Not every person has the ability to empathize and sympathize with other people. Some individuals believe that these feelings are useless. Others are convinced that only thanks to such qualities humanity has reached the highest stage of development.
The feeling of compassion has different forms of manifestation
If you turn to psychological books, you can see the following definition of empathy: this is the ability of an individual to share the negative emotions of another. With compassion, a person not only shares feelings, but also strives to help.
Concept in Buddhism
In Buddhism, compassion refers to the desire to lose ourselves in the feelings of another person. This applies not only to negative, but also to positive aspects. Compassion in this case means full perception of someone else's pain and the desire to stop it. It is not associated with a specific person.
A simple example of compassion in Buddhism is that the pain of war victims becomes the pain of a Buddhist. He does charity work and helps victims. In this way he shows compassion.
Literary arguments
Arguments about compassion are best examined through examples of literary works; serious stories are studied by schoolchildren in high school. Writers give their own definition of this term, but they are all united by common reasoning. The most striking examples:
- “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy;
- “The Fate of Man” by M. Sholokhov;
- “Crime and Punishment” by F. Dostoevsky;
- “The Master and Margarita” by M. Bulgakov;
- “French Lessons” by V. Rasputin.
In the first work, Natasha Rostova showed mercy. During the departure from captured Moscow, the girl gave her carts to the wounded. She did not worry about her own chests in which the dowry was kept. First of all, Natasha thought about helping strangers.
Another example of compassion in literature is Andrei Sokolov from “The Fate of Man.” The guy survived the war, lost his family and home, but his human qualities remained the same. He took care of little Vanyushka, who was left an orphan. Andrei introduced himself as his father and took the boy to his place. Even after seeing the horrors of the war, Sokolov’s heart remained soft; he did not forget how to sympathize and show compassion.
Dostoevsky's work of fiction describes the difficult story of Raskolnikov. The poor student lives in a cramped dark room, often goes hungry, but remains proud. For the sake of money, he kills an old moneylender, but after this he suffers even more. Instead of taking the loot for himself, Rodion leaves the bills under a stone and later gives them to Marmeladov’s widow. Although he himself had nothing to buy food with, he could not ignore the misfortune of others. Raskolnikov remained merciful despite the terrible crime he committed.
The main character of Bulgakov's novel, Margarita, is ready to do anything to meet the Master. She contacted the devil, spent the night at his ball, and met thousands of hanged men and murderers. But when Woland asked her about the reward, she asked to spare Frida from suffering. They stopped giving a woman the handkerchief she used to strangle her son before burying him. And Satan fully appreciated Margarita’s action - he allowed her to ask for one more thing, rewarded her with a meeting with her loved one.
You can draw conclusions about compassion after reading French Lessons. Teacher Lidia Mikhailovna sacrificed her reputation to help her student. She was playing for money with a boy who needed money for food. After their idea was discovered by the director, the woman had to leave for her homeland. Her action cannot be called bad, because she simply showed mercy.
Are these feelings necessary?
Victimization - what is it in psychology
Philosophers do not have a single answer to this question. Each person has their own understanding of the boundaries of empathy. It is believed that with the help of such feelings an individual becomes kind and gentle. In schools, children in literature and Russian language classes write essays, read classics and learn to analyze everyday topics. With the help of empathy and compassion, a person determines how permissible his actions are, and whether he has done something bad towards another person.
Differences
Authority - what is it, definition
The difference between the two terms is not always clear. Sympathy is the ability to empathize with a person in difficult times. This can apply to both a familiar and an unfamiliar individual.
Compassion is a more global feeling that extends to a specific group, such as the poor
Emotional perception or empathy is also called empathy. It is important for some specialists: psychologists, teachers, doctors and others. This feeling helps to find a common language with different people.
Important! The ability to empathize is not always shown appropriately; sometimes it looks too intrusive.
With pity, the individual does not seek to experience the emotions of another, but such a feeling can be expressed in encouraging words. Compassion is sometimes called mercy, and it manifests itself in caring and helping those in need.
It’s not for nothing that one of the largest charitable organizations calls its employees sisters of mercy. They provide free care to seriously ill and needy people.
Compassion should not be confused with condolences. The latter is just a statement of fact, i.e. the individual means that he understands the grief of others. This type of feeling does not have a special emotional coloring.
Shared grief is half grief, shared joy is double joy.
