Episode 78: Genuine Compassion

[This episode originally aired on July 19, 2022]  The Tibetan term for compassion—karuna—can be translated as “noble heart”  •  in the Buddhist teachings, compassion is almost always linked with another quality that actually changes the sense of what it might mean  •  in this episode I will talk about three such pairings: compassion with emptiness, compassion with wisdom, and compassion with skillful means  •  linking compassion with emptiness places it in a perspective that is less dualistic and less heavy-handed; there is a sense of playfulness and spaciousness and spontaneity  •  pairing compassion with wisdom introduces a certain accuracy, and the intelligence to know when to act and when to refrain from acting  •  without wisdom, we risk falling into “idiot compassion,” where were you just launch into a situation thinking you are going to be helpful, but end up actually making it worse  •  and thirdly, compassion is often linked with skillful means, or effective action  •  this pairing emphasizes the fact that compassion is not something we just dream about, but it shows up in our actions.