Quotes About Empathy

Can you imagine a mind state in which there is no bitter, condemning judgement of oneself or of others? This mind does not see the world in terms of good and bad,might and wrong, good and evil; it sees only 'suffering and the end of suffering.

Causing harm is never just a one-way street.

Taking responsibility for oneself is by definition an act of kindness.

May my practice be dedicated to your well-being.

The heart is a generous muscle.

Compassion is born out of lovingkindness. It is born of knowing our oneness, not just thinking about it or wishing it were so. It is born out of the wisdom of seeing things exactly as they are.

You could search the whole world over and never find anyone as deserving of your love as yourself.

By experimenting with sympathetic joy, we break from the constricted world of individual struggle and see that joy exists in more places than we have yet imagined.

The simple act of being completely present to another person is truly an act of love—no drama is required.

There may be people who absolutely defy our ability (or willingness) to think of even one good thing about them. In that case, focus on the universal wish to be happy, which this difficult person also shares. All beings want to be happy, yet so very few know how. It is out of ignorance that any of us cause suffering, for ourselves or for others.

Real forgiveness in close relationships is never easy. It can't be rushed or engineered.

To forgive, we may need to open our minds to a fuller exploration of the context in which the events occurred, and feel compassion for the circumstances and everyone involved, starting with ourselves.

In reality, love is fluid; it's a verb, not a noun.

Wholehearted acceptance is a basic element of love, starting with love for ourselves, and a gateway to joy.

Maybe we don't need to correct some terrible deficiency. Maybe what we really need is to change our relationship to what is, to see who we are with the strength of a generous spirit and a wise heart.

Loving-kindness challenges those states that tend to arise when we think of ourselves as isolated from everyone else—fear, a sense of deficiency, alienation, loneliness.

Loving yourself is holding yourself accountable to be the best you can be in your life. Narcissistic love has nothing to do with accountability.

It is not the perfect, but the imperfect, who have need of love." And that means every last one of us.

It is a great happiness to be able to give.

The simple act of being completely present to another person is truly an act of love

Maybe what we really need is to change our relationship to what is, to see who we are with the strength of a generous spirit & a wise heart.

Taking in another's criticism, even when it's offered out of love, requires courage.

Oh, Marty"—as in Martin Luther King, Jr.—"used to say to me, 'You have to love everybody.' And I would say, 'No, I don't. I'm only going to love the people that deserve to be loved.' And Marty would laugh and say, 'No, no, no. You have to love everybody.

The simple act of being completely attentive and present to another person is an act of love, and it fosters unshakeable well-being. It is happiness that isn't bound to a particular situation, happiness that can withstand change.