What is compassion?
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
A useful reminder and indeed profound timeless wisdom from Jiddu Krishnamurti, philosopher, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
What resonates in his journey, is that he was effectively groomed to be a ‘great teacher’. Yet eventually rejected the idea. As he developed into the deeper understanding of what it is to be human, he honoured and shared across India, Britain and the US, that first and foremost we are human. Any other identification, be it a professional label, a health diagnosis, a culture, a religion are not the truth of totality.
This is the truth of compassion. That we are willing to explore and examine our conditioning and commit to something far, far more beautiful. And true.
A compassionate yin yoga practise, cultivates this within you. To remind you gently, that the essence of you, goes way beyond the constructed personality. The ego.
What compassion might be then, is the deepest acceptance to feel. The deeper we can feel, the deeper we can understand the plight of others.
What capacity we have to cultivate stillness in our own body, helps to cultivate compassion. To be vulnerable with ourselves.
When we are then open and vulnerable with another, that then cultivates compassion in them. Think a bitter argument you have with a loved one, and then they break down and reveal the underbelly of what was driving their fear based/angry/mean behaviour. Your heart then melts with compassion. Forgiveness is then right there. In those moments. Honest. Raw. Real.
The Tibetan Tonglen practise. A reminder from one of my yin yoga teachers, Sarah Lo, which I share with you below:
‘Tonglen, meaning “accepting and sending out,” is one of the most powerful and intense compassion meditations in the Buddhist tradition.
The Buddhist definition of compassion is inherently intense and expansive: the willingness to stay open and available to pain and suffering, both in oneself and others. So Tonglen does more than help us develop compassion for others. It also transforms our own lives. Using our imagination and respiratory system, it helps us stay present with difficult feelings and relationships that usually provoke resistance and distance. Tonglen gives us incredibly effective mental tools for meeting painful encounters throughout the day.’
Each day is an opportunity to meet yourself in the whole of you. Letting judgments, blame, hurts fall away. It is brave work to also see the truth. How we take responsibility for the hurt we may have caused others.
How do you practise compassion towards yourself? And what might you start to do more of to build true care of Self. Self care is vital.