A personification of compassion as represented by a statue in The American Adventure in the World Showcase pavilion of Walt Disney World's Epcot. A statue is a Sculpture in the round representing a person or persons an animal or an event normally full-length as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size The American Adventure is the host pavilion of the World Showcase within Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited and largest recreational resort in the world containing four Theme parks two Water parks twenty-three themed hotels Epcot is a Theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The park is dedicated to international Culture and technological Innovation.

Compassion is a profound and positive human emotion prompted by the pain of others. An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours Suffering, or pain, is an individual's basic Affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering. Empathy is the capacity to recognize or understand another's state of mind or Emotion. It is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism. Altruism is selfless concern for the welfare of others It is a traditional Virtue in many cultures and central to many religious traditions In ethical terms, the various expressions down the ages of the so-called Golden Rule embody by implication the principle of compassion: Do to others as you would have done to you. Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life The ethic of reciprocity is a fundamental moral Value which " refers to the balance in an interactive system such that each party has both rights and Ranked a great virtue in numerous philosophies, compassion is considered in all the major religious traditions as among the greatest of virtues. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Virtue ( Latin virtus; Greek) is moral Excellence. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual

Religious and spiritual views on compassion

The Buddhist tradition

Main article: Karuṇā

"Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. Karuṇā ( Sanskrit; Pāli) is generally translated as " Compassion " or "pity It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion. It is called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed. " - The Buddha

At the core of Buddhism is the idea that "unenlightened life is suffering" (the first of Four Noble Truths). Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Background Why the Buddha is said to have taught in this way is illuminated by the social context of the time in which he lived Thus from statement the fundamental basis of Buddhism is the concept of compassion.

In the words of Dalai Lama: "Compassion makes one see the picture clearly; when emotions overtake us, the lack of seeing clearly clouds our perception of reality and hence the cause of many misunderstandings leading to quarrels (even wars). The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism. "

American Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote: “Compassion supplies the complement to loving-kindness. A Bhikkhu ( Pāli) or Bhiksu ( Sanskrit) is a fully ordained male Buddhist Monastic. Bhikkhu Bodhi (b 1944 NYC) born Jeffrey Block, is an American Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the Loving-kindness (or "lovingkindness" is a term coined by Myles Coverdale for his Coverdale Bible of 1535[http//www Whereas loving-kindness has the characteristic of wishing for the happiness and welfare of others, compassion has the characteristic of wishing that others be free from suffering, a wish to be extended without limits to all living beings. Happiness is an Emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to Bliss and intense Joy. Suffering, or pain, is an individual's basic Affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm Like metta, compassion arises by entering into the subjectivity of others, by sharing their interiority in a deep and total way. Mettā meditation the practice of loving-kindness Mettā signifies Friendship and Non-violence as well as "a strong wish for the happiness of others" Subjectivity refers to a subject's perspective particularly feelings beliefs and desires It springs up by considering that all beings, like ourselves, wish to be free from suffering, yet despite their wishes continue to be harassed by pain, fear, sorrow, and other forms of dukkha. Disambiguation For the Wigwam album see Being (album, for spiritual or religious beingness, see Ego (spirituality Pain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm Fear is an Emotional response to Threats and Danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific Stimulus, such as Dukkha ( Pāli दुक्ख Sanskrit दुःख duḥkha; according to grammatical tradition derived from dus-kha "uneasy"

To increase the breadth and intensity of compassion it is helpful to contemplate the various sufferings to which living beings are susceptible. A useful guideline to this extension is provided by the Buddha’s first noble truth, with its enumeration of the different aspects of dukkha (suffering). Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Dukkha ( Pāli दुक्ख Sanskrit दुःख duḥkha; according to grammatical tradition derived from dus-kha "uneasy" One contemplates beings as subject to old age, then as subject to sickness, then to death, then to sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, and so forth. Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the Average life span of Human beings and thus the end of the human life cycle. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific A lament or lamentation is a Song, Poem or piece of music expressing Grief, Regret or Mourning. Pain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss it also has physical cognitive behavioral social and philosophical ”^[1]

