Mel, IMO, what 'compassion' is, and what one must do or avoid doing in order to be compatible with one's own understanding of compassion is a personal judgment call.
If a person asks for guidance, he/she may receive several responses on the Zen Forum that he/she may then choose from. --ED Namo Amitabha Buddhaya (Homage to the Buddha of infinite Life and infinite Light) --- In [email protected], Mel <gunnar19632000@...> wrote: > > MEL: Compassion for what or who exactly? Compassion has no hard and fast > rules, or descriptions. Do you show compassion for a habitual thief? How > about a serial rapist or murderer? > > ED: I think that the Buddha recommended compassion toward all sentient > beings, including demons in the hell worlds. > > MEL: ED, I think you and I may be speaking from the point of different interpretations of 'buddha' as such...which is why many in Zen(eg. samurai) and especially those involved in preWW2 (Japanese) fighting methods relate easily to ending a life, while most purely Jesus-centred beliefs don't > > Buddha be praised > Mel
