste of time that not only repels other people, but also robs the victim of ever knowing true happiness. ~ Bronnie Ware

Compassion is a call, a demand of nature, to relieve the unhappy as hunger is a natural call for food. ~ Joseph Butler

Compassion, acceptance and LOVE is the cure to MOST of the issues that plague this world. ~ Yvonne Pierre

Compassion is always appreciated, whether it comes sooner or later. ~ Adele Faber

[Six principles that make for a good story:] 1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of a political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality: flee the stereotype; 6. compassion. ~ Anton Chekhov

If you saw a wounded person, torn and mangled, on the highway, the sight of so deplorable an object would fill you with compassion; the sight of your friends under the disease I am now speaking ought to move you much more, for it is tearing them to pieces every moment. Every moment it preys upon their vitals, and they are continually dying, yet cannot die. ~ Timothy Rogers

What a vicious circle we can put ourselves in: we have come to accept the notion of "fix me first," when part of the essential fixing we all need is to be compassionately involved with others. ~ Bo Lozoff

A real love letter is made of insight, understanding, and compassion. Otherwise it's not a love letter. A true love letter can produce a transformation in the other person, and therefore in the world. But before it produces a transformation in the other person, it has to produce a transformation within us. Some letters may take the whole of our lifetime to write. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

It is clear that something is seriously lacking in the way we humans are going about things. But what is it that we lack? The fundamental problem, I believe, is that at every level we are giving too much attention to the external, material aspects of life while neglecting moral ethics and inner values. By inner values, I mean the qualities that we all appreciate in others, and toward which we all have a natural instinct, bequeathed by our biological nature as animals that survive and thrive only in an environment of concern, affection, and warm-heartedness-or in a single word, compassion. The essence of compassion is a desire to alleviate the suffering of others and to promote their well-being. This is the spiritual principle from which all other positive inner value emerge. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

it seems to me that, on balance, soul/body dualism has been the enemy of compassion. For instance, the moral stigma that still surrounds disorders of mood and cognition seems largely the result of viewing the mind as distinct from the brain. When the pancreas fails to produce insulin, there is no shame in taking synthetic insulin to compensate for its lost function. ~ Sam Harris

I think I'd rather be liked than loved.
It just seems as if more criticism and chastening is shown to those we love, while kind manners and compassion are reserved for those we simply like.
So, I hope you like me. ~ Richelle E. Goodrich

We see people of kindness, compassion, and possibly even faith being told, "Because of a characteristic with which you were born, you are evil and bad." Anything that even implies such a stance is profoundly toxic. ~ Andrew Solomon

Let judges secretly despair of justice: their verdicts will be more acute. Let generals secretly despair of triumph; killing will be defamed. Let priests secretly despair of faith: their compassion will be true. ~ Leonard Cohen

It is not my experience that we are here to fix the world, that we are here to change anything at all. I think we are here so the world can change us. And if part of that change is that the suffering of the world moves us compassion, to awareness, to sympathy, to love, that is a very good thing. ~ Cheri Huber

Obedience, responsibility, rules and safety are loyal, inseparable playmates. But Love is their wise mother, who knows there are times to break them up, at least for a bit, lest they get into some kind of arrogant, bullish, mischief or completely shut out their other siblings - joy, common sense, and compassion. ~ Connie Kerbs

I believe that at every level of society the key to a happier world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities. ~ Dalai Lama

Love, compassion and concern for others are real sources of happiness. If you have these in abundance, you will not be disturbed even by the most uncomfortable circumstances. If you nurse hatred, however, you will not be happy even in the lap of luxury. Thus, if we really want happiness, we must widen the sphere of love. This is both religious thinking and basic common sense. ~ Dalai Lama

Tranquility, compassion, and wisdom are the components of fearlessness, not power, control, and remaining unaffected. ~ Susan Piver

As Jesus explained, the right things have to die so the right things can live
we die to selfishness, greed, power, accumulation, prestige, and self-preservation, giving life to community, generosity, compassion, mercy, brotherhood, kindness, and love. The gospel will die in the toxic soil of self. ~ Jen Hatmaker

Pressing the gun against his forehead, I locked eyes with his chaotic gaze. He begged me silently. He pleaded wordlessly. And no compassion filled me.

