Interdependency, empathy, compassion Interdependence, of course, is a fundamental law of nature. Not only higher forms of life but also many of the smallest insects are social beings who, without any religion, law or education, survive by mutual cooperation based on an innate recognition of their interconnectedness. The most subtle level of material phenomena is also governed by interdependence. All phenomena, from the planet we inhabit to the oceans, clouds, forests and flowers that surround us, arise in dependence upon subtle patterns of energy. Without their proper interaction, they dissolve and decay. - the Dalai Lama Nowadays we know through science, a smile can actually release hormons in the one who receives the smile, thus influencing their mood and their whole physiological system. The same goes for perceiving others pain; and research showed, we need only the subtlest of signals from a person in pain, to activate our brain cells in the empathy region. What we do with those signals of empathy is another matter. It depends on the patterns and associations in our individual mind, and the kind of relationship we have with the person in pain, whether we feel the urge to relieve their suffering, just feel powerless, or even might feel some pleasure in case the person in pain is an enemy. So empathy is different from compassion. In itself, it is just the phenomenon that we perceive others pain. The word is used in a positive sense, because we consider it to be a good thing; yet without compassion it is not much helpful. Research has shown, it can be a heavy burden to feel others pain continuously, without doing something; it causes stress. This explains why we rather give than receive, rather help than ask for help. We obviously have this innate urge. Yet it may be biased, because it might be dependent on irrational aversions or other negative emotions like anger or jealousy. So we need compassion not only for others sake, but also for the sake of diminishing our own stress, caused by empathy. It might be a strange notion, but it is the enemys pain that distresses us more than the pain of our loved ones. In the last case, even though we sometimes might feel sad and helpless, at least there is an outlet for our empathy. But in the first case, without compassion it only frustrates. To find a compassionate reaction to the suffering of what we conceive as the enemy, we need to use our intelligence; imagination to put ourselves in the others shoes, and reason, to react in an appropriate way. Then we might discover, our conception was wrong and there is no such thing as an enemy. And if it was not, to know the enemy, and take countermeasures to stop their wrongdoing, that is also compassion.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:32:02 +0000
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