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The Qualities of Compassion
May I be generous.
May I cultivate integrity and respect.
May I be patient and see clearly the suffering of others.
May I be energetic, steadfast, and wholehearted.
May I cultivate a calm and inclusive mind and heart so I can compassionately serve all beings.
May I nurture wisdom and impart the benefit of any insight I may have to others.
To Practice: Offer all of the above as a meditation prayer or practice with just one of them, "letting it soak into [your] marrow."
A meditation prayer invoking the six paramitas or perfections – the qualities of compassion that embody the sacred service of a Bodhisattva.
Golden Kingdom
Four young novice monks are learning from their abbot (Sayadaw U Zaw Ti Ka) in a remote monastery perched on a hill in Myanmar, or Burma. Their days consist of prayers and traditional Buddhist practices. Each day a local farmer arrives with food for these young boys. When the abbot decides to travel to the city, he puts Witizara (Shine Htet Zaw) the oldest boy in charge of the others.
During this period when they are alone and nervous about almost everything, their Buddhist practices prove to be centering for them. Meditation is a positive force for these novices. So are the increased periods of play instituted by the four boys. When one of them wanders off, they find him and take him to a local woman who takes away his stomach pain.
The chief worry experienced by the young monks is the hunger that overtakes them when the local farmer does not come with food. Witizara takes a trip outside the monastery where he finds deserted villages and and the sounds of gunfire in the distance. Later, a badly wounded soldier shows up and tells the boys a story about human greed and violence. Witizara tells a story of his own and has a mystical rendez-vous with his mother.
Hats off to director Brian Perkins for giving this elegant drama a slow and meditative style with lush images of the natural world (one in which trees are reflected in the waters of a pond.) The contrast between the silence and beauty of the monastery and the villages surrounding it makes an effective contrast between peace and civil war. In their spiritual journeys, the four monks are tutored like the Buddha about the impermanence of life as revealed in sickness, aging and death.
An elegant spiritual drama about the spiritual journeys of four novice Buddhist monks in Myanmar.
Life is Spiritual Practice
Jean Smith is the author of numerous books including 365 Zen, A Beginner's Guide to Zen Buddhism, and Breath Sweeps Mind. She is a longtime associate of the Insight Meditation Society and is the head of the executive board of the Mountain Retreat Center in Taos, New Mexico, where she lives.
For Buddhists, the ten paramis or perfections are heart-mind qualities which formed the basic teachings of the Buddha. According to Smith, these qualities are ones we already have and can learn to develop. Those who are serious about spiritual practice will want to embrace four goals in reference to these teachings:
• "Establish the heartfelt intention to want to lead a 'good' life.
• Identify the heart-mind qualities we want to actualize.
• Cultivate mindfulness to recognize the presence or absence of those qualities.
• Resolve to make those qualities central to our lives."
In the first four chapters, Smith sets the stage by exploring the Foundations for Happiness: suffering, impermanence, karma and mindfulness. In the introduction to the Perfections, she writes:
"The perfections are ten specific ways of benefitting other beings -- when they are undertaken with mindfulness, compassion, and skillful means, when they are cultivated with the aspiration for liberation for oneself and all beings. The opposites of all perfections are greed, hatred, and delusion."
These "sacred adornments of the heart" are not specifically Buddhist but have universal applications and resonance. Here is the list of the ten along with a resolution and a mantra for each one:
1. Generosity — Resolution: May my heart be open to give and to receive with joy and ease. Mantra: May I give with joy.
2. Ethical Integrity — Resolution: May ethical integrity in thoughts, words, and actions be my gift to myself and the beings around me. Mantra: May I give freedom from fear to all beings.
3. Renunciation — Resolution: May I renounce and let go of anything that does not lead to liberation and compassion for all beings. Mantra: May I let go of ever harming other beings.
4. Wisdom — Resolution: With discernment and insight, may I make choices that lead to compassion and liberation. Mantra: May my choices be wise and compassionate.
