Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Compassion

 

TRICYCLE      COURSE CATALOG      SUPPORT      DONATE

RIGHT INTENTION Cultivating Compassion Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on compassion, for when you develop meditation on compassion, any cruelty will be abandoned. (MN 62) Compassion is like a mother with a son who is ill, for she just wants the illness to go away. (Vm 9.108)

Reflection While lovingkindness is a universal intention of unbounded kindness and an indiscriminate wish for well-being that can radiate in all directions, compassion is what this changes into when it encounters a person or group of people suffering or being harmed. At that point the general urge for safety is focused on the intention to alleviate that suffering. Compassion is a particular form of lovingkindness, focused by suffering. Daily Practice In order to feel compassion, you have to be willing to see the suffering of others. It can be hard to open to this, but your lovingkindness will not transform into compassion unless you do. Practice being willing to witness suffering when you encounter it, and pay attention to the texture of your inner experience as it moves through phases: resistance to the pain, opening to it, feeling the hurt of it, then maturing into true compassion. Tomorrow: Refraining from Malicious Speech One week from today: Cultivating Appreciative Joy Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning. Donate »

© 2025 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003