Love...or Compassion?

[Taw Makto]

One of the remarkable things I've seen about ToS is that members frequently post of their love for other members and this forum. Considering that we are heavily skewed towards male members, this is unique in my experience. I'm a baby-boomer, in case that isn't known, and that means that I was brought up and have lived in a way that is more reserved in expressions of affection. It is something of a challenge for me to use the phrase, "I Love You." When I use it, it goes well beyond "I See You." Normally when I express affection it's usually a casual misspelling...."Luvya." There's affection there, but not deep connection or commitment as one would share in an established relationship, like husband-wife, boyfriend-girlfriend...and the variations on that theme that our culture is beginning to embrace.

We have also touched on religion here, and considering that Cameron invented one for the Na'vi that is quite powerful, it's also an undercurrent of ToS. While I'm cautious about this sort of thing, especially given the catastrophe that has emerged from another science fiction writer's establishment of a formal religion, I think that appreciation of Eywa and the interconnectedness of natural things and energies is worth pursuing.

But what of real religion in our lives - beyond the fictional? Well, this morning I ran across a really cool article by a really cool dude: The Dalai Lama.

Have a read:

Many Faiths, One Truth

By TENZIN GYATSO
Published: May 24, 2010, [in The New York Times]

Though intolerance may be as old as religion itself, we still see vigorous signs of its virulence. In Europe, there are intense debates about newcomers wearing veils or wanting to erect minarets and episodes of violence against Muslim immigrants. Radical atheists issue blanket condemnations of those who hold to religious beliefs. In the Middle East, the flames of war are fanned by hatred of those who adhere to a different faith.

Such tensions are likely to increase as the world becomes more interconnected and cultures, peoples and religions become ever more entwined. The pressure this creates tests more than our tolerance — it demands that we promote peaceful coexistence and understanding across boundaries.

Granted, every religion has a sense of exclusivity as part of its core identity. Even so, I believe there is genuine potential for mutual understanding. While preserving faith toward one’s own tradition, one can respect, admire and appreciate other traditions.

An early eye-opener for me was my meeting with the Trappist monk Thomas Merton in India shortly before his untimely death in 1968. Merton told me he could be perfectly faithful to Christianity, yet learn in depth from other religions like Buddhism. The same is true for me as an ardent Buddhist learning from the world’s other great religions.

A main point in my discussion with Merton was how central compassion was to the message of both Christianity and Buddhism. In my readings of the New Testament, I find myself inspired by Jesus’ acts of compassion. His miracle of the loaves and fishes, his healing and his teaching are all motivated by the desire to relieve suffering.

I’m a firm believer in the power of personal contact to bridge differences, so I’ve long been drawn to dialogues with people of other religious outlooks. The focus on compassion that Merton and I observed in our two religions strikes me as a strong unifying thread among all the major faiths. And these days we need to highlight what unifies us.

Take Judaism, for instance. I first visited a synagogue in Cochin, India, in 1965, and have met with many rabbis over the years. I remember vividly the rabbi in the Netherlands who told me about the Holocaust with such intensity that we were both in tears. And I’ve learned how the Talmud and the Bible repeat the theme of compassion, as in the passage in Leviticus that admonishes, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In my many encounters with Hindu scholars in India, I’ve come to see the centrality of selfless compassion in Hinduism too — as expressed, for instance, in the Bhagavad Gita, which praises those who “delight in the welfare of all beings.” I’m moved by the ways this value has been expressed in the life of great beings like Mahatma Gandhi, or the lesser-known Baba Amte, who founded a leper colony not far from a Tibetan settlement in Maharashtra State in India. There he fed and sheltered lepers who were otherwise shunned. When I received my Nobel Peace Prize, I made a donation to his colony.

Compassion is equally important in Islam — and recognizing that has become crucial in the years since Sept. 11, especially in answering those who paint Islam as a militant faith. On the first anniversary of 9/11, I spoke at the National Cathedral in Washington, pleading that we not blindly follow the lead of some in the news media and let the violent acts of a few individuals define an entire religion.

Let me tell you about the Islam I know. Tibet has had an Islamic community for around 400 years, although my richest contacts with Islam have been in India, which has the world’s second-largest Muslim population. An imam in Ladakh once told me that a true Muslim should love and respect all of Allah’s creatures. And in my understanding, Islam enshrines compassion as a core spiritual principle, reflected in the very name of God, the “Compassionate and Merciful,” that appears at the beginning of virtually each chapter of the Koran.

Finding common ground among faiths can help us bridge needless divides at a time when unified action is more crucial than ever. As a species, we must embrace the oneness of humanity as we face global issues like pandemics, economic crises and ecological disaster. At that scale, our response must be as one.

Harmony among the major faiths has become an essential ingredient of peaceful coexistence in our world. From this perspective, mutual understanding among these traditions is not merely the business of religious believers — it matters for the welfare of humanity as a whole.

So this brings me full circle.

Do we love each other here....or more accurately, are we sharing a group compassion based on all things Avatar, natural, simple and pure?

Love rocks, but compassion is the key. As always....what do YOU think?

[rapunzel77]

Originally Posted by Taw Makto

But what of real religion in our lives - beyond the fictional? Well, this morning I ran across a really cool article by a really cool dude: The Dalai Lama.

That was a very good article from the Dalai Lama. He's right. The only way to make bridges is to talk to others and find ways of understanding. We will never agree on some things but its good to find ways to bridge gaps.

So this brings me full circle.

Do we love each other here....or more accurately, are we sharing a group compassion based on all things Avatar, natural, simple and pure?

