Compassion
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the wish to free all beings from suffering and the causes of suffering (negative actions and ignorance). It is complementary with altruistic love (the wish that all beings may find happiness and the causes of happiness), with sympathetic joy (which rejoices of others qualities) and with equanimity which extends the three former attitudes to all beings, whether friends, strangers or enemies. [MR]
Compassion (snying rje/ thugs rje)
- In Buddhist literature, the term "compassion" (Skt. karuṇā) is often used as a synonym for "great compassion" (mahākaruṇā)- the totally unbiased mind that aspires to the liberation of all sentient beings from suffering, equally. As such it is included among the four immeasureable aspirations. Compassion is said to become "great" only when, through proper training of the mind, such an altruistic aspiration becomes spontaneous and no longer requires any conscious effort for its arisal. The measure of having realised such a state is that one spontaneously feels a sense of intimacy and compassion towards all others, with the same degree of commitment and intensity that one feels towards one's most beloved. It is worth bearing in mind that in Buddhism, compassion should not be understood in terms of pity, which may imply a feeling of superiority toward the object of compassion. For a detailed discussion, see Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism, pp. 197-204. GD (from the Glossary to Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings)