The Heart of Humanity

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Albert Einstein

Why is it important to value compassion in our daily life?

Buddhists and Yoga practices are pretty much based on increasing well being and peace within ourselves and for other beings. Meditation and several ethical guidelines for a healthy life include concepts like non-violence, non-stealing, non-possessiveness and contentment with what we have.

The practitioners from Buddhist, Hindu or Yoga traditions have several practices to increase compassion. These practices includes compassion towards yourself and all people close to you, towards nature, as well as compassion towards your enemies. We can show compassion through our actions and words and also through meditation.

The power of compassion

Think of the law of karma; good creates good, the same rule applies to compassion. The more we show understanding and empathy towards other people, the more we are accepted and appreciated by other people. Compassion is a mixture of love and wisdom. It is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and experiencing their suffering. It is about sharing and understanding, as well as giving and receiving universal love. Compassion is about helping and supporting them who are going through difficult times. It is the act of thinking or feeling someone who is suffering, and sending them an intentional  healing energy. Envisioning them getting better and healing. Once giving compassion, you can be sure to get it back in return. Trust the universe.

10 practices that can help you to channel negative energy and frustration into positive and healing energy

1. Feeling of gratitude

Take a moment each day, to find gratitude of what you have. Think of three things that you are grateful for. They might be things as having clear water to drink, waking up in the morning after a good sleep, friends, food or that you are healthy. This practice increases the compassion towards yourself and appreciation towards your own life and health, that we might take for granted.

2. Learn to forgive

I am sure all of us have had these moments when other people or their actions causes annoyance and irritation. We might be mistreated by someone and it awakes anger and disappointment in us. Instead of giving space for negative emotions, withdraw, take a moment to understand backgrounds for their actions. What made them act like that? Maybe the didn’t get enough love when they were kids. Maybe they are projecting their own suffering and negative emotions because they don’t have tools to deal with them. We never know what they have been through that day or week. Think how would they react in the situation where instead of aggressive action or response they would be encountered with compassion and understanding.

3. Appreciate all beings

Value life in all beings, animals and plants. Don’t harm an animal or any living being just for fun. See that they have equal right to be alive, as you have. Appreciation towards all life is an important practice for compassion.

4. Give permission for yourself to be emotional

Unfortunately there are too many people, who don’t know how to show their emotions. The hectic cycle of life in the modern society demands effectiveness and constant productivity. Many of us have learned to put emotions aside. That  causes mental blockages for the mind and physical blockages for the body. Yoga is an excellent practice to open these blockages and cherish and nurture the arising emotions. Let yourself be touched, and show your moments of sadness and happiness. Opening your heart opens you to new levels of experiencing empathy.

5. Loving kindness

Think of someone who has truly loved you. It might be your mother, partner or your best friend. Take that love to your heart and open it to all people, starting from your closest ones and enlarging the circle to totally strangers, enemies and to the whole universe. Feel and share the boundless love and use it in your actions and thoughts.

6. Compassion: consider yourself the same as others

All human beings are the same. We all want happiness and want to avoid suffering. We have equal rights to be happy. When having difficulties with someone, consider him/her out of his/her role and to be as you.

7. Exchanging yourself for others

When someone is suffering and you don’t know how to help, ask yourself: How would I feel, how would I want my friends to treat me? What would I most want from them? Contemplating these questions is a powerful way of loosening the hold on you of the self-cherishing and the self-grasping of ego, and so of releasing the heart of your compassion.

8. Using a friend to generate compassion

This is a powerful and miraculous technique for arousing compassion for a person who is suffering. Imagine one of your dearest friends or your loved one to that place of suffering. Most likely you want your loved ones to be free from their suffering. Take this compassion and love from your heart and transfer it to that person who needs your help. This practice blesses and heals all people who are involved.

9. Meditate on compassion

The world is full of suffering and pain that people are going through, and we see it everywhere around us. These sights of suffering are chances to us to open our heart. It won’t be easy to feel all that pain in you but don’t waste the love and grief it arouses in you. Immediately when you feel being vulnerable, don’t brush that feeling away. Don’t be embarrassed for showing your emotions. Let them be, let them be shown. That is showing compassion. Get deeper into that feeling and meditate on it. Develop it, enhance and deepen it. All beings suffer, let your heart go out to them.

10. To direct your compassion

The power of thinking and setting intentions shouldn’t be dismissed. They are not visible actions, but they will affect your actions and help you to make more conscious decisions. Think outside of your own ego, to direct your compassion to other being’s welfare:

1. 1. Meditate on all Buddhas and enlightened ones, as they are real life examples. All your actions, thoughts and words should benefit all beings and bring them happiness. Make sure that there is at least one practical act each day, that you do for someone else to make them feel better.
   2. Dedicate all your positive actions and spiritual practice to their welfare and towards their enlightenment. You can start your meditation or practice by dedicating it to someone close to you who needs support or love.

Compassion is greater than pity. Pity’s roots are in fear.

“When the fear touches someone’s pain, it becomes pity; when your love touches someone’s pain, it becomes compassion”.

Stephen Levine

Tibetan Buddhist Tonglen practice of compassion and empathy

Tibetan Buddhists have many different meditations to practice compassion. Tonglen practice has six stages of mental practices for compassion. It is translated as “giving and receiving”. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying includes detailed descriptions about tonglen and compassion. These small practices can be practiced by anyone, not only by Buddhists.

Yoga Philosophy series by Anni Rainio

1. 1. Is there afterlife?
   2. What makes life suffering
   3. Reincarnation vs. Rebirth
   4. Do our present actions affect our future life?
   5. Transcending the fear of death
   6. How to find life purpose
   7. Acting from compassion
   8. Process of dying according to Tibetan Buddhism
   9. Process of dying – Perspectives from Hindu philosophies
   10. Breaking the cycle of samsara
   11. Enlightenment

Recommended readings on life, death, and the afterlife

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Four Chapters on Freedom

Share Your Love

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About the Author

This blog post is written by Anni Rainio, Doron Yoga Teacher -alumni, who is doing her 300h yoga teacher studies at Doron Yoga & Zen Center. She wrote a thesis about process of dying and rebirth from the yogic and Buddhist perspectives. This series of Yoga Philosophy blog texts are giving tastes of her theoretical studies. Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts either here or to annirainio@gmail.com.

Check out Anni’s website: www.annirainio.com