Every major religion gives compassion a high place as a virtue in human nature. The Dalai Lama said “compassion is a necessity, not a luxury, and that without it humanity cannot survive.” This moves it from a divine attribute to a practical human necessity for the survival of humanity. Compassion is to be desired and we will examine the reasons.
Compassion is an emotion similar to love; however, it is uniquely related to suffering. Compassion is the feeling of empathy we have toward the suffering of others, and the desire to help.
Within compassion, there is an aspect of quantity and quality. It can be seen to be deep and passionate and motivate vigorous action. The root of the word compassion is “co suffering”, hence, it co shares the suffering, and motivates action to help.
Compassion is desirable as a key motivator of people. In particular, it motivates them not only to feel the pain of those suffering, but also drives their motivation to do something to alleviate it.
It identifies with others in an empathetic way. This is the opposite reaction to people that those who cause suffering have. They are callous, ruthless and cruel. The compassionate person will respond to the humanity of others, not their ethnicity or religion. The person motivated with compassion will seek to help the suffering. This is the opposite of the attitude that causes war, terrorism, human trafficking, drug dealing and such evils, which cause suffering to many. A lack of compassion can lead to such atrocities as the Nazi Holocaust, the Bosnian Serb ethnic cleansing, and the Rwanda genocide. An individual who cannot empathize with the suffering of another human being will not only ignore the suffering of others, but may even contribute to it.
Compassion is needed whenever there is a person suffering, because only compassion will provide the empathy to co suffer, and the motivation to try and alleviate it.
Suffering is always personal, and unique to the sufferer. In addition, no one can feel the others exact pain, even if they are in the same situation. Each will experience their own unique level of suffering. Empathy will, however, enter into that unique experience, and identify with the individual, and have a perception of the pain of the sufferer. Suffering can come from different sources. It can be psychological, physical or social and at different levels. Many who suffer psychologically and emotionally may not be easily recognized as suffering. Physical suffering is easier to see and recognize. However, many feel disconnected emotionally especially in families, and are suffering. Others feel rejected by their family, friends, and peers and are suffering. Today suicide is a leading cause of death in teens. Their suffering is not identified.
Compassion will recognize it, co suffer and be motivated to help alleviate it.
Compassion is not a luxury but a necessity needed not in lofty realms of idealism, but in the pain of suffering. Whether it is in a national acceptance of others and a perception of their pain, or in the home, between husband and wife, siblings, parents and their children, in the neighborhood between neighbors, it is a necessity for strong healthy communities. Compassion will give motivation to relieve the suffering of others.
Tips on how to write a good expository essay on compassion:
If you wish to write an expository essay, you need to apply the following:
- This essay is designed to investigate and evaluate an idea.
- To do this you need to gather evidence about the topic. This should be an unbiased selection
- Then set out your thesis in a clear statement in the first paragraph.
- Using the evidence you gathered, expound on your thesis, to prove it, argue against it, compare and contrast
- Ensure your paragraphs transition, and each contains and idea.
- Sum up your paper in a conclusion, restating your points to prove your thesis.
- The five-paragraph format is often useful when writing such an essay, but not mandatory.
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