Pity vs Compassion

[indiGo33]

A young disciple asked his master, "Master, what is compassion?"

The Master explained: "An old man was begging at the corner of a busy street. First an old lady passed by him and taking pity on the beggar, gave him a gold coin. Then a merchant, noticing that a small group of men were looking at him, gave him five gold coins, and walked on with a sense of self-satisfaction. Finally, a boy who went to collect some flowers for his mom, passed by the beggar; smiled at him and gave him a flower. "

The master asked his disciple: "Which one of them do you think felt the most compassion towards the beggar?" "The merchant did," replied the boy.

The master, smiling, continued, "The merchant acted out of pride, the old lady acted out of pity; however, the boy felt real compassion. Compassion is a far greater and nobler thing than pity.

Pity has its roots in fear, and a sense of arrogance and condescension, sometimes even a smug feeling of ‘I'm glad it's not me’. When your fear touches someone's pain, it becomes pity. When your love touches someone's pain, it becomes compassion. Feeling compassion is more essential than showing compassion.

“To train in compassion, then, is to know all beings are the same and suffer in similar ways, to honour all those who suffer, and to know you are neither separate from nor superior to anyone."

[AnthroHeart]

Those are good lessons. When I am serving others, it is then possible to serve out of pride. Still, the person is helped, so I think if we can meet the needs of the body, the person is satisfied. Perhaps the merchant was greeted with the greatest satisfaction, since it's hard to judge the intentions of another. He may have seen the flower of the boy as something which could not supply his body, for of what use is a flower.

So compassion is seen through one's own eyes rather than another who is the recipient. Do you think the old man looked fondly upon the flower as a gift. He evidently accepted the gift.