Reconciling Kindness … (09/06/09)
“Sacred texts on kindness, compassion, and heart-felt love for others abound. Some of them affirm a general kindness, benevolence, and gentleness, while others recommend active mercy over mere ritual observances. Some stress the impartiality and universality of the heart that transcends considerations of family, race, nationality, or religion. As a whole, these scriptures all espouse the truth that the Love that naturally develops between members of a family should be extended to embrace all beings.” ~ unknown
“Those who act kindly in this world will have kindness.”
~ Qur’an 39.10 (Islam)
“Those who do not abandon mercy will not be abandoned by me.”
~ Oracle of the Kami of Itsukushima (Shinto)
“Benevolence means ‘man.’ When these two are joined, the result is ‘the Way.'”
~ Mencius VII.B.16 (Confucianism)
“Have benevolence towards all living beings, joy at the sight of the virtuous, compassion and sympathy for the afflicted, and acceptance towards the ill-behaved.”
~ Tattvarthasutra 7.11 (Jainism)
“The world stands upon three things: the Law, worship, and showing kindness.”
~ Mishnah, Abot 1.2 (Judaism)
“Gentleness it is which enables the rope of life to stay unbroken in one’s hand.”
~ Yoruba Proverb (Traditional Religion of Nigeria)
“The bhikkhu who abides in loving-kindness, … attains to that state of peace and happiness, the stilling of conditioned things …”
~ Dhammapada 368, 376 (Buddhism)
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'”
~ Jesus in Matthew 9:12-13 (Christianity)
“My son,” Rabbi Yohanan said to him, “be not grieved. We have another atonement as effective as this. And what is it? It is acts of loving-kindness …”
~ Talmud, Abot de Rabbi Nathan 6 (Judaism)
“As a mother with her own life guards the life of her own child, let all-embracing thoughts for all that lives be thine.”
~ Khuddaka Patha, Metta Sutta (Buddhism)
“All [human] creatures are God’s children, and those dearest to God are those who treat His children kindly.”
~ Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam)
“Do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as you would a father; treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, younger women like sisters, all in purity.”
~ 1 Timothy 5.1-2 (Christianity)
A man once asked the Prophet what was the best thing in Islam, and the latter replied, “It is to feed the hungry and to give the greeting of peace both to those one knows and to those one does not know.”
~ Hadith of Bukhari (Islam)
The bodhisattva should adopt the same attitude towards all beings, his mind should be even towards all beings, … free from aversions avoiding harm and hurts, he should handle others as if they were his mother, father, son, or daughter.”
~ Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines 321-22 (Buddhism)
But the lawyer, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half-dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him … Which of these three, do you think, proved to be the neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go, and do likewise.”
~ Luke 10.25-37: Parable of the Good Samaritan (Christianity)
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