Love rocks, but compassion is the key. As always....what do YOU think?

Very good question. Love and compassion go together. I think that we share a group compassion that goes beyond Avatar or at least builds on Avatar's core messages of understanding, love, compassion, and tolerance for others. We are trying to practice what touched our hearts in the movie. It is a good set of beliefs to live by. I think there is genuine love and compassion for each other. Many of us have found that we are in the same boat or were at one point in our lives. In my case, I have been there, a lonely woman. Since I have been there, I have empathy for those who are in the throes of depression and loneliness. I know how it feels and I can help because I have love, compassion, and empathy.

All of us knows that there is so much pain and hatred in the world. It doesn't hurt to try to shine a light in the midst of it. To do our part to dispel some of the darkness and coldness we see around us.

[Taw Makto]

Indeed. Seems to me we can always use a bit more light! Great analogy.

[Aquaplant]

I don't know, since emotional things are really hard for me to comprehend in the first place, due to their mostly irrational behavior, and it doesn't help that I'm somewhat emotionally broken.

So what do I think? There are lots of lovely people here, but everything feels too insignificant for it to really mean anything, I just don't know.

[txen]

It's more than just compassion. Now compassion is an important component, but I feel there is a lot more going on here than just that.

Darn work. I don't have much time to say much. However, I think Rapunzel77 has got it covered pretty well. There is a lot of darkness out there. I'll keep trying to light up the little corner where I reside.

[ZenitYerkes]

Looked up compassion in the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary for its etymology, but the word soul popped out instead. Coincidence?

---

Compassion, from the Latin compati, "to suffer together with".

Giving ourselves to the rest hurts our ego and our selfish animal instincts, but the power of compassion makes it easier. Passing through a difficult emotional phase is specially sorrowful; but as long as there are people who are ready to take care of your pain, it goes away with ease.

What makes this community so strong is that the matter of someone is someone else's concern too.

And that everybody is willing to help each other.

To suffer together and ease the pain.

[rapunzel77]

Originally Posted by ZenitYerkes

Looked up compassion in the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary for its etymology, but the word soul popped out instead. Coincidence?

---

Compassion, from the Latin compati, "to suffer together with".

Giving ourselves to the rest hurts our ego and our selfish animal instincts, but the power of compassion makes it easier. Passing through a difficult emotional phase is specially sorrowful; but as long as there are people who are ready to take care of your pain, it goes away with ease.

What makes this community so strong is that the matter of someone is someone else's concern too.

And that everybody is willing to help each other.

To suffer together and ease the pain.

Zenit, that is a very good definition . It is the essence of love as well. This is what we do here on TOS.

[Wanderling]

Well said, Zenit.

In my mind, love and compassion are inseparable. If I love someone, I have compassion for them and do indeed suffer their wounds with them. And of course in the reverse, when I feel compassion for someone, I love them as well, really and truly. It isn't always safe or comfortable, but that's how love and compassion go, sometimes. The distinction between the two is something very subtle, I think, but I do believe they go hand in hand.

[CyanRachel]

Originally Posted by Wanderling

Well said, Zenit.

In my mind, love and compassion are inseparable. If I love someone, I have compassion for them and do indeed suffer their wounds with them. And of course in the reverse, when I feel compassion for someone, I love them as well, really and truly. It isn't always safe or comfortable, but that's how love and compassion go, sometimes. The distinction between the two is something very subtle, I think, but I do believe they go hand in hand.

Yes, all my sentiments exactly!

[Spock]

I love someone on this forum very deeply. Enough to sacrafice everything for them. Even my life.

I would happily say I share some sort of companionate with a lot of the other members. Your truly wonderful people.

[Human No More]

Interesting idea, although I don't like the article, it was a bit hostile, I thought.

The idea of love though, it really depends on your definition. This forum, this family, goes far beyond Avatar. We have a real connection, an understanding, in a way almost like the Na'vi do.
So I'd say that in a way, yes, I do love here and the people of here. Not in the way of loving a partner, but in the way of a family.

[rapunzel77]

Originally Posted by Human No More

Interesting idea, although I don't like the article, it was a bit hostile, I thought.

The idea of love though, it really depends on your definition. This forum, this family, goes far beyond Avatar. We have a real connection, an understanding, in a way almost like the Na'vi do.
So I'd say that in a way, yes, I do love here and the people of here. Not in the way of loving a partner, but in the way of a family.

I agree for the most part . I am curious as to your opinion on the article. I didn't detect any hostility in it so I wonder what did you see that was hostile? Maybe I or someone else on this thread missed something that you see and we don't?

[Human No More]

It's kind of going on about different religions and how great they are. I think they're all a load of fiction, does that make me incapable of expressing similar feelings for others? If so, the Dalai Lama just lost all respect I had for him (with respect to the whole situation at the moment with China, etc). It's just that comment about 'radical atheists' in the first paragraph...

[rapunzel77]

Originally Posted by Human No More

It's kind of going on about different religions and how great they are. I think they're all a load of fiction, does that make me incapable of expressing similar feelings for others? If so, the Dalai Lama just lost all respect I had for him (with respect to the whole situation at the moment with China, etc). It's just that comment about 'radical atheists' in the first paragraph...

I know we will disagree on the religion issue but I understand why you didn't like that phrase. I agree that it could have been phrased better than that. I don't think that since you are an atheist that you are incapable of showing love and compassion. In fact, I believe the contrary. You have demonstrated through your posts that you possess a good heart HNM.