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audiodharma:
  talks:
  - date: '2024-03-19'
    mp3_url: https://audiodharma.us-east-1.linodeobjects.com/talks/20036/20240319-Kim_Allen-sati-the_spectrum_of_compassion_3_of_3.mp3
    speakers:
    - speaker_name: Kim Allen
      speaker_url: https://www.audiodharma.org/speakers/4
    talk_start_time_seconds: 0
    title: The Spectrum of Compassion (3 of 3)
    url: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/20036
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location_city: Redwood City, CA
video_unavailable: true
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  id: Q2vNQbhsW_0
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  title: The Spectrum of Compassion with Kim Allen (3 of 3)
  upload_date: '2024-03-20'
  uploader_str: The Sati Center
  uploader_url: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSatiCenter
youtube_url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2vNQbhsW_0
---

# The Spectrum of Compassion (3 of 3) - [Kim Allen](https://www.audiodharma.org/speakers/4)

*This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video above. It likely contains inaccuracies, especially with speaker attribution if there are multiple speakers.*

## [The Spectrum of Compassion (3 of 3)](https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/20036)

## Introduction and Review

Welcome to our third session in the Spectrum of Compassion series. As a recap and reminder, in our second session we considered that there are three different Pali words that all tend to get translated as "compassion" in English translations. That is fine—it's actually a fine translation for all three of those words. But if we always use the same English word, it obscures the differences in the Pali and the nuances of those words.

Karuṇā[^1], the word that many people associate with compassion, clearly means meditative cultivation. It is the second of the four Brahmavihāras[^2] (the heart qualities). Karuṇā is never explicitly defined in the Buddhist texts, so we don't get a succinct definition of what we're cultivating in that meditation. Maybe it was assumed that people would know what it is. Sometime later—certainly by 900 years after the Buddha—karuṇā changed to have a broader meaning of wanting to alleviate suffering. So it's understandable that we tend to think of it that way, but it doesn't seem to mean that in the earliest texts.

For completeness, remember there were 63 occurrences of karuṇā. There are two where it is used in a non-meditative context. Both happen to be in the Sutta Nipāta[^3], a collection of verses, and a pretty good argument can be made that it was chosen for metrical reasons. 

The second word is kāruñña[^4], which is used in a variety of ways but generally means a direct response to seeing suffering or discomfort. It is the best candidate in the early teachings for what we think of as compassion in modern English. It also seems to have other dimensions related to protection, loyalty, honor, or valor. It's only used in eight passages over seven suttas in the Pali Canon, but they are not trivial—they include the Buddha initially deciding to teach.

The word we are focusing on now is anukampā[^5]. It has by far the most usage in the texts and the broadest meaning. It often refers to why the Buddha teaches and his motivation to visit people who are sick and dying. Lay people can also have feelings of anukampā that direct them to follow the precepts and avoid actions that would harm others.

## Innate Compassion

*Anu* means "toward," and *kampā* comes from the verb "to shake." It could be like the English idiom "to be moved by," and Gil Fronsdal translates it as the more general term "care"—caring about something so that we're moved by it. Unlike karuṇā, there are no specific practices given for how to cultivate anukampā in the texts. Maybe it was assumed that people naturally had it.

I wanted to offer a couple of examples from my own experience of an innately arising sense of compassion. The first happened in high school, before I was practicing. I had a friend who was emotionally charged and frequently had drama in her life. We were in a class together, and the teacher mentioned casually that the teacher of her acting class was in the hospital. For me, that was just information, but for her, it was a huge, dramatic thing. She froze, her face in shock. I was standing next to her as the bell rang, and I remember just putting my arm around her, saying, "Come on, let's go out," and getting her body moving. I look back on that and feel like something was moving me to do that. I didn't consciously think about what she might need; it was just a movement that expressed care for her.

A more direct example happened while I was on a month-long retreat. I was pretty concentrated, doing walking meditation in the dining hall. A man who wasn't on the retreat walked through the dining hall eating a muffin. He stopped, and I could see that he was choking. He wasn't making any noise. Again, I had the sense of my body being moved. I just walked over to him, broke silence, and asked, "Can you speak?" He motioned to his back, so I gave him a big whack on the back, and then, for good measure, I did a Heimlich maneuver from the front. He held me off with his hand and after a moment said, "I'm okay." Interestingly, being in a silent retreat center, he then bowed to me and walked out. Everybody else just went back to their walking meditation.

When I revisit these memories, I have this sense of a movement arising from within, accompanied by very sharp alertness. It wasn't an emotional impulse. It carried itself forward without considered choice on my part. We have an innate response to others in distress that can come forth very cleanly.

I think there is a connection here to anattā[^6] (not-self). This feeling of natural goodness arising has nothing to do with "Kim" or my story or deliberation. In fact, "selfing" is part of what blocks our access. If we're tangled up in "Should I?" or "Shouldn't I?", we don't have time to act. Not-self is in the realm of wisdom. The more I practice, the more I see that compassion and wisdom are deeply interconnected.

## Q&A: Self-Compassion and Cultivation

**Question:** I taught a self-compassion and mindfulness course recently. I said that compassion was an inherent quality, and I got a lot of flak from people in the class. There were folks who had been severely discriminated against, and they felt that compassion needed to be cultivated, not that it was inherent.

**Kim:** I can understand that. Thank you for sharing.

## Practicing Out of Anukampā

Let's look at more excerpts about anukampā. In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta[^7], the Buddha is instructing his monks at the end of his life. He says:

> "Monks, those matters which I have discovered and proclaimed should be thoroughly learned by you, practiced, developed, and cultivated, so that this holy life may endure for a long time, that it may be for the benefit and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit and happiness of devas[^8] and humans."

He lists the 37 Wings to Awakening (the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Noble Eightfold Path, etc.). He says these things should be practiced out of compassion (anukampā) for the world. Your practice is inherently beneficial, and you can do it out of care for the world.

There is also the famous line where he sends his arahant[^9] disciples out into the world. He doesn't let them just hang around enjoying their enlightenment. He says, "Wander forth for the welfare of the multitude, for the happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world... for the good, welfare, and happiness of devas and humans."

## Preventing and Dispelling Delusion

Anukampā is also used in the context of preventing or dispelling delusion.

Prince Bodhi had a new stilt longhouse named Pink Lotus constructed. He laid a white cloth over the entry stairs, believing that if the Buddha was the first to step on it, it would bring him lasting wealth, good fortune, and an heir. He invited the Buddha and said, "Please sir, step on the cloth. It will be for my lasting welfare and happiness."

The Buddha stopped and did not step on the cloth. Prince Bodhi asked a second and third time. The Buddha simply gave a knowing, sidelong glance to his attendant, Ānanda. Ānanda understood and said, "Fold up the cloth, Prince. The Buddha will not step upon the white cloth. The realized one has compassion (anukampā) for future generations."

Why is it compassionate that the Buddha doesn't step on the cloth? Because it's based on magical thinking. If the Buddha stepped on it and good things happened, Prince Bodhi's wrong view would be reinforced. If bad things happened, he would discount the Buddha's teachings. The Buddha simply didn't engage in the delusion.

Another example is from the Bāhiya Sutta[^10]. Bāhiya was an ascetic living by the ocean, treated as a holy man by the locals. He started thinking, "I am one of those in the world who are perfected or on the path to perfection."

Then a deva, who was a former relative of Bāhiya, having compassion (anukampā) and wanting what's best for him, approached him and said: "Bāhiya, you are not a perfected one, nor on the path to perfection, and you don't even have the practice by which you might become one." The deva popped his bubble. Bāhiya was spiritually sensitive enough to realize he needed to find a true teacher, and he subsequently went to the Buddha and became awakened.

## Being an Exemplar

Being an exemplar for others is also a form of compassion.