5. Wise Effort — Resolution: May I awaken and sustain the perfections in my life. Mantra: May goodness energize my life.
6. Patience — Resolution: May I be patient and forgiving when self-centered fear or anger arises, accepting things just as they are. Mantra: May I be patient and forgiving to all.
7. Truthfulness — Resolution: May I be truthful with myself so that there is harmony between what I say, what I do, and who I am. Mantra: May I be truthful with myself and others.
8. Resolve — Resolution: May I resolve to practice for my deepest liberation. Mantra: May I resolve to practice for the benefit of all beings.
9. Loving-Kindness — Resolution: May cultivating metta practice concentrate my mind and open my heart. Mantra: May loving-kindness define my relationships with others.
10. Equanimity — Resolution: Balanced in body, heart, and mind, may I be nonreactive to what arises and passes away. Mantra: May I be nonreactive to the unexpected changes of life.
Smith knows that spiritual practice is all important here. She encloses "Practice and Reflection" section on each of the 10 Perfections. For added value, you will find instructions for an at-home self-retreat.
An accessible and down-to-earth commentary on Buddha's teachings of the 10 Perfections.
The Compassionate Instinct
Dacher Keltner, the co-founder of the University of California at Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center; Jason Marsh, the editor-in-chief of Greater Good magazine; and Jeremy Adam Smith, a contributing editor of Greater Good magazine, have chosen some of the best and most pathbreaking essays published by this interdisciplinary research center devoted to the scientific understanding of happy and compassionate individuals, strong social bonds, and altruistic behavior. They believe that this research offers new avenues to healthier bodies, marriages, workplaces, families, and cultures.
The essays are divided into three groups:
1. The Scientific Roots of Human Goodness
2. How to Cultivate Goodness in Relationships with Friends, Family, Co-Workers, and Neighbors
3. How to Cultivate Goodness in Society and Politics
Among our favorite essays in this top-drawer collection are:
• Dacher Keltner on the compassionate instinct
• Frans B. M. de Waal on the evolution of empathy
• Michael McCullough on the forgiveness instinct
• Jonathan Haidt on wired to be inspired
• Daniel Goleman on hot to help
• Aaron Lazare on making peace through apology
Pathbreaking essays on scientific understandings of happy and compassionate individuals, strong social bonds, and altruistic behavior.
Nourishing the Spirit
Evelyn Eaton Whitehead and James D. Whitehead, long associated with the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University in Chicago, have co-authored a dozen books including Holy Eros. This rich and substantive examination of the healing emotions of wonder, joy, compassion, and hope can be read as a companion to Transforming Our Painful Emotions: Spiritual Resources in Anger, Shame, Grief, Fear, and Loneliness. Negative emotions, according to the Whiteheads, can be tamed and should be befriended as allies with much to teach us.
This paperback is divided into three sections on moral, healing, and religious emotions. Wonder and awe are catalysts to respect and reverence. They open our eyes to the beauty all around us and stop us in our tracks to savor the limits of our senses and our reason in the presence of Divine mysteries. The slang use of the "awesome" does not do justice to our encounters with astonishing experiences we cannot explain. But the term reverence does.
The Whiteheads are supportive of the contributions of spirituality and religion to psychological health and would like to see these disciplines incorporated into schools of the emotions where life-affirming human qualities are taught and practices. We affirm this visionary idea and have spent years theming all the resources recommended at Spirituality & Practice by 37 essential spiritual practices. We also affirm the accent that is being put on the positive emotions during these hard times. That is why we enjoyed the chapter on curiosity and contentment, two of our favorite members of the family of emotions; we consider them outcomes of the spiritual practices of wonder and being present.
In an expansive section on healing emotions, the authors cover joy and happiness, transformations of love, virtues of pride and humility, compassion and self-care, and mood swings in the life of faith. Changing moods and fortunes in family life, the workplace, and the nation in general can have dire effects on our emotions. Here is where joy, happiness, delight, and laughter can lift our spirits.
