Ed, My remarks are embedded below:
> [Bill! from a previous post] I understand 'compassion' to mean 'to be aware of the feelings of > others'. Merriam-Webster Online defines it as "sympathetic consciousness of > others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it". That definition > satisfies me. [Ed] The definition is consonant with ones I have seen in Buddhist texts. However, questions come to mind (as usual): o Is possessing 'compassion' a badge of merit, or is it a normal and natural aspect of human nature? [Bill!] Some, St. Thomas Aquinas for one and Buddhists for another example, believe that having compassion is a highly desirable quality. I believe it is a normal and natural aspect of human nature, but like a lot of normal and natural aspects of human nature it doesn't function well while we are living in a world of illusion. o Is not "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it" none other than a stipulation that a person not possess genes for autism? [Bill!] I don't know anything worthwhile to say about genes, but I don't see a lot of people displaying compassion - especially for people that are unknown to them, different from them or engaged in activities that are problematic for them. In other words I think compassion is the exception and not the rule. o And when we do experience compassion, is it not usually selectively directed toward persons we feel connected to in some way? [Bill!] Yes, this seems to be the case for most people. o For instance, do we feel compassion for the million-plus war-widows caused by the US/UK/Australian invasion of Iraq? [Bill!] I believe most Yanks/Brits/Aussies don't. They are taught to de-humanize the enemies of their particular country. I think a lot of Arabs do. ...Bill! __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5586 (20101102) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