In the Bhayabherava Sutta (MN 4), the brahmin Jānussoni asks the Buddha if his disciples follow his example. The Buddha confirms that they do. He then says:

> "Now, brahmin, it might be that you think: 'Perhaps the ascetic Gotama is not free from lust, hate, and delusion even today, which is why he still resorts to remote jungle-thicket resting places in the forest.' But you should not think thus. It is because I see two benefits that I still resort to remote jungle-thicket resting places in the forest: I see a pleasant abiding for myself here and now, and I have compassion (anukampā) for future generations."

The Buddha goes on retreat not because he still has work to do, but because it is pleasant and because he knows people model their behavior after him. Behaving in a way that is a good exemplar for others is considered part of anukampā.

We see the same with Mahākassapa[^11], one of the Buddha's longtime disciples, who was a strict renunciate. He wore rag robes, ate only alms food, and lived in the forest. When the Buddha asked him why he did this, Mahākassapa replied: "Considering two benefits I see for myself: a pleasant dwelling in this very life, and I have anukampā for later generations. May those of later generations follow my example... then they will practice accordingly, and that will lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time."

## Visiting the Sick and Dying

Anukampā is frequently the motivation for visiting the sick and dying. These stories show a different flavor of compassion than a modern chaplain might offer—the focus is often deeply rooted in sharing the Dharma.

Venerable Assaji[^12] was gravely ill and asked the Buddha to visit him out of compassion. The Buddha agreed. When Assaji tried to rise from his bed, the Buddha stopped him, essentially overriding minor monastic rules out of care. The Buddha asked if he was getting better, and Assaji replied that his pain was terrible. The Buddha asked if he had any regrets regarding his virtue. Assaji said he had no regrets about virtue, but he was distressed because he couldn't concentrate his mind due to his illness. The Buddha taught him that concentration isn't the ultimate point; he guided Assaji toward insight, reminding him that form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are all impermanent.

In another story, Girimānanda[^13] was sick, and the Buddha sent Ānanda to visit him, saying, "Go to this monk and teach him the ten perceptions. It's possible that on hearing them, his affliction will subside." The perceptions included impermanence, not-self, unattractiveness, danger, abandoning, and dispassion.

Finally, we have the story of Anāthapiṇḍika[^14], a wealthy layperson and major supporter of the Sangha. When he fell gravely ill, he requested that Sāriputta[^15] visit him. Sāriputta arrived, saw his terrible pain, and delivered a profound teaching on not grasping the senses, objects, or consciousness.

Anāthapiṇḍika began to cry. Ānanda asked if he was failing, and Anāthapiṇḍika replied, "No, honorable Ānanda, but for a long time I have paid homage to the Buddha and the esteemed mendicants, but I have never before heard such a Dharma talk."

Ānanda explained, "It doesn't occur to us to teach a Dharma talk like that to white-clothed lay people. Rather, we teach like this to monks."

Anāthapiṇḍika replied, "Let it occur to you to teach such a Dharma talk to white-clothed lay people as well! There are people with little dust in their eyes who are in decline because they haven't heard the teaching. There will be those who understand."

These stories show that the "medicine" of the Dharma was foremost on the Buddha's mind when visiting the dying.

## Wisdom and Welfare

Wisdom and compassion are intricately connected. One sutta asks, "In what way is one a wise person of great wisdom?" The Buddha answers:

> "A wise person of great wisdom... thinks only of their own welfare, the welfare of others, the welfare of both, and the welfare of the whole world. It is in this way that one is a wise person of great wisdom."

We aren't wise just because we've had experiences of great light in meditation or memorized lists from the suttas. We are wise if our minds naturally tend toward the welfare of self, other, both, and the world.

## Compassionate Teaching and Tough Love

How do some of the Buddha's teachings show compassion, even when they seem challenging?

In the teaching of the two darts (or arrows), the Buddha explains that an uninstructed worldling reacts to painful physical feelings by sorrowing, grieving, and lamenting. They feel two feelings: a bodily one and a mental one—like being struck by a dart, and then immediately struck by a second dart. The instructed noble disciple, however, feels only the physical pain. They do not add the second dart of mental anguish.

