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    The Meaning of Compassion in True Buddhism

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    The Reverend discusses the Buddhist concept of compassion from multiple perspectives. He explains that true compassion in Buddhism involves helping others through sharing the beneficial teachings of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Compassion also means never wavering in helping others no matter the circumstance, like a mother removing her child's suffering. Finally, he states that Buddhism guides society, not vice versa, and that truly understanding the Lotus Sutra allows one to understand worldly matters through a compassionate lens.

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    The Meaning of Compassion in True Buddhism

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    15 Minutes
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    The Reverend discusses the Buddhist concept of compassion from multiple perspectives. He explains that true compassion in Buddhism involves helping others through sharing the beneficial teachings of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Compassion also means never wavering in helping others no matter the circumstance, like a mother removing her child's suffering. Finally, he states that Buddhism guides society, not vice versa, and that truly understanding the Lotus Sutra allows one to understand worldly matters through a compassionate lens.

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    11. 17 Compassion

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    The Reverend discusses the Buddhist concept of compassion from multiple perspectives. He explains that true compassion in Buddhism involves helping others through sharing the beneficial teachings of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Compassion also means never wavering in helping others no matter the circumstance, like a mother removing her child's suffering. Finally, he states that Buddhism guides society, not vice versa, and that truly understanding the Lotus Sutra allows one to understand worldly matters through a compassionate lens.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    77 views3 pages

    The Meaning of Compassion in True Buddhism

    Uploaded by

    15 Minutes
    The Reverend discusses the Buddhist concept of compassion from multiple perspectives. He explains that true compassion in Buddhism involves helping others through sharing the beneficial teachings of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Compassion also means never wavering in helping others no matter the circumstance, like a mother removing her child's suffering. Finally, he states that Buddhism guides society, not vice versa, and that truly understanding the Lotus Sutra allows one to understand worldly matters through a compassionate lens.

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    The Meaning of Compassion in True Buddhism

    BY REVEREND JO’GU NATSUI


    ASSISTANT PRIEST OF MYOSETUJI TEMPLE
    INTRO MEETING AT MYOSETSUJI
    11/17/2017

    Today, I’d like to talk about Buddhist compassion.

    A General Idea of Compassion

    The word “compassion” tends to be seen as the qualities of kindness, empathy, generosity, and
    altruism. We have learned that compassion means to be concerned about the welfare of others and
    taking actions for the sake of the greater good. We have also learned that our compassionate actions
    should be carried out to make people’s happiness last longer and become more sustainable.
    For example, let’s suppose there is someone who has lost his way in a desert. Giving him some
    water might be enough to quench his thirst and help him survive the scorching desert for a day or
    two, but also giving him directions to an oasis or leaving him with a map that shows how to escape
    from the desert will be of greater value.

    Compassion in Human Beings and Animals

    Also, compassion is often considered to be uniquely human. For example, animals are said to
    have no ability to show compassion, as they always act on their own instincts. But, is it true that
    animals are not capable of expressing compassion? How does Buddhism approach this question?
    There is a very important Buddhist doctrine called the Ten Worlds. For those who are not
    familiar with The Ten Worlds, The Ten Worlds are ten kinds of different life conditions that we
    possess; hell, hunger, animality, anger, humanity, rapture, learning, realization, Bodhisattva, and
    Buddhahood. Buddhism teaches that we, human beings, are constantly expressing one of these life
    conditions at every moment in our daily lives. These ten types of worlds are, likewise, contained in
    the life of animals and will arise in response to their external surroundings.
      ​Let’s think about this. Some people are consumed by their human desires and misbehave to the
    point where they commit wrongdoings, from merely rebelling against their own parents to
    perpetrating serious crimes. Let’s also think about animals sparing no effort day and night to
    protect, nurture, and keep an eye on their young, in order to ensure that they are always warm and
    safe.
    These two realities of life are a testament to the fact that animals could be more compassionate
    than human beings, and it even gives us the opportunity to learn many things from those animals
    about the nature of compassion.

    Compassion in Society and Buddhism

    The kind of compassion that I have talked about belongs to the secular aspect of our compassion.
    So, now I’d like to move on to the meaning of compassion used within the context of Buddhist
    teachings.
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    Buddhism teaches that we, as ordinary human beings, are able to express a trace of a
    compassionate Bodhisattva life condition, but its most profound quality is only attainable through
    the correct Buddhist practice. Compassion is a life state that arises from the innermost desire to save
    others through the sharing of the beneficial power of the Buddhist practice. And just as important is
    that true Buddhist compassion is something that never fluctuates or weakens, no matter what
    happens.

