Compassionate Acts

Buddhism teaches the practice of compassionate acts. Compassionate acts may be large or small, benefit many people or benefit a single person, require a lot of effort and money or be easily and freely given. Examples of compassionate acts include donating to a charity, volunteering for a group that helps others, comforting someone who is upset, listening to a person who needs to talk, offering words of encouragement to someone who is facing a difficult situation, and engaging in small acts of kindness during everyday life.

Whatever life presents to us, our response can be an expression of our compassion. Whether someone speaks truthfully to us or deceitfully, harshly or gently, we might respond with a loving mind. This is also an act of compassionate service.   – Sharon Salzberg 1

Compassionate acts reduce suffering and promote well-being. They are an important way for me to fulfill my ethical commitments.

Satisfaction of Basic Needs

Compassionate acts help people satisfy their basic needs. People share similar basic needs.2-4

People need food and drink.
People need clothing and shelter.
People need physical and mental health.
People need safety from threats and dangers.
People need friendship and a sense of belonging.
People need to feel their lives are worthwhile.

When people’s basic needs are not satisfied, they suffer. Other people want to avoid suffering, just as I do. When people’s basic needs are satisfied, they experience happiness. Other people want to experience happiness, just as I do.

Elements of Compassion

Compassion has four elements.

  1. Being aware of suffering. I cannot offer compassion if I am unaware of suffering. I cannot offer compassion if I turn away from suffering or ignore suffering.
  2. Wanting to help others alleviate their suffering. I cannot offer compassion if I do not care that other people are suffering. The empathy that I experience when I observe other people suffer motivates me to at least try to alleviate their suffering.
  3. Learning how to help other people. Helping other people requires me to learn about them. I need to learn when other people want my help and when they do not want my help. I need to learn how other people prefer to have their basic needs satisfied. I need to learn what abilities, strengths, and limitations other people possess. This process of learning never ends. There is always more to learn about other people.
  4. Taking action to alleviate the suffering of other people. The actions I take to help alleviate a person’s suffering can take many forms: being present, listening, comforting, encouraging, accompanying, helping, sharing, and giving. My actions to alleviate suffering are most effective when I behave naturally, as myself. Being my authentic self results in honest and trusting interactions that improve my ability to help.
References
  1. Sharon Salzberg (2011). Lovingkindness. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications. Kindle Edition. Quote taken from page 107.
  2. Larry Litwack (2007). Basic Needs – A Retrospective. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 24: 28-30.
  3. Mark Koltko-Rivera (2006). Rediscovering the Later Version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Self-Transcendence and Opportunities for Theory, Research, and Unification. Review of General Psychology, 10: 302–317.
  4. Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117: 497-529.