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• A thought/question about Compassion
• The Desire For Enlightenment?
• requesting a little clarification "Need & Want"

 I've been thinking a lot about compassion recently and doing practices for it and have encountered some questions which I thought I would share and maybe get a good discussion going.

First, it seems that there is a fine line between compassion and desire, the desire for someone to be happy and free from whatever suffering they are feeling, and that it is easy to fall into that desire. The word compassion comes from "with" and "feel", so perhaps the distinction is that compassion is feeling another being's suffering with them but not desiring that it end? (I know that compassion is just an approximation- does anyone know more about the word karuna?). Wishing that your own suffering would go away instead of accepting it only makes it worse, so I guess that the same would apply to others' suffering. But if we pray for all beings to be free from suffering, could that not cause desire to arise? or how would one prevent this kind of desire from arising instead of compassion? Is it then be better to just let it grow naturally as we abandon illusions of self and separation? Or perhaps desire for the happiness of all beings serves to replace desire for personal security and all that until we reach enlightenment and it too falls away. Different schools of Buddhism have different answers to these question- I wonder if anyone has any personal insights or observations.

Isaac Ospovat

Compassion (Karuna) is only one component of the Brahmavihara (Holy Abiding or Sublime State of Mind). The Brahmavihara has 4 components:

1.Metta (Loving-kindness)

2.Karuna (Compassion)

3.Mudita (Sympathetic Joy)

4.Upekkha (Neutrality)

The Brahmavihara is for every being (Human, Animal, and all). In meditation practice, we should consider the Brahmavihara to all kinds of life form and also to our opponents. One of the benefits of this practice is to reduce bad karma and make new good karma. However Upekkha (Neutrality) is the major factor for neutralize all desires and karmas.

Practice Upekkha Dhamma is very important step of meditating.

I have been wondering about Enlightenment. I have heard of some Buddhist schools that emphasize Enlightenment as a goal to aim for. Isn't this a desire, the desire to achieve Enlightenment? If desire is the cause of suffering, isn't this contradictory? I am wondering if this is only the interpretation or misunderstanding of some Western Buddhist schools because I have also read material by a Buddhist monk from the East and he does not seem to emphasise 'achieving' Enlightenment at all. He instead emphasises mindfulness observance and compassion. Watching desire, understanding it and allowing it to follow its natural path from arisng to cessation. Enlightenment in this way is not mentioned, perhaps because if it becomes a goal or an ultimate desire, it can hinder understanding and progress. I don't know, I'm just throwing up ideas. Any responses?

Clint.

Desire is just a word from Chanda. We need Chanda as a basis to be success and it is a path of accomplishment.(Iddhipada 4)

Chanda has 2 types. Bad and good Chanda. Bad Chanda is ,for an example, called Kamachanda (sensual desire).

Good Chanda and the desire for enlightenment is called Dhamma Chanda.

To be enlightened is not easy and no one will show that he has achieved it. Only the one with higher spiritual level will know.

First of all I would like to thank all those that assisted me in my search to gain some comprehensive information on Buddhism, I have looked at a few sites, and I have purchased a book called "What the Buddha Taught", all have been most helpful. In my reading I have become a little perplexed at the concept of the Four Noble Truths. I entirely agree that the dissolvent of needless wants and desires is a necessary goal in achieving the true sense of one's self, but in the distinction between wants and needs, some rather important "wants", that cannot be classified as "needs" seem to cause a little bit of a predicament. For example, my Grandfather was dying of lung cancer, and I "wanted" him to recover, would this seeming "craving" get in the way of me achieving happiness. If not, how does one know the distinction between a necessary want and a insignificant want? And if so, how can one not allow the rather prominent parts of one's life to get in the way? The aspect of not wanting for a loved one to recover is a little confusing to me.

My second question relates to those around us. Often we are faced with people who would glorify the rather superficial aspects of socitey which Buddhism would be attempting to move away from. Without being rude and disrespectful to another's well-being, how do we approach someone of that nature, when their attitude towards life seems so immediately frustrating?

Alex Strain

Need, want, and desire are right in Buddhism when it helps oneself for not sufferings. Happiness is also the cause of suffering. Meaning of suffering needs right understanding. Desire for Nibbana is Dhamma-desire. Music may help tired person but annoys meditators. So it depends on situations that make the middle way for each one to progress step by step.

Your second question seems to depend on each individual's nature, I have no specific answer.

Last updated
12-06-1999