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compassion?

genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
Compassion is often praised to the satisfaction of the one doing the praising.

But does the one acting compassionately imagine compassion is somehow "compassionate" or is s/he simply acting in accordance with circumstances?

Is praise necessary or even especially relevant?
riverflowlobster

Comments

  • ZeroZero Veteran
    edited May 2013
    I suppose there's 'praise' and there's 'gratitude'.
    It very much depends on each individual doesn't it?
    I find it challenging attributing any action to anything other than 'accordance with circumstances'.
    I think neither praise nor gratitude are necessary or relevant... but they do have their place in the pantheon of human interaction.
    riverflow
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    It is compassionate to nurture compassion.

    Ideally we would exhibit the quality without expectation of positive reinforcement or even self acknowledgement.
    The value of good companionship is reinforcing the good qualities and ignoring, deriding or allowing the lesser behaviour to die.
    @Silouan raises a good point of pride. Eventually one becomes 'ashamed' if good qualities are revealed. That is a growth of humility. Beyond that we neither care nor attempt to veil.

    The important thing is developing kindness, compassion, metta - whatever it takes . . .

    :clap:
    VastmindJohn_SpencerInvincible_summerkarmablues
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited May 2013
    No, praise has nothing to do with it. You encounter suffering in the world, and if you are in a position to do anything about it, you do. It's a natural response, a spontaneous outreach. This is why I've never been comfortable with the concept of "merit", and counting merit, and consciously giving it away. Maybe that's a practice exclusive to Tibetan Buddhism, I don't know. Is that a thing in Zen, too, OP?

    Anyway, one doesn't do acts of charity expecting to be congratulated. That would be an egoic thing, not a compassionate one. As soon as the thought arises that you might get rewarded (if only verbally) for your compassionate act, you've left the moment. You've lost the connection with the person/s you're motivated to help. Your motivation has changed completely. So it's not at all the same act anymore.

    Intention is everything. Change the intention, and you've altered the resulting karmic seeds for yourself.
    John_SpencerlobsterInvincible_summer
  • Praise is relevant if it helps establish a good frame of mind for meditation.
    lobsterInvincible_summer
  • Praise is an excellent tool. It's good for teaching a child the qualities you want to instill in her developing mind, and it's good for acknowledging when someone goes out of their way to help others, and helps reinforce that behaviour so they're more likely to do it again in the future.

    I think it's important to remember that most people (in the West at least) aren't Buddhists, and don't subscribe to anything like Buddhist ideals. If people don't receive at least an acknowledgement of their kind acts they will start to feel that they are being taken for granted, and so may be disinclined to be helpful in the future.
    lobsterriverflowkarmablues
  • upekkaupekka Veteran
    compassion is giving something (material or immaterial) to someone, seeing the need of that person, without expecting anything in return
    lobsterInvincible_summerVastmind
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