Compassion is a great blessing of God upon the mankind.

A compassionate person
is kind to every living being on the Earth. If we have compassion for others only then
others have compassion for us. A compassionate person is loved by everyone.
People dont ignore his plight. When he is in need they try to help him in whatever
way they can in gratitude. People dont want to lose a kind and compassionate
friend.
Therefore, people who are helped in their need must also help others in need with
responsibility.

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We live in a world which lacks compassion. The sad reality of humanity is that the
vast majority of people ignore the suffering of others. Perhaps they many turn a blind
eye to others for their own survival.

We often learn compassion only after we have suffered ourselvesperhaps

experiencing sickness, accident, illness, job loss, marriage breakdown, death of a
loved one, prejudice, discrimination, social scorn, bad luck etc.

***
What is compassion? It has two components. First, compassion means to put
yourself in another persons shoes, and ask yourself the following: What if I were that
person? How would I feel? So, compassion means to develop an awareness of the
suffering in another person.
Compassion has a second component. Once you have an awareness of the
suffering, you must respond appropriately. So compassion also means to
embrace the Golden Ruletreat others as you desire to be treated. Never do
anything to others what you would not like them to do to you.- (Confucius) If you
witness someone who is in pain, or requires assistance, or asks for help, you must
come to their aid, you must lend a hand, you must offer assistance.
***
On a more general level, compassion means to have genuine concern for all of
humanity, not just your own tribe. It is my view that most people are compassionate
to members of their own family, such as spouse, and children, but are blind or
indifferent to the suffering of others, such as strangers.
Compassion also means to practise random acts of kindness and expect nothing
in return. For example, If you see someone on the street, and that person requests
some change, give it to them. Or give a donation to a worthy charity. Or donate your
forgotten clothing to Goodwill..
Finally, compassion means to believe in the dignity, respect, equality, justice
of everyone. It means to live peacefully and avoid engaging in violent behavior. We
can agree to disagree, and still live peacefully. For instance, I am apposed to the
wearing of the naqab at citizenship ceremonies in Canada, and have expressed my
views to anyone who will listen, but I have no intention of engaging in acts of
prejudice or discrimination. If a woman desires to wear the head-to-toe veil, this is
fine with me.
***
Continually, I witness the suffering in my city, country, and in other parts of
the world. Often when reading the paper, or watching the news, or perusing content
on the Internet, I am continually reminded by the reality that the vast majority of
humanity is suffering, and that most of us turn a blind eye. These unfortunate souls
suffer because of war, poverty, disease, famine, religious extremism, environmental
disaster, hatred, and more. Their suffering only ends the moment they take their last
breathe. It rarely is extinguished by the compassion of the Super Powers, such as
Russia, China, and the United States, who spend more money, time, effort on
military hardware to defend the next enemy (real or imagined) than foreign aid to the
poorest countries in the Third World.
In my own city, I have witnessed the lack of compassion. For the past four years, Ive
walked the streets of Toronto with my camera, documenting the homeless sprawled
out on the sidewalks and poor who beg for a handout. They are completely ignored
by 99% of the people who somehow believe these unfortunate and unlucky souls
dont deserve their support. Sadly, it would seem that most strangers who pass the
downtrodden blame the victim. It is your own fault. You are a lazy $^&& sod who
doesnt deserve my assistance. I work hard for my money. Why should I share
anything with you?

Over the year, I have witnessed first hand the lack of compassion by our public
institutions. For instance, the Catholic Churchs shoddy treatment of homosexuals,
wilful blindness to priests who were sexual deviants, opposing those who embrace
same-sex marriage for love. The religious fundamentalism of Christians and Islamic
extremists who express intolerance to anyone who doesnt support their own narrow
view of morality and faith. During our recent election, I read about and watched on
television the indifference of Prime Minister Stephen Harper toward the refugee crisis
in Syria. His apathetic response cost him his job. I look back into history, make note
of how the Nazis treated the Jews, how an American President made the decision to
dropped atomic bombs on innocent people, how Islamic extremists steered planes
into the Twin towers, incinerating innocent people.

Most recently, I witnessed the general lack of compassion toward the elderly in our
healthcare system. This past March, while mum descended into death at a particular
hospital in Toronto, I witnessed first hand the indifference by several of the nurses
and a doctor to her suffering. Their conduct was appalling, so shocking- that I felt
compelled to file a complaint against one doctor with the College of Physicians and
Surgeons and another against two nurses at the College of Nurses. (I was told that
the COPS receives 4,000 complaints a year against doctors.)
***
Why is there a lack of compassion in the world? Tribalism, individualism,
secularism, religious extremism, social Darwinism, greed, envy, popular culture,
prejudice, racism, hatred, revenge, indifference, the capitalist economy contribute to
the general lack of compassion.
Some people are narcissistic. In fact, I have met more than a few. According to
Psychology Today, the Lack of empathy is one of the most striking features of
people with narcissistic personality disorder. The narcissist in blind to the pain he or
she inflicts on others. Nor does the narcissist take the time to understand the other
persons perceptions, feelings, view of the world. The narcissist is unable to imagine
walking in another persons shoes. Unfortunately, some people in power have
narcissistic personality traits.

