Compassion

Compassion (in Pali: Karuna) is a sense of shared suffering, most often combined with a desire to alleviate or reduce such suffering; to show special kindness to those who suffer. Thus compassion is essentially empathy, though with a more active slant in that the compassionate person will seek to actually aid those they feel compassionate for.

Compassionate acts are generally considered those which take into account the suffering of others and attempt to alleviate that suffering as if it were one's own. In this sense, the various forms of the Golden Rule are clearly based on the concept of compassion.

Compassion differs from other forms of helpful or humane behavior in that its focus is primarily on the alleviation of suffering. Acts of kindness which seek primarily to confer benefit rather than relieve existing suffering are better classified as acts of altruism, although, in this sense, compassion itself can be seen as a subset of altruism, it being defined as the type of behavior which seeks to benefit others by reducing their suffering.

In the words of Dalai Lama: "Compassion makes one see the picture clearly; when emotions overtake us, the lack of seeing clearly clouds our perception of reality and hence the cause of many misunderstandings leading to quarrels (even wars)."

In religion
The cultivation of compassion is considered a virtue in many philosophies and also in almost all major religions, for example Buddhism, which, being based upon the idea that "unenlightened life is suffering" (the first of Four Noble Truths), seems fundamentally based upon the concept of compassion. For a Buddhist perspective on compassion, see Bodhisattva. The example of Christ has also inspired Christians throughout history to found hospitals and other such institutions. It is also Christ's example that challenges Christians to forsake their own desires and act compassionately towards others, especially, but not exclusively, towards those in some type of distress or need. Compassion can also be kindness towards a stranger that is unexpected in most situations. Compassion can be linked to generosity, empathy, sympathy, and mercy.