I hope you burn forever. ~ Pepper Winters

When you find yourself in need of spiritual nourishment, it is in the opportunities to serve others that you will find the abundance you seek. ~ Steve Maraboli

There are various positive side effects of enhancing one's feeling of compassion. One of them is that the greater the force of your compassion, the greater your resilience in confronting hardships and your ability to transform them into more positive conditions. ~ Dalai Lama XIV

To us children he (Mr Ewing) was our very own 'Mr Chips' and invariably we would each receive half a crown whenever we encountered him on his afternoon walk. If we were particularly lucky, he would send us to the 'Big House' for ice-cream – a rare treat in the early 1950s ~ Bill Scott

Compassion isn't morose; it's something replenishing and opening; that's why it makes us happy. ~ Sharon Salzberg

From compassion springs humility. The ego is verily a gateway to hell. The person who is egoistic is far from being religious. ~ Dada Vaswani

When we blend courage and compassion, assertiveness and gentleness, our essential strength and kindness support us in being where we are. ~ A.H. Almaas

Personality Self/ Ego Spiritual Self /Higher Soul/God Not recognizing the divinity in yourself or others Recognizing divinity in self and all living things Seeing yourself as separate from everything Knowing you are connected to everything Focuses on differences Recognizes similarities Intellect (Mind) Intuition (Heart) Hostility Compassion Re-Action Responding with awareness Past or Future Fully in the present moment Fear (false evidence appearing real) Courage Judgment Acceptance Right/Wrong Everything is an experience to learn from, both negative and positive. Better/Worse Everything has value. ~ Sabrina Reber

You have compassion but by itself it is not enough. It is almost as if you carry around inside you some dead thing. Some heavy black cinder in your heart that burdens you; a ponderous anchor that tethers you to the past. Until you can burn it away, you can never truly live in the present, in the now. Until you can live in the now, you cannot see things as they really are. Meantime you are a man who is wilfully blind. You have eyes and yet you will not use them. ~ John Dolan

Shouldn't we just admit the obvious--that the New Testament call to discipleship, compassion, and giving leaves no room for the way many of us are thinking and living? Is it time to get beyond the theoretical stance of 'I'd be willing to give up anything if God asked me to,' and start actually giving up things in order to do what He's commanded us? ~ Randy Alcorn

I feel an overwhelming compassion and understanding for another human being caught in a situation where the way out is so obvious to others but not to him. Dreams are so important in one's life, yet if followed blindly, they can lead to the disintergration of one's soul. ~ Maria Campbell

The essence of a mature human being in religious terms is the ability to see, to be aware of others' suffering and to be touched by it. ~ Megan McKenna

Often we withhold our affections, waiting first for love to be extended to us. The irony is that we are loved for loving. ~ Richelle E. Goodrich

Righteousness doesn't mean being right. It means showing love, compassion and understanding no matter what you think is right. ~ L.J. Vanier

Without plenty, the wealthy lack compassion for the poor, hoarding without sharing. Without law, the strong bully the weak, stealing by force. ~ Jacqueline Carey

Hamdi Ulukaya and Chobani have made the decision to feed 250,000 victims of the Somali famine. Their compassion speaks for itself, and is a shining example of how the business community can have an enormous positive impact on the world. ~ Amanda Lindhout

When I'm reasonably balanced in my personal and spiritual life, I don't have difficulty finding compassion for my addicted patients. ~ Gabor Mate

I preach that odd defiant melancholy that sees the dreadful loneliness of the human soul and the pitiful disaster of human life as ever redeemable and redeemed by compassion, friendship and love. ~ John Derbyshire

Happiness is an inner perception. It comes from simplicity, kindness, love, and compassion. ~ Debasish Mridha

You didn't feed from her," he said, and this was not a question.
"Swill poison? Not my kind of fun, little brother."
One corner of Stefan's mouth quirked up. He made no response to this, but simply looked at Damon with eyes that were ... knowing. Damon bridled.
"I told the truth!"
"Going to take it up as a hobby? ~ L.J.Smith

We need to infuse politics with ideas like compassion and empathy, and a sense that we live in an interdependent world. ~ Pankaj Mishra

The nature of compassion isn't coming to terms with your own suffering and applying it to others: It's knowing that other folks around you suffer and, no matter what happens to you, no matter how lucky or unlucky you are, they keep suffering. And if you can do something about that, then you do it, and you do it without whining or waving your own fuckin' cross for the world to see. You do it because it's the right thing to do. ~ John Connolly

I grew up with a lot of compassion and empathy. I notice when I meet other friends of mine that were raised Christian sometimes we have similar model of sensitivity, whether to our advantage or disadvantage. ~ Weyes Blood

The worst thing is to feel that as a photographer I'm benefiting from someone else's tragedy. This idea haunts me. It's something I have to reckon with every day, because I know that if I ever allow genuine compassion to be overtaken by personal ambition, I will have sold my soul. The only way I can justify my role is to have respect for the other person's predicament. The extent to which I do that is the extent to which I become accepted by the other and to that extent I can accept myself. ~ James Nachtwey

