We are all interconnected, and as such being the reality of things, we should all have empathy and compassion towards one another. The recognition of our interconnectedness should allow for us to relieve each others’ suffering. Martin Luther King in the Letter from the Birmingham Jail explained that compassion must be extended to all people and that best way to solve a problem is in a peaceful manner that utilizes mediation, along with non-violence. The Dalai Lama’s The Ethnics of Compassion discussed several of the same points that King did. One such example would be that both he and King believe that religion (and spirituality, for that matter) should serve as inspiration to everyone. What these two souls strove for was for everyone to have compassionate love and kindheartedness projected towards everyone, throughout their day-to-day lives.
Compassion is the essence of the message that is given by these two peace-seeking individuals. If each of us does not demonstrate compassion towards one another, there can be quite undesirable consequences, as a result. To illustrate this, Kind warned that if non-violence is not exercised by white people, then blacks will become frustrated with the continuation of violence towards their people and will turn to Black Nationalism and its militants, a scenario that would cause general chaos and indeed, history has shown us this was not the best of outcomes that could have been manifested. The Dalai Lama warns (along broader terms) that when compassion is lacking, a person’s activities are in danger of becoming destructive and in fact, this was saw to occur during his time on earth with the name of racism.
Although King does not mention compassion explicitly in the letter that I have referred to throughout this article, he speaks about it extensively without having to name it. King’s discussions on racism were his way of saying that there is not enough compassion between people towards each other. He saw the hate that many showed towards his people, making way for him to promote love and non-violence in order to instill compassion into peoples’ hearts. The Dalai Lama acknowledged the problems revolving around racism, as evidence when he said that “our negative feelings prevents us from seeing the sameness of ourselves and all others”. He saw the profound realization that, although there are many races, all are human and are one, translating into all being equal. If we all originate from the same Source, we can only simply be different compositions and organizations of the same energy.
Compassion is fundamental to the continued survival of the human race. Without it, consequences are inevitable, as seen with racism during King’s time. Both King and the Dalai Lama emphasize the need for compassion in peoples’ hearts. Without it, problems will arise, without fail. If each of us, as part of the human family, does not live a life of compassion and empathy towards one another, problems will arise such as racism, war and conquest, and a myriad of other situations to our detriment. Everyone must understand the interconnectedness that they have with one another. Everyone is the same and equal in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, there is no need for violent actions against fellow brothers and sisters. The Dalai Lama helps us attempt to reach this wonderful goal of realization that all is one, by taking baby steps. He gives the starting point as “developing genuine compassion for our loved ones”. So, the next time that you feel the desire to project negative energy in the form of anger, hate, disgust, or some other emotion, towards another individual, remember the reality of oneness with everyone and everything.
