Kathy, Okay - now I'm seriously going to try to address your question.
It's an interesting question. I thought a lot about it and really can't come up with the type of philosophical or warm-'n-fuzzy quote you're probably looking for. I know zen just doesn't put a lot of value on philosophy, and maybe not even warm-'n-fuzzy. Almost any koan (zen teaching parable) than involves a mondo (question and response session) between teacher and student would demonstrate the compassion a zen teacher has for others. The most famous koan like that is Joshu's koan 'Mu' (The Gateless Gate, Case 1) in which Joshu answers one of his student's off-topic questions with a nonsensical, seemingly inappropriate reply to encourage his student to look to himself for answers. Another is 'Gutei's One Finger' (The Gateless Gate, Case 3) in which Gutei permanently deprives his student of using an easy, non-original answer - forcing him to come up with one of his own. These, from my perspective, show true zen-inspired compassion. .Bill! Kathy wrote: Does anyone have three or so short, but poignant quotes regarding compassion? Something from a great teacher or the sutras or like that. I read alot of Zen and Buddhist books, but can't remember quotes (I can't tell a joke, either; it could be five words long and I'd still screw up the punch line). I appreciate any help you can give - I do a couple Websites/online forums and am always trying to slip Zen thought (non-thought) in under the radar; without being tooooooo preachy.
