Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Active compassion

The followings are important messages from Thay in this video.

(Watch from 49:41 to 53:02)

When a person is corrupted, when a person is abusing his or her power to make other people suffer, we have to do something to prevent him or her to do so. And it is possible to do it by compassion. Compassion does not mean that you don't do anything or allow him or her to continue to do like that. No. That's not the right idea of compassion. Compassion is very powerful. And if you don't do anything to help him to change, you are not compassionate. You have to do many things in order to help him to change. The talking to him may not be enough. Giving him advises may not be enough. Sometimes we have to give, to create pressure strong enough for him to change. And that takes action. That is why compassionate action is very powerful, positive. 

When you see a person like that, you know that person is not truly happy. Because he is creating suffering around him or her. And the suffering will go back to him. That person would say that no affectionate people around. They don't love him. They don't appreciate him. So, that person suffers. So, we should be able to tell him to help him to understand that he has his own suffering because of his way of conducting his work, doing his work. And for a person who has not enough understanding and compassion, that person can't be a happy person. And when we see that, we will have compassion toward him or her. Even if that person has a lot of power and if abusing his power to make other people, so compassion is still possible. 

But as I said before, compassion does not mean you allow that person to continue like that. You have to do something. That is what you do can be described as the compassionate action. Not coming out from your anger. But your so willingness to act in order to help him to stop making suffering around him. Because such a person is not a happy person. And compassion for that person is possible. And the compassion has to be active compassion, Avalokiteshvara.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LA87R7A


Avalokiteshvara