    ​・慈悲 (Jap: ​Ji hi​, Eng: compassion)

    Let me give you an example. In Japanese, compassion is called “​ji hi.​”


    ​Ji basically means a sense of love or kindness with an intention to nurture someone. What this
    means is that, although pouring love and kindness into our children is a great way to show how
    much we care about them, but parenting them with occasional strictness for the sake of their growth
    may also be an important way to instill a sense of love and compassion. In this sense, the word ​ji
    represents the quality of a father (Jap: ​jifu​, 慈父).
    The literal meaning of the next character, ​hi (​as in ji hi)​, is to cry or to be sad, but with this
    meaning, this word ​hi also comes to mean empathy. This word “empathy” in this case not only
    means to feel and share the feelings of others but also has the connotation of taking voluntary action
    to reach out to them. And this is the quality of a mother (Jap: ​himo​ or ​hibo​, 悲母).

    ​・抜苦与楽 (Jap: Bakku Yoraku)

    Also, there is a related Buddhist term called 抜苦与楽（​bakku yoraku​）.


    First, 与楽 (​yoraku​) means to give joy. Giving joy doesn’t just mean to entertain someone with a
    pleasurable experience, but it means to teach them how to make their lives more fulfilling and
    meaningful, so that they can derive joy in their lives. This resembles the way a father gives his
    instruction and leads them to full development of their growth. In this sense, giving joy, or与楽
    (​yoraku​), is the quality of a father.
    Next, 抜苦 (​bakku​) means to remove suffering. This is the quality of a mother. A mother will
    deeply care about her sick child, and this caring thought will remain the same at the heart of the
    mother until his complete recovery. In other words, 抜苦 (​bakku​) is the characteristic of a mother,
    who strives to put others at ease, ameliorate their suffering, and finally completely root out the
    fundamental cause of their misfortune.

    All things considered, a general sense of kindness, generosity, love, empathy, altruism, and
    compassion, will arise at any moment in our daily situations, but true compassion as taught in
    Buddhism becomes evident when our common mortal life condition reaches the states of
    Bodhisattva and Buddhahood through the correct Buddhist practice. The true Buddha, Nichiren
    Daishonin, states:

    Buddhism is like the body and society like the shadow.


    When the body is twisted, so is the shadow.
    　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(​Gosho,​ p. 1469)

    There are two things I’d like to mention about this passage.
    First is the relationship between Buddhism and society. Buddhism and society may seem to be
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    two separate entities, but are in fact one single entity, just like the body creates the shadow and the
    shadow always follows the body. It means our Buddhist practice always affects our lives in society;
    the more we strive to correctly perform our Buddhist practice, the better and clearer the result is
    going to become in our daily lives as the actual proof of our Buddhist practice.
    And second, although Buddhism and society are one, Buddhism is the foundation of society, as
    Buddhism offers the remedy for the problems in our society, not the other way around. It is very
    easy to confuse this relationship between Buddhism and society, placing the higher value on
    society, only to miscalculate that Buddhism is a mere philosophy, logic, or a product of the moral
    principles created by that society. Thus, the Buddha teaches first and foremost that society revolves
    around Buddhism, equating Buddhism with the body and society with its shadow. Buddhism
    teaches that, if society falls into decline, it is because Buddhism has fallen into decline; if Buddhism
    prospers, so does society.

    This is also reflected in the following passage from the Gosho “The True Object of Worship:”

    When skies are clear, the ground is illuminated. In the same way, those who
    know the Lotus Sutra understand the meaning of all worldly matters.
    (​Gosho,​ p. 662)

    As you can see, this passage says that understanding the significance of the Lotus Sutra leads us
    to understand all worldly matters in our everyday lives. In this case, understanding the Lotus Sutra
    does not just simply mean that we should study to attain better knowledge about the sutra, but it
    also means that we should learn from the priests how to correctly incorporate it into our everyday
    lives as the living principle that guides us to understand the meaning of all worldly matters.

    The same can also be said about compassion.


    As a matter of fact, compassionate actions in our daily situations, such as showing a sense of
    kindness and forgiveness, which many people find to be the epitome of true compassion, will not
    have the power that perpetually benefits those who receive them.
    True compassion taught in the Daishonin’s Buddhism, however, guides us to become more
    profoundly compassionate and allows us to be able to share the medicine of the supreme law of
    Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, which does perpetually benefit those who receive and practice it. And
    this truly makes our lives and the lives of others full of compassion and appreciation.

    I’d like to conclude my lecture for today with my deepest wish and prayers for your continued
    good health and for the advancement of your sincere practice to the Gohonzon.

    Thank you for your kind attention and for listening to my lecture today.

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