This is a form of "tough love." The Buddha is teaching us not to get wrapped up in painful feelings, and this wisdom is a compassionate way to help alleviate suffering. As someone in the group noted, it's also compassionate for the people around you, because projecting your mental anguish affects them as well.

The story of Kisā Gotamī[^16] is another example. Born into poverty, her life improved only after she had a son, but the boy died young. Mad with grief, she carried his dead body from door to door, asking for medicine. People thought she was crazy.

The Buddha saw that she had the basis for awakening. He told her, "Go enter the town and bring me some white mustard seed from any house where there has never been a death."

Delighted, she went door to door. But at every house, she was told, "Of course, many people have died here." Slowly, her madness faded. She realized that death is universal and she was not alone in her grief. The Buddha didn't just give her the answer or offer conventional pity; he gave her a task that allowed her to see the universal truth of impermanence for herself. She later ordained and became an awakened nun.

## Q&A and Reflections

**Question:** Are there examples of having compassion for an enemy or a difficult person?

**Kim:** Yes. There is a story where someone comes and insults the Buddha, delivering a lot of anger. The Buddha asks him, "If you offer a guest food and they don't accept it, to whom does the food belong?" The man says it remains his. The Buddha replies, "In the same way, you have offered me your anger, and I do not accept it. It stays with you." He met the anger with calm, not provoking the man further.

There is also a teaching on removing resentment. If you feel resentment toward someone who seems entirely unwholesome, the teaching advises having compassion for them. The analogy given is a tiny puddle of water in a hoofprint in the mud. If you are dying of thirst, you will carefully drink even that. Even for a person who seems entirely unwholesome, we can have compassion because they have to live with a very painful, difficult mind constantly.

**Question:** Are there examples of self-compassion, or is that a modern Western teaching?

**Kim:** When cultivating karuṇā (compassion) in formal meditation, traditionally, the second being you focus on—after a benefactor or a being in distress—is yourself. So self-compassion is built into the traditional cushion cultivation of karuṇā. We can also look at the Buddha himself; after realizing that severe asceticism was harming him and not leading to awakening, he had the compassion for himself to eat and choose a gentler middle way.

---

[^1]: **Karuṇā**: A Pali word often translated as "compassion," specifically the meditative cultivation of compassion as one of the four Brahmavihāras.
[^2]: **Brahmavihāras**: The four "divine abodes" or heart qualities: loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity.
[^3]: **Sutta Nipāta**: An early collection of Buddhist discourses in the Pali Canon.
[^4]: **Kāruñña**: A Pali word for compassion, closely related to karuṇā.
[^5]: **Anukampā**: A Pali word translating to "compassion," "sympathy," or "care," often used to describe a direct, moved response to the suffering of others.
[^6]: **Anattā**: The Buddhist concept of "not-self" or the absence of a permanent, unchanging identity.
[^7]: **Mahāparinibbāna Sutta**: The discourse recounting the final days, passing, and final teachings of the Buddha.
[^8]: **Deva**: A celestial being or deity in Buddhist cosmology.
[^9]: **Arahant**: A fully awakened individual who has eradicated all defilements and will not be reborn.
[^10]: **Bāhiya Sutta**: The story of Bāhiya, a spiritually advanced ascetic who attained awakening rapidly after a brief teaching from the Buddha.
[^11]: **Mahākassapa**: One of the Buddha's most prominent disciples, renowned for his strict adherence to ascetic practices.
[^12]: **Venerable Assaji**: One of the Buddha's first five disciples, later depicted as gravely ill in the Assaji Sutta.
[^13]: **Girimānanda**: A monk who was gravely ill and recovered after hearing the ten perceptions from Ānanda.
[^14]: **Anāthapiṇḍika**: A wealthy merchant and the chief lay patron of the Buddha, known for his immense generosity.
[^15]: **Sāriputta**: One of the two chief disciples of the Buddha, renowned for his profound wisdom.
[^16]: **Kisā Gotamī**: An awakened nun who famously came to the Buddha mad with grief over her dead child, seeking medicine, and was taught the universality of death via a mustard seed.