Fierce Compassion

Compassion - the active wish that the object of our compassion not suffer - is a key part of mindfulness practice. It can be applied to ourselves as well as to another person or sentient being, and ultimately, toward all beings. It’s an intention as well as an action to do what we can to alleviate suffering. Compassion needs to be balanced by equanimity - doing what we can, while knowing that the outcome is ultimately not in our hands.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding about compassion. Vipassana guru S.N. Goenka makes the distinction between true compassion and “idiot compassion.” He exhorts that compassion does not mean “lying down like a vegetable, waiting to get chopped.” Being “kind” is not the same as being “nice.” Sometimes the kindest thing we can do takes us out of our comfort zones. Many of us go out of our way to avoid conflict, even when the most ethical and compassionate action is to intervene to stop harm from happening.

Compassion does not mean letting people do whatever they want, if they are causing harm to themselves and others. Ultimately, to cause harm to someone else also harms oneself. We do no favors to anyone by allowing them to continue causing harm. Sometimes in order to practice compassion, we must act to stop someone from causing harm. Or we stop enabling them from harming themselves or others. We do this ethically and doing our best to not cause further harm.

True compassion involves deep looking to understand the root causes and conditions behind someone’s behavior, an attitude of non-harm, and both wishing and taking action for the relief of suffering and well-being of all. It is an active practice, not a passive stance.