The word compassion means suffering together. In meaning and sound, the words are close to him: sympathy, involvement, empathy. They denote sensitivity to and response to other people's emotions. Essentially, compassion is understanding what is happening to another person or other living being. At the same time, a compassionate person knows how to behave in the current situation, what to say and what to remain silent about.
There is beauty and naturalness in compassion. It is neat and subtle. Unlike pity, in compassion help is expressed in the optimal form. A compassionate person knows how to be together. He is ready to support another out of a desire to ease his pain. The ability to sympathize is characteristic of sincere, simple people.
Good or bad
There are different opinions about what empathy and compassion are. Some consider these manifestations negative and unnecessary. Particularly radically minded individuals are confident that such feelings allow others to parasitize strong people.
Self-flagellation - what is it?
A simple example: a woman I know constantly complains to an influential and successful friend about her life. As a result, her troubles are sympathized with and she receives financial assistance.
Therefore, each individual must decide for himself why he needs to show empathy, and whether it is worth it. Help is not always a good thing; sometimes it can lead to even more serious problems.
This is not to say that anyone should act compassionately or be involved in any way. Everyone decides such philosophical questions for themselves. Some prefer to organize charities for a certain category, others do not participate in any way in helping other people.
For your information. Many influential individuals are confident that empathy and compassion are what prevent society from becoming evil and callous.
What's better
Not everyone has a positive attitude towards emotional experiences. Someone considers it necessary to provide real help, and not create a pitiful state. In order for a person to start doing something, he must have such a desire.
It is the ability to compassion that determines how often and actively an individual takes part in charity and volunteering. Each person himself determines why he needs this or that activity. Compassion for other people is what motivates you to help, support, and do things that don’t bring you money.
Volunteers do not receive a salary for feeding the homeless, but they experience moral satisfaction
It is the ability to put oneself in the place of another that makes a person kind. The individual understands that he would not like a certain attitude towards himself, and this stops him from doing bad things to other people.
Therefore, we can draw a conclusion on the topic “is compassion necessary?” simple: yes, it is necessary, because it allows you to move on to real actions.
Compassion
...If you see a brother who is faint-hearted or weak, then it is wonderful to have compassion for him (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 30, 209). Source.
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...Compassion is not to help one’s neighbor in vice, but to help one’s brother in the spiritual, how he can have tenderness and tears (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 30, 413–414). Source.
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Our body is filled with great sorrow and illness. Therefore, knowing the weakness of our nature, let us not be proud and uncompassionate, but with mutual compassion we will begin to propitiate the Creator, Who can make sick and then heal, bring us down to hell and raise us up from hell. Even if our body enjoys its health for a short time, we do not know what the day will give birth to (cf. Proverbs 27:1) (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 30:514). Source.
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Excellent help to you on that day if you showed compassion for the poor here (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 32, 246).
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Every navigator is close to shipwreck, and the closer he is, the more courage he sails. Likewise, anyone covered with a body is close to bodily troubles, and the closer the more fearlessly he walks with his forehead raised, despite those lying in front of him. As long as you sail in a favorable wind, give your hand to the shipwrecked; while you enjoy health and wealth, help the suffering. Do not wait to learn from your own experience what a great evil is inhumanity and what a great good is a heart that is open to those in need. Do not want to live to see God lift up His hand (see: Ps. 73:3) on those who lift up their necks and despise the poor. Learn from other people's troubles. Give at least a little to the poor; and this will not be a small thing for the one who needs everything, and for God Himself, if the alms are within the power. Instead of a great gift, bring zeal. Have nothing? Comfort with a tear. Great healing for the ill-fated, when someone sincerely regrets him; misfortune is greatly alleviated by sincere condolences (St. Gregory the Theologian, 13, 32–33). Source.
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… Let there be no question about whether the work that must be done is difficult, but about whether it is useful for those who do it. And if the benefit from it is great, then for the sake of benefit one should not pay attention to the difficulty; What is difficult at first, over time, through the force of habit, will become pleasant.
