The Perfect Couple: Compassion and Kindness

"Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion."
Dalai Lama

"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection."
Dalai Lama

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
Dalai Lama

This morning, I came across these quotes by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, who is the spiritual leader of the Gelugpa branch of Tibetan Buddhism.  Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnation of the  bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, an enlightened being, who embodies the compassion of all the bodhisattvas.  Traditionally, a bodhisattva is anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.


According to Mahāyāna doctrine, Avalokiteśvara is the bodhisattva who has made a great vow to assist sentient beings in times of difficulty. He postpones his own state of perfect enlightenment until he has assisted every being on Earth in achieving Nirvana.  Each Dalai Lama expresses profound compassion for humanity. For me, much of what the current Dalai Lama  says makes perfect sense in regard to how to live one's life.  


Everyone appreciates compassion and kindness, regardless of their religion or even if they have no particular faith. The ability to commiserate with another person's pain transcends all religious and social structures.  It remains present on the most fundamental of psychological and spiritual levels for all people, and when one receives compassion and kindness from another person, it is an acknowledgement of a person's innate worth.  This recognition creates a sense of connectedness with humanity.  


People can live without strictures and dogmas, but all people need the acknowledgement of others and most importantly the affection of another person or living thing.  Aside from the spiritual aspects of sharing affection with others, on a purely psychological level, studies have proven that without affection or regard of some kind people fail to thrive.  Affection on the part of one person or living thing towards another is essential to a healthy life emotionally, physically, and mentally.


Lastly, and with this I agree one hundred percent, there continually exists the possibility for kindness in almost all situations.  Every moment of our lives presents us with an opportunity to engage in kindness, even if only in the form of thoughts, wishes, or prayers.  We make the choices to either act or respond in a kindly nature or to give into our baser instincts and behave cruelly towards one another.  I understand that certain situations require different sets of behaviors such as warfare or self-defense, but even in those instances kindness continues to remain a possibility.  As a member of the human family, we maintain an obligation to keep the idea of being kind at the forefront of our minds in all things that we do.  If we remember to move from love and kindness in all things, then we will go a long way in making not only our personal lives better, but improve the quality of life for humanity as a whole.


Some of the best people I have met in my life possess a perfect blending of compassion and kindness.  They have the ability to recognize and feel another person's suffering or pain as well as having the desire to alleviate it in some fashion.  Coupled with an innate sense of kindness for all living things, they exude a sense of calm, they radiate peace, they definitively make this world a better place in which to reside. All people suffer--it is a fact.  Even someone with the most perfect of lives has at some point experienced pain, anguish, and devastation.  I would argue that it is not the suffering though, that characterizes our humanity.  It is our ability to share someone's pain and attempt to ameliorate it that makes us human.  It is, in my opinion, one of the best qualities human beings possess.