The greatest force of personal liberation is the decision to widen our circle of compassion, moving from focus on self to focus on service. ~ Marianne Williamson

Either appear as you are
Or be as you appear
Be like the sun in compassion and mercy
Be like the light in covering others' shame
Be like a stream in generosity and beneficence
Be like earth in modesty and humility
Be like the sea in tolerance
Be like death in irritability and anger
Either appear as you are
Or be as you appear
The Dervish Gate ~ Ahmet Umit

In this world, where we find ourselves, we need compassion more than anything, I think, or we are all alone. ~ Guy Gavriel Kay

The action of giving is in a certain vibratory level, meaning giving exists in a certain plane of consciousness. ~ Frederick Lenz

As for biblical or religious theory, I don't ever want to fight about the details of the story, I want to live the reality of the message. ~ Steve Maraboli

We already have so much abundance. We truly do. We need not search too far. It is within. The reason we fail to recognize this is because we haven't quite mastered the art of being. For abundance to prevail, we must have LOVE, gratitude, acceptance and compassion. ~ John Welwood

"When you lose your compassion for those in need, when you cast aside your capacity to care, when you ignore the plight of your fellow man, then the qualities that once allowed you to rise above and the virtues that once made you human are gone. ~ F. Paquette

Deep listening, compassionate listening is not listening with the purpose of analyzing or even uncovering what has happened in the past. You listen first of all in order to give the other person relief, a chance to speak out, to feel that someone finally understands him or her. Deep listening is the kind of listening that helps us to keep compassion alive while the other speaks, which may be for half an hour or forty-five minutes. During this time you have in mind only one idea, one desire: to listen in order to give the other person the chance to speak out and suffer less. This is your only purpose. Other things like analyzing, understanding the past, can be a by-product of this work. But first of all listen with compassion. Compassion ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

We can bring a heart of understanding and compassion to a world that needs it so much. ~ Jack Kornfield

Fiction is a kind of compassion-generating machine that saves us from sloth. Is life kind or cruel? Yes, Literature answers. Are people good or bad? You bet, says Literature. But unlike other systems of knowing, Literature declines to eradicate one truth in favor of another; rather, it teaches us to abide with the fact that, in their own way, all things are true, and helps us, in the face of this terrifying knowledge, continually push ourselves in the direction of Open the Hell Up. ~ George Saunders

Artificial Intelligence is not just learning patterns from data, but understanding human emotions and its evolution from its depth and not just fulfilling the surface level human requirements, but sensitivity towards human pain, happiness, mistakes, sufferings and well-being of the society are the parts of the evolving new AI systems. ~ Amit Ray

The virtues of free enterprise can become distorted by greed & delusion. ~ Allan Lokos

The Peace Panda Says: Without The Heartfelt Prayer Of Love And Compassion ... Even The Greatest Of Temples, Mosques, Synagogues and Cathedrals Of Humanity Are Spiritually Dead. What is Humanity Without It's Spirit? ~ Timothy Pina

When someone comes to a pastor or a close friend and says "I think I'm gay", rest assured 99% are. How we respond creates light or darkness.
Please be aware that when you've never heard anything positive about being gay and you've laboured secretly over this for ages, you don't make a declaration like that lightly. It takes an enormous amount of courage to eventually tell someone. This is not an empowering coming out though or finally finding a place of self-acceptance; the statement is cloaked in fear and shame. The statement "I think I'm gay" is not really about doubt or confusion it's more likely they are saying "I'm gay, but it scares the shit out of me and I don't want to be. Help!"
At that point the pastor or friend has the privileged opportunity to provide a place of safety and compassion that will lead them on into self-acceptance and an authentic life. Handled unwisely could lead them into years of internal torment. ~ Anthony Venn-Brown

Perhaps I am just a hopeless rationalist, but isn't fascination as comforting as solace? Isn't nature immeasurably more interesting for its complexities and its lack of conformity to our hopes? Isn't curiosity as wondrously and fundamentally human as compassion? ~ Stephen Jay Gould

As well as we know our grown children and relatives, we don't know how much energy they have to put into simply keeping their lives together at all. ~ Anne Lamott

The time has come for women and men to band together to jointly create gender harmony. We must gather in mixed group to plumb new depths of relational awareness, courageous truth-telling, compassionate listening, empathic sensitivity, and mutual healing. ~ William Keepin

Compassion can be roughly defined in terms of a state of mind that is nonviolent, nonharming, and nonaggressive. It is a mental attitude based on the wish for others to be free of their suffering and is associated with a sense of commitment, responsibility, and respect towards others. ~ Dalai Lama

He fights for his life but still remains everybody's friend. He "knows" whom to corrupt, whom to avoid, whose compassion to arouse, whom to resist. ~ Primo Levi

I truly believe that compassion provides the basis of human survival. ~ Dalai Lama

I could do without your sarcasm. (Kat)
And I could do without your bleeding heart. (Xypher)
Just remember, my bleeding heart is what gained you a shot at freedom. (Kat)
Queenie, it was a bleeding heart that put me in that position to begin with. The person I was trying to protect when I was taken didn't return the favor. The bitch was only using me. So take my advice: whatever compassion you have, kill it off. You'll thank me for it later. (Xypher) ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

The rich never have a chance of being neighborly to their equals. The best they can do is feel mawkish about the sufferings of their inferiors, which they can never begin to understand, and to be patronizingly kind. ~ Aldous Huxley

If you don't have compassion you won't be compelled to help. ~ Mark Helprin

If a man cannot understand the beauty of life, it is probably because life never understood the beauty in him. ~ Criss Jami

Start a rumor about
peace taking over,
love being the new black,
and compassion going viral. ~ Khang Kijarro Nguyen

Compassion is the willingness to play in the field of dreams even though you are awake. ~ Matthew Flickstein

I realized that it is these two things that staying with regrets offers: It can become the seed of compassion and empathy so that you can stand in the shoes of other people because you're feeling exactly what they feel. And it spurs you on to help people in the future rather than hurt them. ~ Pema Chodron

The worship practices of the people of God are to be marked by devotion to Him and compassion to the needy. ~ Max Anders

People may excite in themselves a glow of compassion, not by toasting their feet at the fire, and saying: "Lord, teach me compassion," but by going and seeking an object that requires compassion. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

O Lord, have Mercy and Compassion, for if Thou dost not have Mercy, who will have mercy?" The heartfelt prayer of this simple pilgrim epitomizes the quintessential Islamic attitude toward God as the source of compassion and mercy. No matter what one has done in life, one should never lose hope in His Compassion and Mercy, for as the Quran states, "And who despaireth of the Mercy of his Lord save those who go astray" (15:56), and "Do not despair of God's Mercy" (39:53). ~ Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The highest religion is to rise to universal brother hood; aye to consider all creatures your equals. ~ Guru Nanak

Knowing the bright, but clinging to the dark, you become a model to the world. ~ Laozi

When Moses was on the mountaintop, he discovered why God kept putting up with His rebellious, complaining children: God was "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness" (Exodus 34:6). He let His overflowing love control His anger. Whenever He did choose to be angry and firm, it was only after multiple, extended demonstrations of His compassion and patience. Today, God is still gracious and patient with us as His children. So when we are unlovable and selfish, distracted and disobedient, we need to remember His enduring love for us and let His example of love overflow onto us and our children. ~ Stephen Kendrick

Always remember, wherever you are, whether near or far, you had a mother who really, really loved you. The original mother. Once you've found your true inner guru you can never again be divided. Perfect union with the divine, through the grace of your real teacher, transcends time, space, death and all worldly limitations. Your real teacher is the original mother - regardless in which manifest or non-manifest form, or gender, she appears. The one who nurtures you and the one who also, out of wisdom and compassion, corrects you if you are misguided. ~ Zeena Schreck

In my estimation it's silly to go out and spend your time aiding people if you don't have your own act together yet. So I'd rather you spend the time, get it right, and it'll all work out a lot better. ~ Frederick Lenz

It was intentional and inhuman. It was like seeing the face of God and finding no compassion there. ~ James S.A. Corey

Perfect Love Is Prepared In Five Dishes:
Mercy - Love Extended,
Grace - Love Revealed,
Favor - Love Inclined
Goodness - Love Defined and
Compassion - Love In Motion.
Come Hungry. ~ Martin Uzochukwu Ugwu

Make the Universal personal and you become richer, wiser and stronger. Make the personal Universal and you will find freedom, compassion and love ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

I think if our new direction in all our relationships is friendship, compassion, and enjoyment, we will easily be able to break our old cycle of bad habits and develop something deeper and more meaningful ~ Evan Sutter

I've always been serious that way, trying to evolve to a more conscious state. Funny thing about that,though. You tweak yourself,looking for more love, less lust, more compassion, less jealousy. You keep tweaking, keep adjusting those knobs until you can no longer find the original settings. In some sense,the original settings are exactly what I'm looking for-a return to the easygoing guy i was before my world got complicated, the nice guy who took things as they came and laughed so hard the blues would blow away in the summer wind. ~ Bill Withers