Living in a secular society doesnt help the cause to educate people on compassion.
Traditionally, people learned how to be ethical and moral by attending church. Now,
the vast majority dont.

Living in a world focused on success, individualism, material possessions, fame,

fortune, me. doesnt help the cause.

Living in a world where the corporation focuses on making maximum profit doesnt
help the cause. I read this morning that Telus is cutting 1,500 jobs in Canada to
increase dividends for shareholders. My reaction: Utter greed. Where is the human
touch? The sad reality of the free market, capitalist economy is that the corporation
focuses on maximization of profits, too often at the expense of shattering personal
lives.

Popular Culture socializes the masses to be self-focused. Purchase yourself a

smartphone and take endless selfies, then post them to social media. Popular
culture also glorifies violence in video games and blockbuster movies, which
desensitizes us to suffering and acts of violence, such as killing.

When people are suffering, perhaps grieving a loss, it is often impossible to feel
compassion for others. The person who suffers focuses on fulfilling basic needs,
such as survival.

I am not sure we are hardwired for compassion. It must be learned. Unfortunately,

many people dont learn to be compassionate.

***

How does a person begin to develop compassion? Karen Armstrong explains in

her book, The Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life.
We must educate ourselves about what it means to be compassionate. there are
many ways, such as studying other religions or reading spiritual wisdom. If you are
secular, read about spirituality. Learn what Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, Gandhi,
Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama have to say about
compassion.
We must develop empathy-become aware of the suffering in the world. We can
Learn by watching film or television or the Web and by reading poetry, novels,
newspaper, and magazines.
We must look at our own world. Charity begins at home. How does family nourish
you? Is there compassion in the workplace? Are your friends toxic? Do they embrace
a similar moral code and compassionate view of humanity?
We must develop compassion for ourselves. Each of us has a dark side. Be kind
to yourself. Dont blame yourself for things you cannot control.
We must become mindful of the suffering in our families, friends, community,
country, and the world. In other words, we must become aware of other peoples
suffering.
We must realize we dont know everything, and that our way is not necessarily
the best way. Too often, we fail to understand other cultures, other religions, other
views and perceptions. Instead we gaze at others who are different through our
ethnocentric lens. We too often believe our way of life is superior.
We must take action help those who are suffering. We must discard the tribalism
mentality, discard the ethnocentric view, discard the sense of moral superiority.
Instead, we must embrace compassion as the highest of virtues.
We must practise Random acts of kindness, offering help to anyone who crosses our
path and is suffering.
We must embrace the golden rule-Do not do to others what you would not like
them to do to you.
We must love your enemies. (Not easy to do.) Its best to ignore them. Dont seek
to defeat and humiliate them. This will only create hatred and the desire for revenge.
Instead we must strive to understand and befriend. Karen Armstrong writes Only
goodness can drive out evil, and only love can overcome hatred. (page 182) The
supreme test of compassion is to love your enemy. We must learn to see sorrow in
our enemies. (page 188). Jesus preached Love your neighbor has yourself.
***
How I learned about compassion? My own suffering educated me on compassion,
such as job loss, illness, financial problems, marriage breakdown, death of loved
ones. Attending church as a boy and young adult also educated me on the
importance of compassion.
In recent years, Ive re-reading the New Testament and many books on Buddhism
and spirituality. Recently, I read Karen Armstrongs splendid book of wisdomThe
Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, which has provided both a definition and
steps on how to live the compassionate life. Her book ought to be required reading in
both the public and Catholic schools.
I also continually educate myself by visiting
the http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/website on a regular basis. Its a website
that offers numerous suggestions on how to develop spiritualityquotes, different
types of practise, films to see, music to listen to, art to view, books to read.
And like yourselves, I witness to the suffering of humanity. Im mindful to the
suffering in my city. Every time, I stroll with my camera taking street photos, I see the
countless homeless on the street, requesting pocket change for a cup of coffee or a
meal. Watching the news or reading the paper, Im aware of the suffering around the
world. Poverty, Environmental disaster, Genocide,Terrorism, Famine, Civil War,
Collateral damage from drones dropping bombs. As a student of history at university,
I read about the horrors of humanity. The world is drowning in suffering.
***
Human life without compassion is hell on earth a state of war. It would seem
that compassion doesnt come easy for many people. It is difficult to be
compassionate when you are suffering. It is difficult to be compassionate in a world
focused on success, material wealth, fame, fortune, rugged individualism. It is
difficult to be in a world ruled too often by corporations that has no conscience. It is
difficult to be compassionate in a world where popular culture glorifies violence in
video games and film. And so, we must continually work at living the compassionate
life.
Karen Armstrong reminds us: To become a compassionate human being is a
lifelong project. It is not achieved in an hour or day. It is a struggle that will last until
our dying hour.

Her best advice on developing compassion: Look into your own heart, discover what
it is that gives you pain, and then refuse, under any circumstances whatsoever, to
inflict that pain on anybody else.