The Jain tradition

Main article: Karuna

Karuṇā (originally a Pali word; also regarded as a Sanskrit word) is the Jainist concept of love. Karuṇā ( Sanskrit; Pāli) is generally translated as " Compassion " or "pity Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. In Tibetan, it is "snying-rje". Tibetan refers to a group of languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia as well as by overseas It is also translated as "compassion," a key concept of Mahayana Buddhism (see Bodhisattva and Avalokitesvara). Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta Avalokiteśvara ( Nepali: अवलोकितेश्वर, lit As mercy, it is the special kindness shown to those who suffer. Mercy ( Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, "price Kindness is the act or the state of charitable behavior to other people It is considered the indispensable complement to enlightened wisdom or Prajña. Wisdom is a concept of personal gaining of Knowledge, Understanding, Experience, discretion and intuitive understanding, along with a capacity In the Pali Canon In the Pali Canon, paññā is defined in a variety of overlapping ways frequently centering on concentrated insight Compassion is important in all schools of Buddhism.

Karuna is commonly summed up as wisdom tempered with compassion. Yet more commonly, especially in Mahāyāna Buddhism, karuna is one of the two qualities, along with wisdom (prajña), to be cultivated on the bodhisattva path. Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for In the Pali Canon In the Pali Canon, paññā is defined in a variety of overlapping ways frequently centering on concentrated insight In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta

In Theravāda Buddhism, karuna represents one of the four Brahmavihāras^[2], along with (Pali): metta, mudita, and upekkha. History Origin of the school The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or 'doctrine of analysis' grouping which was a continuation The four Brahmavihāras are a series of virtues and Buddhist meditation practices designed to cultivate those virtues Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. Mettā meditation the practice of loving-kindness Mettā signifies Friendship and Non-violence as well as "a strong wish for the happiness of others" Mudita is a Buddhist ( Pali and Sanskrit) word meaning rejoicing in others' good fortune Upekṣā ( Sanskrit / Devanāgarī script: उपेक्षा Pali: Upekkhā) is the Buddhist concept of Equanimity. Karuna is aptly described as compassion; the hope that a person's sufferings will diminish; compassion is the "wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering. "^[3]

The Hindu traditions

The prayers of Vasudeva Datta, a Vaishnava holy man (sadhu) from the 1500s, exemplify compassion within Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Hinduism. Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and In Hinduism, sadhu is a common term for an Ascetic or practitioner of Yoga ( Yogi) who has given up pursuit of the first three Gaudiya Vaishnavism (also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism) is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534 in India Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. He prayed to his Lord (Krishna) as follows:

"My dear Lord, You incarnate just to deliver all conditioned souls. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism I now have one petition, which I wish You would accept. My Lord, You are certainly able to do whatever You like, and You are indeed merciful. If You so desire, You can very easily do whatever You want. My Lord, my heart breaks to see the sufferings of all the conditioned souls; therefore I request You to transfer the karma of their sinful lives upon my head. The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्म, kárman - "act action performance" Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action" My dear Lord, let me suffer perpetually in a hellish condition, accepting all the sinful reactions of all living entities. Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering Please finish their diseased material life [through awarding them liberation from suffering]. " (from the Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya-lila, Chapter 15)

The Jewish tradition

In the Jewish tradition God is the Compassionate and is invoked as the Father of Compassion: hence Raḥmana or Compassionate becomes the usual designation for His revealed word. The Chaitanya Charitamrita is one of the primary biographies detailing the life and teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ( 1486 - 1533) a prominent Vaishnava Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. (Compare, below, the frequent use of raḥman in the Quran). The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran ^[4]

Sorrow and pity for one in distress, creating a desire to relieve, is a feeling ascribed alike to man and God: in Biblical Hebrew, ("riḥam," from "reḥem," the mother, womb), "to pity" or "to show mercy" in view of the sufferer's helplessness, hence also "to forgive" (Hab. Biblical Hebrew, also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Bible and various Israelite inscriptions iii. 2); , "to forbear" (Ex. ii. 6; I Sam. xv. 3; Jer. xv. 15, xxi. 7. ) The Rabbis speak of the "thirteen attributes of compassion. Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master " The Biblical conception of compassion is the feeling of the parent for the child. The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic Hence the prophet's appeal in confirmation of his trust in God invokes the feeling of a mother for her offspring (Isa. xlix. 15). ^[5]

Lack of compassion, by contrast, marks a people as cruel (Jer. vi. 23). The repeated injunctions of the Law and the Prophets that the widow, the orphan and the stranger should be protected show how deeply, it is argued, the feeling of compassion was rooted in the hearts of the righteous in ancient Israel. In Religion, a prophet (or prophetess) is a person who has encountered the Supernatural or the divine and serves as an intermediary The history of Ancient Israel and Judah is known to us from classical sources including Judaism 's Tanakh or Hebrew Bible (known ^[6]