The Whiteheads conclude their assessments of the healing emotions in a section covering the ennobling passions of faith, hope, and charity; gratitude and generosity; the works of justice and mercy; and emotions in spiritual transformation. They herald the continuing impact religious intuitions and spiritual inspirations have upon those who are open to the emotions which sustain human flourishing.
A substantive examination of the healing emotions of wonder, joy, compassion, and hope.
Bodhisattva Mind
"If we approach the wildness of the mind like a horse whisperer — using gentleness, compassion, and kindness — we return to our natural state of expansiveness that is always available to us," states Pema Chodron, resident teacher at Gampo Abbey monastery in Nova Scotia and a devoted student of the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dzigar Kongrul Rinpoche. On this eight-and-one-half hour workshop on seven CDs, she explains the insights and practices from the teachings of the eighth-century Buddhist classic Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva.
Taming the mind brings true liberation. The bodhisattva is a person who seeks not only to alleviate his or her own suffering but the suffering of all beings. Now more than ever, we need sensitive souls who are willing to set aside the "me first" thinking that is the source of so much alienation, violence, and separation. Chodron gives examples of people who have moved beyond a preoccupation with their own comfort and safety in order to help others.
How can we walk the bodhisattva path? We can free ourselves from the emotional reactivity that comes from self-absorption. Chodron dispenses effective teachings on patience, enthusiasm, meditation, and emptiness. For example, she recommends that we rejoice in the good fortune of others — especially those we dislike — instead of succumbing to envy or resentment. There are so many practices here that you could spend the whole year trying them in your everyday life.
Insights and practices from the eighth-century Buddhist classic by Shantideva.
A Generous Heart
Experiment with bringing into your day and life the intention to extend a generosity of spirit to others and to yourself. Sense if it is possible for you to bring loving kindness in the face of judgment, forgiveness in the face of condemnation, and attention in your moments when you are tempted to banish someone from your attention and heart.
Notice the moments in your day when you feel you don't "have enough" time, energy, or attention to truly listen or attend to someone who asks you to be present for them. Sense whether it is possible to step out of your feelings of haste and busyness and truly be present for the person before you. Sense the possibility of putting aside your own timetables and busyness to bring a wholehearted attention to those moments.
In the moments when your mind feels too full to truly listen to another person, explore the possibility of being able to step out of the swirl of your own thoughts to attend with care and sensitivity to the person asking for your attention and presence.
Sense what happens in you when someone asks you for help or a person on the street asks you for money. Generosity does not demand giving, but it does ask us to be aware of what happens within us when we are asked to give.
Notice the moments when you find yourself caught in judgment, greed, or impatience in your day. Sense what happens when instead of acting on those impulses you are able to pause and be more generous with your patience and acceptance.
Sense what happens in your own heart and mind in the moments when you find yourself able to be truly generous. Be aware of the happiness and joy that are intrinsic to authentic generosity.
A daily practice to grow in generosity of spirit for yourself and others.
The Time Is Now
Joan Chittister joined the Benedictine Sisters of Erie at the age of 16 and has spent over 60 years charting the rigorous and adventuresome path of Christianity. With bravado, incredible energy, and abundant spiritual insights she has challenged all of us to combine contemplative practices with social action.
Chittister is a major voice and committed activist for the rights of women and poor people. She is the executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality, and the co-chair for the Global Peace Initiative of Women. One of her projects collects spiritual resources for those in prison. In the midst of this deluge of sacred activism, she has not downplayed her constant interpretation of Benedictine spirituality. Chittister is the author of over 50 books and has appeared on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday, On Being with Krista Tippett, and countless other media outlets.
The Time Is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage arose out of Chittister's concerns about the selfishness, power plays, narcissism, violence, lies, and prejudice of politicians and citizens who have seized the moment to take America on what they perceive to be a path of glory. To counter those impulses, Chittister turns to the prophets who in their times sought to usher in a brand new day of justice, freedom, peace, and transformation.