We should also add to what we have said that even in this life itself, sympathy for the unfortunate is useful for the healthy. For for all prudent people, mercy is a wonderful pledge, which we entrust to others in their misfortunes. since one nature governs all humanity, and no one has any lasting guarantee of the constancy of their well-being, we must constantly remember the Gospel admonition, which advises: if we want men to do it, then let them do it too (cf. Matt. 7 , 12). So, while you are swimming safely, extend your hand to the shipwrecked, one sea for all, the same storms, the same restless waves; pitfalls, cliffs, rocks and other dangers of everyday navigation equally frighten swimmers. While you are not suffering, while you are safely crossing the sea of life, do not mercilessly pass by the castaway. Who is your guarantee for a safe voyage? You have not yet reached the haven of peace. Your life has not yet reached the shore; you are still floating on the sea of life. How you show yourself to someone who has suffered misfortune is how you prepare yourself and your voyage companions. May we all rush to the haven of rest, safely guided in the life's voyage set before us by the Holy Spirit! Let the doing of the commandments and the helm of love be inherent in us! Faithfully guided by them, we will reach the promised land, where the great city is located, whose artist and creator is our God... (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 24, 432-433). Source.
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...Don’t be surprised that we should feel sorry for those being punished when God punishes them, for even the punishing God Himself does not want to do this: I do not want the death of a sinner by will, He says (cf. Ezek. 18:23). So, if the punisher does not want to punish, then much more we need to have compassion for the punished; Maybe in this way we will convert them, maybe we will save them (St. John Chrysostom, 44, 276). Source.
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...Show that you, out of great good nature, want to make your own good common; cast a pleasant oud of compassion and thus, revealing the hidden, remove from the abyss of destruction the mind steeped in it (St. John Chrysostom, 44, 764). Source.
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...In order not to fall into complete condemnation, let us be compassionate towards the poor. Through this we will become worthy of blessings both here and there... (St. John Chrysostom, 50, 480).
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A righteous person, when his own life needs correction, cries and grieves in order to completely atone for his sin; but when he sees the sins of others, then, leaving his own sin, he begins to mourn the sins of others... (St. John Chrysostom, 51, 684–685). Source.
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Let us learn to sympathize with the misfortunes of our neighbors; then we will learn to endure evil from them (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 139).
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If you plant, then plant not in an insatiable womb, so that the fruit is not cast out, but plant in a hungry belly, so that the fruit reaches heaven. Comfort the suffering soul of the poor, so that your fat one does not grieve (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 214–215). Source.
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...Let us have a compassionate soul, let us have a heart capable of sympathizing with those who suffer; Let's not be cruel and inhumane. Even if you could not provide any help - cry, grieve, lament about what happened - and it will not remain useless for you. If we must have compassion for those who are righteously punished by God, then even more so for those who unjustly suffer from people (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 380).
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God punishes, but should I have compassion for those being punished? Yes. This is what the Punisher wants. He Himself does not rejoice when He punishes, but He also grieves greatly. If the one who punishes Himself does not rejoice, then do not rejoice either. But you say, when they are punished fairly, then, of course, they should not grieve? We must grieve that they have become worthy of punishment... we must show them brotherly affection and fatherly love (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 381).
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... Let us not rejoice over those who suffer punishment, but we will take pity on them, we will grieve, we will cry for them, so that we may receive reward for this too (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 382).
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Do not be averse to... compassion, on the grounds that you are far from misfortune. When your neighbor suffers evil, you must consider his misfortune to be common. Share tears with him in order to ease his sadness, share joy in order to strengthen joy, strengthen love and benefit yourself before it, since through crying you become merciful, and through joy you are cleansed from envy and ill will (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 768). Source.
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… Let us be philanthropic and compassionate towards our fellow servants, so that in this life we can escape snares, and in the future we receive from… forgiveness… (St. John Chrysostom, 54, 142).
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...Compassion for people in misfortune gives us great boldness before God (St. John Chrysostom, 54, 762). Source.
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...Whoever does not want to have compassion for others will suffer himself (St. John Chrysostom, 54, 810). Source.
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...If you practice even the highest wisdom, but do not care about others who are perishing, then you will not have any boldness before God (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 472).
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Have pity on your neighbor, and God will take pity on you... (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 851).
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Let us be compassionate, let us be merciful, in order to please God in this way and achieve the blessings promised to those who love Him... (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 852). Source.
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...Those who want to talk about their misfortunes must be treated meekly, and after they have alleviated their suffering with words, they must offer possible healing. For if we first stop their mouths, we will acquire an opinion about ourselves that we are uncompassionate; and we will make our help invalid, taking away its power. And if we apply healing to relieve pain, we will receive two benefits: we will be recognized as compassionate, and we will not be unsuccessful in healing (St. Isidore Pelusiot, 61, 79-80). Source.
