Once a young student came to his master and asked him, “Master, what is Compassion?”Master took him to the window and asked him to look at the beggar sitting on the corner across the street. While looking at him for some time, they saw that an old lady passed by and gave him a gold coin, a merchant passed by and gave him five gold coins, and a boy who passed by gave him a flower.
Now, master asked his student, “Which one of all these actions do you think felt the most compassion for the beggar?”
The young student replied, “The merchant did. He gave him the most money.”
The Master smiled and explained, “Remember that old lady that passed by? She was infuriated by his poverty, so she gave him a gold coin. The old lady acted out of pity toward that beggar.
After that, we saw a merchant who noticed a small group of people talking about him, so he gave 5 gold coins to the beggar and left quickly. The merchant acted out of ego. He wanted to show oL his wealth to those people and show that he had a big heart and liked to help others.
Later we saw a boy who had collected some flowers in his hands for his mother and when he passed by that beggar, he smiled at him and gave him a flower. That little boy is the one who acted out of compassion”
Master continued and explained, “Compassion is far greater and nobler than pity. Pity has its roots in fear. When fear touches someone’s pain it becomes pity But when love touches someone’s pain it becomes compassion. So to understand compassion we should understand that all beings are the same and suLer in a similar way. We should honor all who suLer and know that we are neither separate nor superior to anyone. “