Her definition of prophetic spirituality is inspiring and challenging. It was modeled by Jesus the Prophet who encouraged acceptance of others and the call to co-creation. Chittister elaborates:
"Prophetic spirituality calls us to walk in the wake of the biblical prophets of ancient Israel, to hear the word of God for the world and repeat it, shout it, model it until the world comes awake. It is to demand it until the hungry are fed and the sick are cared for and the violent are sent away empty of their power to destroy."
Prophets of old and in our own times "look at life as it is — hard of heart for many, unfair for most — and set out to expand it." Chittister's intention is to bring out the prophet in us:
"Faith is invalid unless you are living it. That is the basic message of the prophets and it is as true today as it was thousands of years ago. Prophetic spirituality is an active spirituality that demands as much rock-hard commitment as it does heart-felt concern."
In a series of profound and hard-hitting chapters Chittister delineates character qualities which can animate us including risk, paradox, authenticity, self-giving, patience, confidence, wisdom, and faith.
She pays tribute to the inspiration and courage of Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Gloria Steinem, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others who stir our souls and send us to the streets to bring our spirituality alive.
The Time Is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage by Joan Chittister is a watershed work that succeeds in its noble goal of bringing out the prophet in us. We will not, she promises, be alone. Prophets are already among us. In the book's dedication she reminds us:
"In every region, everywhere, they are the unsung but mighty voices of community, high-mindedness, and deep resolve. They are the prophets of each era who prod the rest of the world into seeing newly what it means to be fully alive, personally, nationally, and spiritually."
A watershed work that succeeds in its noble goal of drawing out the prophet in us.
A World of Three Zeroes
Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus created microcredit, the innovative banking program that has given poor people (mainly women) small loans which they can use to establish businesses to pull themselves out of poverty. In the past 30 years microcredit has benefitted 100 million families.
A World of Three Zeros is Yunus's third book, and it boldly presents a trenchant picture of capitalism is deep trouble due to its view of human beings as animated by self-interest and greed. The capitalist engine has led to rampant unemployment, environmental chaos, and widespread inequality; a 2017 Oxfam Report reveals that just eight people (Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos are three of them) own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of the world (3.6 billion people).
The upshot of all this, according to Yunus, is that we must come up with a new economic system that sees altruism and generosity as the central powers behind the human quest for meaning. In reports from around the world, this visionary salutes the work of social businesses which he defines as "non-dividend" companies dedicated to helping others.
It would certainly be interesting to see what differences would come about if an economy emphasized selflessness rather than self-interest, where solving problems would take precedence over profit. A World of Three Zeros is a visionary work mixing activism and optimism!
A visionary work mixing activism and optimism.
Counting on Kindness
In this remarkable evergreen paperback, health counselor Wendy Lusbader shares the stories and experiences of homebound people who have become sedentary and dependent on others. Many of these elders do not adjust well to inactivity and express anger and regret. They struggle with bodies that do not cooperate and feel separated from other healthier generations. The majority of them have never been comfortable with solitude and silence and now they are forced by illness or disability to reside there.
Being homebound gives elders time to face themselves by traveling down memory lane or by finding new areas for personal or spiritual exploration. Living with a slowed-down body and a less-crowded mind has its advantages such as the opportunities to participate in something bigger than ourselves. The pianist Arthur Rubinstein has written:
"I am eighty. So now I take chances I never took before. You see, the stakes are not so high. I can afford it. I used to be much more careful. No wrong notes. Not too bold ideas . . . Now I let go and enjoy myself and to hell with everything but the music."
Wendy Lustbader does a wonderful job describing the kindness and generosity of caregivers and the need for elders of all stripes to open themselves to new possibilities.
A remarkable paperback on elders and the challenges they face when becoming home-bound.