Prince
Musician, Singer, Songwriter
"Compassion is an action word with no boundaries."
Compassion quotes
Compassion
2.4K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Teresa of Avila
Saint, Mystic, Writer
"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes with which Christ looks out his compassion to the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now."
Dalai Lama
Spiritual Leader
"Anger cannot be overcome by anger. If someone is angry with you, and you show anger in return, the result is a disaster. On the other hand, if you control your anger and show its opposite - love, compassion, tolerance and patience - not only will you remain peaceful, but the other person's anger will also diminish."
Dalai Lama
Spiritual Leader
"True happiness comes from having a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved by cultivating altruism, love and compassion, and by eliminating anger, selfishness and greed."
Bryan Stevenson
Lawyer, Author
"We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others. The closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more I believe it's necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice, and-perhaps-we all need some measure of unmerited grace."
Quote collection
Compassion quotes (page 1 of 121)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."
Read quote
278 likes
"There are still people who insist that we have to preach on repentance. Well, I disagree! I think we should do it God’s way – preach the goodness of God and allow the goodness of God to lead people to repentance. Such repentance will be true repentance. It will not be motivated by the fear of judgment and indignation. It will be a genuine repentance that is motivated by His grace, unconditional love and compassion. After all, our ability to love God stems from our first tasting His love for us."
Read quote
273 likes
"We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people, and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the spirit of God."
Read quote
271 likes
"Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances."
Read quote
214 likes
"For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?"
Read quote
178 likes
"We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace."
Read quote
168 likes
"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black."
Read quote
165 likes
"A heart full of love and compassion is the main source of inner strength, willpower, happiness, and mental tranquility"
Read quote
160 likes
"A really great man is known by three signs: generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success."
Read quote
159 likes
"Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things."
Read quote
155 likes
"Africans believe in something that is difficult to render in English. We call it ubuntu, botho. It means the essence of being human. You know when it is there and when it is absent. It speaks about humaneness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others, being vulnerable. It embraces compassion and toughness. It recognizes that my humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together."
Read quote
149 likes
"I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion--and where it isn't, that's where my work lies."
Read quote
149 likes
"As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest."
Read quote
147 likes
"Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love."
Read quote
142 likes
"The happiness of one's own heart alone cannot satisfy the soul; one must try to include, as necessary to one's own happiness, the happiness of others."
Read quote
137 likes
"What is love? It is not simply compassion, not simply kindness. In compassion there are two: the one who suffers and the one who feels compassion. In kindness there are two: the one who gives and the one who receives. But in love there is only one; the two join, unite, become inseparable. The I and the you vanish. To love means to lose oneself in the beloved."
Read quote
134 likes
"Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope."
Read quote
133 likes
"The challenge today is to convince people of the value of truth, honesty, compassion and a concern for others."
Read quote
130 likes
"I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same."
Read quote
130 likes
"My dear heart, never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace, don't harbor bad thoughts, do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know."
Read quote
130 likes