The Ethic Of Compassion: The Dalai Lama

Everyone desires happiness. How can we all obtain this? By being compassionate, we all have to be more self-less and show more compassion for others. What is compassion? Compassion is someone showing caring feelings or sympathy for others. This world is built on war and hate. By reading The Ethic of Compassion, I realized that the world would be a happier place if everyone put their self-desires aside and paid more attention to others sufferings. As humans we naturally have feelings of partiality. As the Dalai Lama says in the text, “most people, when they see someone who is handicapped feel sympathetic toward that person. But then when they see others who are wealthier, or better educated, or better placed socially, they immediately feel envious and competitive toward them” (733). These negative feelings prevent us from seeing the positive in people and we put them in a “snob” category, without even speaking to these people. This blinds us from the fact that just like us, whether rich or poor, educated or

The Dalai Lama says “not only is it relevant to be compassionate in the professional life, but when compassion is lacking, our activities are in danger of becoming destructive” (734). This happens because we think that if our bosses or people superior to us tell us to do something it is okay, regardless of how it affects the community around us. If truly strive for compassion, then take a step back from any situation including the workplace and see how your decision will affect others. If you see that your decision will wrongfully affect others, then let your compassion take over and disengage yourself from the situation. The Dalai Lama states that “the ethic of compassion helps provide the necessary foundation of motivation for both restrain and the cultivation of virtue” (734-735). This meaning that compassion opens our eyes to what needs to be stopped from happening, and helps us strive for what is