Compassion

Compassion is the feeling one experiences when they witness someone’s misery, pain, or distress and want to take action to relieve that suffering. Although the word compassion is often used interchangeably with words such as pity and empathy, it is a distinct emotion. Many world religions consider compassion a virtue that should be celebrated and cultivated. Studies have shown that the cultivation of compassion can occur through meditation. Although people generally have a positive view of compassion, people who confront pain and suffering on a regular basis may begin to suffer from compassion fatigue and develop a negative attitude.

Compassion as a Distinct Emotion

Compassion is an emotion that combines a sympathetic awareness and understanding of another’s sorrow or suffering with a longing to assuage it. Many people describe compassion using words such as pity, empathy, kindness, or caring, but each of these words conveys only part of what compassion means. Like compassion, pity invokes a feeling of sympathy or concern for someone who is sad or hurt. However, unlike compassion, pity lacks a desire to alleviate another’s suffering. Empathy, like compassion, allows one to understand and share another’s feelings. Again, however, empathy does not foster an urge to lessen another’s sadness or pain.

Kindness is defined as "a kind act," and caring means "giving care." Both kindness and caring can improve another’s situation. However, one may show kindness or give care to another without necessarily sharing in their suffering. When one feels pity and empathy for another’s suffering simultaneously with a need to show kindness or give care to lessen that suffering, one experiences a distinct emotion: compassion.

Compassion as a Virtue

Many world religions consider compassion a virtue, or a quality of strong character and morality. Religious leaders try to cultivate compassion in their followers.

Buddhists believe that compassion, or karuṇā, is fundamental to the practice of Buddhism. Karuṇā is a desire for others to be free of suffering. Buddhist texts and teachings share stories of the Buddha’s compassion to encourage compassion in followers. Throughout their lives, Buddhists strive to reach a state of complete happiness and peace of mind, known as nirvana. When a Buddhist achieves nirvana, they overcome all forms of suffering. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha showed great compassion when he decided to forgo nirvana in favor of imparting his message to others to guide them on the path toward nirvana.

Members of the Jewish faith believe that compassion should guide relationships between people. Excerpts from the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, reinforce this belief. For example, Yeshayah (Isaiah) 1:17 says, "Learn to do good! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend orphans, plead for the widow." Similarly, Yirmyah (Jeremiah) 21:12 reads, "Judge fairly every morning, rescue the wronged from their oppressors." The common theme in these verses, recognizing those in need and lending them help, shows the importance of compassion in the Jewish faith.

Christians also believe that compassion is a virtue. Perhaps the most well-known and oft-repeated example of compassion in the Christian faith comes from the New Testament story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33–34). The Good Samaritan encounters a man who has been robbed and beaten. Feeling pity and empathy for the man’s situation, the Good Samaritan tries to lessen the man’s suffering by treating and bandaging his wounds. The Good Samaritan then takes the man to an inn and continues to care for him.

Cultivating Compassion

Some scholars believe that compassion arises naturally, but research has suggested that people actually can learn to become more compassionate. For example, in an eight-week study, researchers at Northeastern University in Boston discovered that people who participated in a course on mindful meditation were more likely to show compassion for a person in pain than people who had been placed on a waiting list for the course. In a second study, researchers from the same university discovered that people who used a meditation app designed for smartphones also were more likely to show compassion for people in pain than people who did not use the app. Researchers concluded that meditation can improve mindfulness and strengthen compassion in individuals.

People can build compassion in other ways, too. Research has shown that people feel more compassionate toward others when they think about those who helped them when they were hurt or suffering. Looking for similarities between oneself and others also can increase feelings of compassion. Likewise, personifying the suffering of a whole group by seeking out stories of individuals can strengthen compassion. Instead of focusing on the impact of hunger, poverty, or disaster on an entire population, people should focus on one or two people suffering from those conditions to create a more personal connection with them.

Compassion Fatigue

Compassion involves one person sharing in the pain or suffering of another. Sharing in such feelings long term can lead to a condition called compassion fatigue. People with compassion fatigue become so overcome by the sadness and suffering around them that they essentially stop feeling anything. Compassion fatigue can make people feel hopeless and lead to a negative outlook. Doctors, nurses, and other caregivers who work in fields in which suffering and death are commonplace, such as hospice care, are especially at risk for developing compassion fatigue over time.

People suffering from compassion fatigue can relieve symptoms in many ways. Getting regular physical activity, eating a healthy diet, and engaging in fun activities with friends or family can lessen the effects of compassion fatigue.

Bibliography

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