Compassion Requires Action

I travel a fair amount and I see this billboard frequently in airports.

What good is it if we merely wish for others’ happiness but do not work to realize it? This gets to the root of the issue, where the rubber meets the road. We cannot just think compassionate thoughts. If we are truly compassionate, we are moved to action. There must be compassion in action, not compassion inaction.

A prominent Burmese monk, commenting on the human devastation wrought by the cyclones and flooding in recent years, said “If you feel concerned for the victims, that’s good. It means you have compassion . . . but that’s not good enough. Compassion is important but it doesn’t amount to much if it’s not accompanied by action. Compassion in mind and words won’t bring food to people in need.” (See the article here.)

Thich Nhat Hahn, the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Monk, pioneered the concept of “Engaged Buddhism.” He says that generosity, justice and compassion must be practiced not just in thinking and speaking but most importantly in acting. Acting includes sharing oour time, mental energy and material resources. This is really a modern teaching on the ancient Eightfold Path of Buddha which stresses not only Right Thought and Right Understanding and Right Speech but also Right Action. (To learn more about Thich Nhat Hahn and Engaged Buddhism, visit his monastery’s website and especially his teachings on the 5 Mindfulness Trainings and the 14 Mindfulness Trainings.)

Understanding Thich Nhat Hahn’s background helps understand his concept of Engaged Buddhism. Describing the Vietnam War and its impact on his country and his people, he says “when bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation hall all of the time.” (See the article here.) To be aware of a global society (ancient religious tensions in the Middle East, rape in the Congo, cyclone and tsunami and flood disaster in Asia, hunger and homelessness in our own backyards) requires action. We cannot just think good thoughts—we must act on them.

Charity and generosity are certainly not foreign to the Christian tradition. Jesus expresses sentiments similar to those of our contemporary Buddhist friends. He lays down the simple compassion commandments: Love another, love our neighbors as ourselves, love our enemies. But he doesn’t stop there. Jesus, too, realizes that compassion cannot merely be good wishes, but requires action.

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25: 35-36)

Whoever has two shirts must share with someone who has none. Whoever has food should do the same. (Luke 3:11)

My favorite is the following passage from John where Jesus tells Peter to “feed my sheep.” There are the love commandments (“love one another”), and there are the action commandments (“give to the poor”), but in this passage Jesus ties love and compassion directly to action. If we love, we will act.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Tend my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-18)

Notice the use of two verbs (feed, tend) and two nouns (lambs, sheep) in each iteration: feed my lambs; tend my sheep; feed my sheep. Feeding gets to the most basic need of sustenance in order to remain alive. Tending, however, is much more expansive: it requires every act the shepherd can bring to bear for the good of the flock. It certainly includes feeding, but also herding, nurturing, healing, correcting, loving. Caring for the less fortunate requires not just feeding but tending, not just our money but all our resources (material possessions, time and energy), not just feeding the hungry but caring for them, loving them, respecting them, hurting for them, laughing with them, being their friend, treating them as ourself, as an extensive or ourself—realizing that ultimately our happiness depends upon theirs.

And while we should tend and feed the sheep, the entire flock, we should pay special attention to the lambs, the most tender, fragile and vulnerable among us. The one variation of the admonition not used is the one, perhaps, to which we should give most attention: tend my lambs.

In other words, we should do everything within us using all our resources to provide every care to the most vulnerable in society. So how can we do this? Stay tuned. In a couple days I will post some thoughts on how to tend the lambs.