BuddhismIdeas
QuestionOne
AsBuddhism suggests, all phenomena are interdependent. Even humanbeings who sometimes, because of their ego, believe that they canlive independently without the input of others and their environment.The experience of our interdependence with each other and ourenvironment is the basis for compassion. Compassion involves beingempathetic about the feelings and sufferings of others.
Ifhuman beings are interdependent with each other, then they ought tobe sensitive to the effects of their actions towards other people.Karma, according to Buddhism, is the result of people’s actions.Consequently, hurting others and the environment will boomerang backto inflict pain on humans. Therefore, the experience of thisinterdependence encourages people to be compassionate to others andthe environment to have desirable outcomes.
QuestionTwo
Aperson cannot have too much compassion. The Buddhism explanation ofcompassion is deeper than the practical English definition. Buddhismcompassion extends to a feeling of restful awareness of experiencingthe pain felt by others. The awareness leads to an individual actingto rescue the suffering of other people. The feeling leads to naturalactions to alleviate the burden of others. In doing so, I believethere cannot be something like too much compassion.
Also,Buddhism indicates that compassion begins with the feelings towardsself before they are extended to another party. Buddhists refer tothe feeling as Bodhicitta. My view is that the compassion one has tothe self when extended to other people cannot be too much. Theawareness is only to alleviate the pain and suffering which onlyattracts natural actions without the intentions of extortion. Itcannot be referred to as too much than what would normally bepracticed.