HAVE COMPASSION!!!

I have always been a compassionate person. Ever since I was a little girl growing up in Jamaica, I could not bear to see anyone cry, or suffer. My tears fall quickly even when I watch a movie that is sad, and I would think plenty about any situation that sadden me. Now that I am grown and have wizened up a bit ( I believe), I see this compassionate emotion that is innate in me as a good thing even though it is painful. My heart is filled with so much love and acceptance that I myself get rejected by society because they do not believe that I am real. I am for peace and love totally, I would love to heal the world, comfort the sick, care for the weak. Now I know that it is impossible to heal the world and make everything right for everyone, but relating to another’s plight, to imagine another’s circumstance as your own, tickle the heart and brings you to a state of compassion.

I often wonder about myself, I wonder why do I feel for the underdog, why do I care so much for people, when not even my own family cares for me, why do I have an overwhelming need to assist those who suffer, why am I hurt whenever someone else is hurt, why am I so foolish in to believing human being care about each other when it seems as if the mass is evil and wicked, why do I open myself to hurt and pain, and then I answer, why not! I had my daughter at a very young age, no, I wasn’t promiscuous or anything like that, I was almost in a state of depression because of not getting along with my family, I loved them but the sight of me irked their nerves, I never knew why. It bothered me, and so I took to reading books to get away in my mind to a place that was not real, My mother would come into my room and curse at me even though I tried to stay into my own corner and not be seen, but she would find a way to invade my peace and that was how I started sitting on  the stoop in front of our house, it wasn’t very long that I became friends with the new guy who just came from Jamaica and he became my friend and confidant, he listened to me and I had someone to talk to,  a year later he did more that talking and I became pregnant, of course this gave my parents a reason to put me out, but I survived and had my baby and I never looked back to them for a night’s rest. I had to survive, so I did not have the time to be mad at my parents or resent them and soon the universe had me soaring.

As a teenager with a child and on my own, living in my own apartment working and going to school, I would often times meet people who had nowhere to live, and I would bring them home with me and take care of them out of the very little I had. It is impossible to remember them all for there were many, and when I eventually met my other children’s father, he complained to his mother that we have never lived alone. He even complained that whenever I cooked I fed the whole neighborhood. I never understood how that was a problem, because I saw nothing wrong with being kind and helpful, this apparently became too much for him so he and I parted ways.

We should all strive to be the best person that we can , we have free will and that is true but also we do know what is wong from what is right, we should all choose the good path and sow good seeds, it matters not religion, it matters not tradition, it matters not the law, it matters YOU, what is innate within your psyche, because no child came into this world as evil. If we take the time to feel, we will feel for each other, if we take the time to think, we will think of each other and if we take the time to love we will all love each other. Certain circumstances or environment breeds a certain type of character, but that does not mean that we ALL do not have the ability to change and do good-by each other.

The definition of compassion is: wanting others to be free from suffering. So compassion is the definition of the highest scope of motivation. It is said that to generate genuine compassion, one needs to realise that oneself is suffering, that an end to suffering is possible, and that other beings similarly want to be free from suffering.,

I was rejected from a young age by my own family, (what I mean by rejected by them is being treated like the black sheep), for reasons to this day I do not know, I could never see someone in sadness or problems and ignore them. I suffered from early, emotionally because I felt alone, and because of that I have a deep desire to assist those in need, even if it is with a kind word. I believe this is one of my purpose in life, (ONE), and I know that as long as I keep on this path great will be my reward from the heavens above.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama:

“Nirvana may be the final object of attainment, but at the moment it is difficult to reach. Thus the practical and realistic aim is compassion, a warm heart, serving other people, helping others, respecting others, being less selfish. By practising these, you can gain benefit and happiness that remain longer. If you investigate the purpose of life and, with the motivation that results from this inquiry, develop a good heart – compassion and love. Using your whole life this way, each day will become useful and meaningful.”

“Every human being has the same potential for compassion; the only question is whether we really take any care of that potential, and develop and implement it in our daily life. My hope is that more and more people will realise the value of compassion, and so follow the path of altruism. As for myself, ever since I became a Buddhist monk, that has been my real destiny – for usually I think of myself as just one simple Buddhist monk, no more and no less.”

Another quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from The Compassionate Life“

“Compassion without attachment is possible. Therefore, we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment. True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Because of this firm foundation, a truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the needs of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for their problem. This is genuine compassion. For a Buddhist practitioner, the goal is to develop this genuine compassion, this genuine wish for the well-being of another, in fact for every living being throughout the universe.”

“We ordinary individuals share the characteristic of having our attempts to gain happiness thwarted by our own destructive self-centeredness. It is unsuitable to keep holding onto the self-centered attitude while ignoring others. If two friends find themselves floundering in a muddy swamp they should not ridicule each other, but combine their energies to get out. Both ourselves and others are in the same position of wanting happiness and not wanting suffering, but we are entangled in a web of ignorance that prevents us from achieving those goals. Far from regarding it as an “every man for himself” situation, we should meditate upon the equality of self and others and the need to be helpful to other beings.”   by Ven. Lobsang Gyatso: