Episode
Compassion is Our Nature
- Published
- Jan 30, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2023
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://amykisei.substack.com/p/compassion-is-our-nature
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534/episodes/compassion-is-our-nature/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534/compassion-is-our-nature.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Greetings Friends, In the heartbreak, pain, confusion of this moment. I wish to remember together the Way of the Bodhisattva. The image or archetype of the Bodhisattva resonates deep in the hearts of those oriented towards love for this beautiful and broken world. For a Bodhisattva is motivated to relieve suffering and pain, as they work towards a liberation for all beings. This is the spiritual warrior, who knows that this life is not our own but a shared life. Practice of a bodhisattva is a practice of compassion which has two important dimensions Boundless Compassion or Absolute Compassion and Engaged Compassion or Relative Compassion. Boundless Compassion is a view we can practice and eventually realize. It’s something we sense or know, without thinking. Boundless Compassion reminds us that compassion is our nature. That nothing need be done because it is already so. The spacious, clear source of our being gives rise to compassionate activity. Without needing to think about it, we respond, we care for others. Our heart is inseparable from all that appears in awareness. This body-heart-mind is an organ of compassion. Is the expression of compassion. Is the vehicle of compassion. There is nothing we need to do make it this way. We practice recognizing and trusting our innate compassion in meditation on and off the cushion. Engaged Compassion is the practice of cultivating compassion through our living. Shantideva in his treatise on The Way of the Bodhisattva invokes the aspirational spirit of compassionate service through this heart-felt prayer. Below is an excerpt, in the original Shantideva goes on and on, connecting to this deep intention to offer himself and is practice for the liberation of all beings. Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva For all those ailing in…