Compassion: What is it?
Sep. 17th, 2011 05:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabrinamariA TEDtalk on compassion posted by Michael:
http://mage-imbroglio.livejournal.com/46235.html?mode=reply
What seemed most important to me:
* A key component of compassion is not being attached to outcomes.
* Suffering activates compassion.
* "Compassion has enemies: pity, moral outrage...fear. And we have a society paralyzed by fear".
* "Now we know from neuroscience that that compassion has some very extraordinary qualities. For example, a person that is cultivating compassion, when they are in the presence of suffering, they feel that suffering a lot more than many other people do. However, they return to baseline a lot sooner. This is called resilience. Many of us think that compassion drains us, but I promise you it is something that truly enlivens us".
* "Another thing about compassion is that it really enhances neural integration. It hooks up all parts of the brain".
* "Another...is that compassion enhances our immune system".
* "If compassion is so good for us...why don't we train our children in compassion? Why don't we train our healthcare workers in compassion...Why don't we vote from compassion?"
* "In Buddhism, we say it takes a strong back and a soft front. It takes tremendous strength of the back to uphold yourself in the midst of conditions [that are painful]...that is the mental quality of equanimity. But it also takes a soft front: the capacity to really be open to the world as it is---to have an undefended heart."
http://mage-imbroglio.livejournal.com/46235.html?mode=reply
What seemed most important to me:
* A key component of compassion is not being attached to outcomes.
* Suffering activates compassion.
* "Compassion has enemies: pity, moral outrage...fear. And we have a society paralyzed by fear".
* "Now we know from neuroscience that that compassion has some very extraordinary qualities. For example, a person that is cultivating compassion, when they are in the presence of suffering, they feel that suffering a lot more than many other people do. However, they return to baseline a lot sooner. This is called resilience. Many of us think that compassion drains us, but I promise you it is something that truly enlivens us".
* "Another thing about compassion is that it really enhances neural integration. It hooks up all parts of the brain".
* "Another...is that compassion enhances our immune system".
* "If compassion is so good for us...why don't we train our children in compassion? Why don't we train our healthcare workers in compassion...Why don't we vote from compassion?"
* "In Buddhism, we say it takes a strong back and a soft front. It takes tremendous strength of the back to uphold yourself in the midst of conditions [that are painful]...that is the mental quality of equanimity. But it also takes a soft front: the capacity to really be open to the world as it is---to have an undefended heart."
