Compassion quotes
2.4K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
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Browse quotes that often appear alongside compassion — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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"Those who don't have a life filled with luxury may have a home filled with compassion, based on their choice to be content and to practice self-discipline. Even when we have physical hardships, we can be very happy."
"You are my courage, as I am your conscience," he whispered. "You are my heart---and I your compassion. We are neither of us whole, alone. Do ye not know that, Sassenach?"
"Be guided, only by the healer of the sick, the raiser of the dead, the friend of all who were afflicted and forlorn, the patient Master who shed tears of compassion for our infirmities. We cannot but be right if we put all the rest away, and do everything in remembrance of Him. There is no vengeance and no infliction of suffering in His life, I am sure. There can be no confusion in following Him, and seeking for no other footsteps, I am certain!"
"You desire that which exceeds my humble powers, but I trust in the compassion and mercy of the All-powerful God."
"...sometimes compassion is the greater part of honor."
"In the depth of the soul is the atman, the oversoul. And that oversoul is really love and compassion, peace, joy, and wisdom."
"I lost my sense of trust, honesty and compassion. I crashed down and became what I consider an emotional mess. I've never been so miserable in my whole life. I just wanted to go to bed and never get up."
"Respect for human rights is not social work; it is not merely an act of compassion. It is the first obligation of government and the source of its legitimacy."
"If one doth act in friendly wise, With no evil thought toward any single creature, And in so doing becometh proper, And if he have compassion in his soul Toward all living beings--this noble one Doth acquire abundant Virtue."
"When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable."
"But if we have the energy of compassion and loving kindness in us, the people around us will be influenced by our way of being and living."
"If you suffer and make your loved ones suffer, there is nothing that can justify your desire."
"If we know how to create the energy of love, understanding, compassion, and beauty, then we can contribute a lot to the world."
"Through compassion it is possible to recognize that the craving for love that people feel resides also in our own hearts, that the cruelty the world knows all too well is also rooted in our own impulses. Through compassion we also sense our hope for forgiveness in our friends' eyes and our hatred in their bitter mouths. When they kill, we know that we could have done it; when they give life, we know that we can do the same. For a compassionate person nothing human is alien: no joy and no sorrow, no way of living and no way of dying."
"I try to show compassion to people I come into contact with and try to put good out, as much good as I can. But that's my life; that's not my work. With my work, my job is to walk in another man's shoes."
"A true friend of mankind whose heart has but once quivered in compassion over the sufferings of the people, will understand and forgive all the impassable alluvial filth in which they are submerged, and will be able to discover the diamonds in the filth."
"If we should deal out justice only, in this world, who would escape? No, it is better to be generous, and in the end more profitable, for it gains gratitude for us, and love."
"Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves."
"We become compassionate not from altruism which denies the self for the sake of the other, but from the insight that sees and feels one is the other."
"If our tears do not lead us to act then we have lost the reason of our humanity, which is compassion."
