Quotes About Compassion

His sympathy made tears spring to Lina's eyes. Doon looked startled for a moment, and then he took a step toward her and wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a squeeze so quick and tight that it made her cough, and then it made her laugh. She realized all at once that Doon--thin, dark-eyed Doon with his troublesome temper and his terrible brown jacket and his good heart--was the person that she knew better than anyone now. He was her best friend.

Now Doon seemed to care for his new friends more than he did for her. Every time she thought about him she felt a thud of pain, like a bruised place inside her.

It's for my God, the god of dogs, and snakes and dust mites and albino bears and Siamese twins, the god of stars and starships and other dimensions, the god who loves everyone and makes everything marvelous.

Doon was touched. Kenny looked like a tiny little wisp, but there was something strong inside him. --People of Sparks--

Remember my words: Be truthful, be kind to one another, and you will attain peace. We will meet again in another life.

You can make your life so much larger simply be acknowledging everyone else's.

Solitude is a luxury for the lucky. For people who don't have sick cats and lost ladybugs and very possibly dying loved ones to worry about. For people who don't have to worry about getting their hands dirty with the everyday goo of ordinary suffering.

Many people with physical disabilities have romantic lives and good marriages to partners who see past their disabilities and recognize all of the things they can do.

You're not going to do anything, to fix anything," Irene said as she drove me to the office. "You're just going to bear witness to his life. I think sometimes that's the greatest gift we can give one another.

He wanted to understand what she felt, as well as what she thought, and his approving interest and encouragement made her feel deeply known and valued.

You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.

God has always been hard on the poor.

The poor don't know that their function in life is to exercise our generosity.

We do not judge the people we love.

To be grounded in an attitude of compassion is to be capable of receiving and welcoming the suffering, which the other is giving us. This does not mean that we suffer for them, but that we offer them possibility of going beyond the separate self in which suffering is harbored. (59)

If you are a Buddhist, inspire yourself by thinking of the bodhisattva. If you are a Christian, think of the Christ, who came not to be served by others but to serve them in joy, in peace, and in generosity. For these things, these are not mere words, but acts, which go all the way, right up to their last breath. Even their death is a gift, and resurrection is born from this kind of death. (157)

The compassionate person does not require other people to be stupid, in order to be intelligent. Their intelligence is for everyone, so as to have a world in which there is less ignorance. (118)

The depth of our compassion is proportional to the depth of our living. (65)

What is the real origin of my own anger? Is it the ego defending its territory, or is it something that has its source in the desire for the well-being of all? (73)

It is important never to separate love and knowledge, compassion and wisdom. A wisdom without compassion is closed upon itself and does not bear fruit. A compassion without wisdom is a madness and a cause of suffering.

The best religion or practice is the one that makes us better. (42)

There are many greedy and clever human animals in this world, but few human beings. Authentic human beings are so rare that I would even go so far as to say that we do not live in a truly human world.

People with deep faith and big hearts are concerned, as I am about the circumstance that Ms. Schiavo is in. I want them to know I will do what I can, but there are limits to what any particular person - irrespective of the title they currently hold - can do.

Research shows that sincere positive feelings--like love, care, gratitude, appreciation, compassion, or joy--smooth out our heart rhythm into a harmonious coherent pattern.