Joy and Compassion

Last week, in the spirit of Valentines Day, I introduced Love from the Buddhist perspective as having 4 facets - the first of which is a sense of simple kindness. This week we can explore the next two facets: Joy and Compassion which arise when you take loving kindness to the actual world we're living in now. A world of uncertainty and upheaval and a whole lot of suffering. 

Joy (Mudita)

When we take loving kindness to the people and places we go everyday and do not run head first into suffering, the tendency to compare and judge tend to drop away. When these tendencies fade to the background in favor of bringing kindness to the front, what you tend to find is JOY!

Joy is that sense of exuberance and delight, not only in your own experience but also in the experience of others. Its an expansive quality that gives you access to so much more than your own sense of what you "like".

Joy can be realized in far less than ideal circumstances as a matter of how and where you put your attention. I can have knee pain and still experience joy. I can be fully aware of the injustice in the world and still experience joy. 

Like all of the facets of love from this perspective, Joy is not a feeling, but a way of being that's lived out in action. It is contagious, abundant and inherently shared and shareable. Give it away for Valentines Day! 

Compassion (Karuna)

But what happens when loving kindness does encounter suffering?

When genuine kindness meets suffering, a kind of deep care and concern arises and can serve as motivation for taking compassionate action. Distinct from pity or even empathy, compassion is a fierce commitment to helping another when they are in distress. It is powerfully motivating and a profound antidote to the helplessness and rage that show up in the face of suffering and injustice.

True compassion always, always starts with ourselves. Until we have acknowledged and tended to the pain we ourselves experience as a result of the suffering even of others, we can not be compassionate towards others. By offering myself compassion for the discomfort I feel when witnessing the pain of others, I set myself up to be ready and able to help rather than simply feel awful or full of fury.

It takes real strength and courage to bring your full, open heart to the world with kindness. Joy and compassion, in their truest form, are not fleeting emotions, but fierce commitments. Next week, we'll look at Equanimity - a quality of steadfastness that lets you show up with the other three facets of love. 

Love,

Colette