Compassion Quotes
We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking.
Sharon Salzberg
Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.
Jack Kornfield
We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.
Pema Chodron
The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.
Ajahn Brahm
The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.
Ajahn Brahm
The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.
Robert Thurman
Love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering.
Matthieu Ricard
Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.
Ajahn Brahm
Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.
Buddha
If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.
Pema Chodron
Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.
Pema Chodron
The way to change others' minds is with affection, and not anger.
Dalai Lama
If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be miserable, expect something in return.
Ajahn Brahm
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Dalai Lama
When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.
Ajahn Brahm
Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.
Buddha
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.
Dalai Lama
The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.
Matthieu Ricard
Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.
Buddha
Compassion is not just about being kind to others. It's about being kind to ourselves as well.
Mingyur Rinpoche
The essence of the teaching is emptiness and compassion. Without emptiness, compassion can become attachment. Without compassion, emptiness can become cold and distant.
Nagarjuna
When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.
Dalai Lama
Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.
Mingyur Rinpoche
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
Buddha
When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Wisdom and compassion must be developed equally and harmoniously.
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.
Dogen
The teaching is simple: act with kindness and compassion. If you cannot do this, at least try not to harm others.
Milarepa
The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.
Dalai Lama
The cultivation of loving-kindness has the power to transform enmity into amity, hostility into hospitality.
Bhikkhu Bodhi
When you look deeply into your anger, you will see that the person you call your enemy is also suffering. As soon as you see that, the capacity for accepting and having compassion for them is there.
Thich Nhat Hanh
A pure mind is always full of love - real love for all others.
S N Goenka
Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.
Pema Chodron
Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.
Joseph Goldstein
The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.
Dalai Lama
When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.
Ajahn Chah
Compassion is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.
Matthieu Ricard
The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.
Robert Thurman
Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.
Ajahn Brahm
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.
Dalai Lama
When you realize the emptiness of all phenomena, compassion will arise in your heart for all sentient beings who do not understand this truth.
Nagarjuna
The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.
Robert Thurman
Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.
Matthieu Ricard
Metta is the ability to embrace all parts of ourselves, as well as all parts of the world.
Sharon Salzberg
The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves.
Dalai Lama
The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person's suffering and bring that person joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.
Robert Thurman
The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.
Matthieu Ricard
If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.
Jack Kornfield
Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.
Jack Kornfield
When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with.
Pema Chodron
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help.
Thich Nhat Hanh