Today is a good day for the base-compassion-practice. Let’s think about line 7, sympathy, and what feeling for a sufferer means, when it helps, and when more complex forms of compassion are needed:
I practice compassion
With compassion, I free myself and others from suffering
With compassion, I help myself and others find peace and feel safe in this world
With compassion, I create contentment in this life
With compassion, I inspire myself and others to flourish
With patience and good humour, I welcome people’s imperfections, and with patience and good humour, I welcome my own imperfections
With sympathy, I feel for those who suffer, myself included
With empathy, I mind what others are feeling and try to understand why, and I mind what I’m feeling and try to understand why
I seek wisdom
I nurture a broad perspective
I foster gratefulness
And I acknowledge that suffering and difficulties are part of life
Great practice! It will help us think about more complex kinds of suffering that require perspective and equally complex kinds of compassionš