Compassion

Finally, Mikao Usui’s fifth precept, Be compassionate towards yourself and others. Compassion is another old fashioned word. Dictionary.com gives us this definition:

com·pas·sion   [kuhm-pash-uhn]
noun
1. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

The first part isn’t too hard, most of us feel compassion towards those less well off than ourselves. But what about those we perceive to be better off than ourselves, do we feel compassion for them when they fall on hard times?

Then there’s the second part – being compassionate towards ourselves! That means not beating ourselves up when we make a mistake, being kind to ourselves when we don’t manage to achieve what we thought we should.

Hmmm…. not quite so easy, is it!