Mike,
I think it's true that compassion is a function, not a feeling.
You are talking about something else, maybe "sympathy", or "fellow-feeling".
I think practitioners only "intuitively understand" compassion if they are
awakened. Then we use all our inheritance freely.
Metta practice is not a traditional practice in zen training, and makes sense
only in an entirely different program of practice than ch'an and zen.
Theravada and Tibetan practice have their own logic, as zen practice does. A
zen teacher *might* prescribe some specific practice to a particular student,
though, but in private; zen teachers usually have a sense about these things
(about what can help). But Metta is not part of the program by any means.
We see that metta makes sense in the context of original Buddhist practice, or
in the jungle practice of Ceylon; but, it is not necessary, out of that
context. I think if a person is interested to practice zen, it's not wise to
pick from here and there and try things out, out of context. That is, if you
really trust your zen teacher, you will keep to what is taught in the
tradition. That's what makes it a tradition!
Each tradition has its own logic, and so does the progress of practice within
it. It's true of zen and it's true of Theravada. I would not want to see
Theravada abandon metta.
If a person err-r. "sticks" with the zen practice curriculum, with luck and
good cooperating conditions, all will become clear (no deliberate practice of
compassion is necessary). I understand, though, that a person will do this
only if he/she wants to. No disagreement there!
It's a free country... in some countries. ;-)
--Joe
> mike brown <uerusuboyo@...> wrote:
>
> Maybe everyone on this forum intuitively understands what compassion is, but
> I would argue that it is still something that can be cultivated. When we
> begin practicing metta meditation [snip]
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