A classic articulation of the Golden Rule (see above) came from the first century Rabbi Hillel the Elder. Hillel (הלל (born Babylon traditionally c110BCE-10CE in Jerusalem) was a famous Jewish religious leader one of the most important figures in Jewish Renowned within Judaism as a sage and a scholar, he is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and, as such, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history Jewish history is the History of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. Asked for a summary of the Jewish religion in the most concise terms, Hillel replied (reputedly while standing on one leg): "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah. The rest is the explanation; go and learn. " ^[7]

Post 9/11, the words of Rabbi Hillel are frequently quoted in public lectures and interviews around the world by the prominent writer on comparative religion Karen Armstrong. Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944 in Wildmoor Worcestershire) is a British author of numerous works on Comparative religion, who first rose to prominence with

The Christian tradition

The example of Christ has also inspired Christians throughout history to fund hospitals and other such institutions. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth A hospital is an institution for Health care providing treatment by specialised staff and equipment and often but not always providing for It is also Christ's example that challenges Christians to forsake their own desires and act compassionately towards others, especially, but not exclusively, towards those in some type of distress or need. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth This is typified in Jesus' statement from the sermon on the mount:

• "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. "

Compassion can also be kindness towards a stranger that is unexpected in most situations. Compassion can be linked to generosity, empathy, sympathy, and mercy. Generosity is the habit of giving without coercion. Often equated with charity as a Virtue, generosity is widely accepted in society Empathy is the capacity to recognize or understand another's state of mind or Emotion. Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person closely understanding his or her feelings Mercy ( Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, "price The life of Christ reflects for Christians the very essence of the meaning of compassion. It has inspired many Christians throughout the centuries to care for the lame, deformed, broken-hearted, sick, dying and those who are in need. Christian compassion extends to all, even to placing a primacy on loving one's own enemies.

In the Bible, 2 Corinthians also talks about God as "the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort" (1. 3). Hebrews 4:15 also talks about Christ as One who completely understands: who is able to sympathize, and have compassion in the fullest sense of the word. It says "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. "

Islam

In the Muslim tradition, foremost among God's attributes are mercy and compassion or, in the canonical language of Arabic Rahman and Rahim. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' The 99 Names of Allah, also known as The 99 Most Beautiful Names of God () are the Names of God (specifically attributes by which Muslims regard God Each of the 114 chapters of the Quran, with one exception, begins with the verse, "In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate". ^[8]

The Arabic for compassion is rahmah. As a cultural influence, its roots abound in the Koran. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran A good muslim is to commence each day, each prayer and each significant action by invoking God the Merciful and Compassionate, i. e. by reciting Bi Ism-i-Allah al-Rahman al-Rahim.

The Muslim scriptures urge compassion towards captives as well as to widows, orphans and the poor. Traditionally, Zakat, a toll tax to help the poor and needy, was obligatory upon all muslims (9:60). This is a sub-article of Islamic economical jurisprudence. Zakaat ( زكاة zækæːh zakaat or zakāh, has the implied One of the practical purposes of fasting or sawm during the month of Ramadan is to help one empathize with the hunger pangs of those less fortunate, to enhance sensitivity to the suffering of others and develop compassion for the poor and destitute. Sawm ( Arabic: صوم is an Arabic word for Fasting regulated by Islamic jurisprudence. Ramadan or Ramazan ( Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic ^[9]

The Prophet is referred to by the Quran as the Mercy of the World (21:107); and one of the sayings of the Prophet informs the faithful that, "God is more loving and kinder than a mother to her dear child. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics " ^[10]

See also

• Caregiving
• Forgiveness
• Humility
• Patience
• Tenderness

References

External links

• TED Prize winnner Karen Armstrong's video lecture on Compassion
• Armstrong's Compassion Charter blog
• Dan Rather Reports on compassion and neuroplasticity research, with the Dalai Lama

• Greater Good magazine article examines human compassion
• Compassion: Encyclopedia of Spiritual Knowledge.
• Beyond Sympathy: Learning to Serve with Compassion by Cynthia Wall. Excellent article that shows differences between Compassion and Sympathy.