Compassion, or karuna, from the Tibetan, is the aspiration to find a way to be truly helpful to others. It is one of the ten “perfections” and one of the four “sublime abodes” in Buddhist practice. Here is a collection of profound, tender, sometimes funny, and often incredible acts of compassion practiced by Buddhists in all cultures—Chinese to Tibetan, Zen to Theravadan—and throughout the centuries.
Pamela Bloom has interviewed well-known masters as well as Westerners who tell how the practice of compassion has inspired healing in all aspects of their lives, including personal relationships, physical and emotional health, the performing arts, hospice care, social activism, business and the global economy, and the environment and spiritual transformation. The Dalai Lama has said, “My religion is compassion,” and indeed, the vow to be of benefit to others lies at the very heart of Buddhist practice around the world. From the Buddha who offered his body as food to starving animals, to the Korean whose radio station had a “helping hour,” to a woman in Santa Monica, California, who teaches meditation and nonviolent self-defense, the stories in Buddhist Acts of Compassion demonstrate that the age-old principles of kindness, selflessness, and nonviolence are not figments of dry philosophy but rather vital, dynamic stimulants that will transform the world in the twenty-first century.

Never before has such a collection been drawn together in one accessible volume that includes stories about the kindness practiced by many masters in the Tibetan and Zen tradition, as well as stories by and about many of the best-loved Buddhist figures of today—Sharon Salzburg, Sogyal Rinpoche, Thich Nhat Hanh, and The Dalai Lama.

Buddhist Acts of Compassion, Pamela Bloom, Conari Press, Paperback, Conari Press, 2000, 192 Pages, $11.95