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...Compassion is unpleasant and does not deserve approval when someone suffers of his own free will (St. Isidore Pelusiot, 61, 488). Source.
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Whoever pretends that he grieves over the misfortunes of others, but has the opportunity to improve the matter and refuses, by the very fact that he did not help, provides himself with the strongest evidence that he does not feel sorrow, but only shows feigned kindness (St. Isidore Pelusiot , 62, 338).
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Do not neglect compassion, it brought down the good Lord from heaven (St. Neil of Sinai, 72, 251).
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Weep for the sinner, and not for the beggar, for the latter is crowned, and the former suffers punishment (St. Neil of Sinai, 72, 251). Source.
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Breathe for your sinning neighbor, so that at the same time you can breathe for yourself, for we are all guilty of sins and are subject to punishment (St. Nilus of Sinai, 72, 253). Source.
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Take care... so that for lack of compassion you do not ever be betrayed... to some unexpected and unbearable temptation (St. Neil of Sinai, 73, 104). Source.
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He who has acquired the womb of generosity - love and compassion - first pleases and benefits himself, and then his neighbor, just as, on the contrary, anger hurts and wounds first the one who has it. Although it seems that he causes harm to his neighbor, in property, or in honor, or even in the body itself, but in fact he deprives himself of eternal life (St. Zosimas, 91, 114). Source.
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He who has any spiritual gift and has compassion for the poor - with this compassion he preserves his gift; and the arrogant one will lose it, being beaten by thoughts of arrogance (St. Mark the Ascetic, 89, 520).
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A sign of compassion is forgiveness of every debt... (St. Isaac the Syrian, 58, 397). Source.
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Take part in the suffering of everyone, but with your body be far from everyone (St. Isaac the Syrian, 58, 415). Source.
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...Someone serves the sick, but serves in order to have a reward, this is... unreasonable. And therefore, if something sorrowful happens to him, it easily removes him from this good deed, and he does not reach the end of it, because he does it unreasonably. And the one who serves intelligently serves in order to acquire a merciful heart, to acquire a feeling of compassion; for whoever has such a goal, no matter what happens to him, whether grief from outside, or the sick person himself becomes weak-hearted against him, he endures all this without embarrassment, looking at his goal and knowing that the sick person does more good to him than he does to the sick person. Believe that whoever intelligently serves the sick is freed from both passions and warfare. I know a brother who endured abuse from unclean thoughts and was freed from it by wisely ministering to a sick man who was suffering from water sickness. And Evagrius says about a certain great elder that he freed one of the brethren, troubled by nightly dreams, from such dreams, commanding him to fast and serve the sick; and the one questioned about this said that these passions are not extinguished by anything so much as compassion (St. Abba Dorotheos, 29, 161-162). Source.
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...If you have compassion for your neighbors, you will receive help, but if you restrain yourself from compassion, wanting to ascend into something that is beyond your measure, then know that you will lose what you have (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, 42, 67–68). Source.
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When there was a severe famine in the city of Edessa, Saint Ephraim, this divine man, taking pity on the villagers, came to the rich citizens and said to them: “Why do you have no compassion for the perishing people and rot your wealth to the condemnation of your souls?” They, supposedly coming up with a plausible excuse, said to the saint: “We have no one to trust with distributing bread to the hungry, because everyone is engaged in trade.” Virtuous Ephraim told them: “From now on I will be with you a trustee for the poor.” Taking silver from them, he set up houses with different departments, put up to three hundred beds in them, cared for the sick and fed the hungry, buried the dying, and looked after those who still had hope for life. In a word, he daily gave shelter and food to everyone who came to him from what was delivered to him. After a year, when prosperity came and everyone went to their homes, this illustrious man, no longer having anything to do for himself, returned to his cell again and a month later died, inheriting the blessed land of the meek. In addition to his other exploits, God finally gave him this service to receive the most glorious crowns for his meekness of character (101, 242).
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In the cells of Khuziv there lived a hermit. The elders of that place told the following about him. While still living in his village, he acted in this way. If he happened to see that one of his fellow villagers, due to poverty, could not sow his field, he would go out at night and sow the field with his cattle and his own seeds. The elder was distinguished by the same compassion when he retired into the desert and began to live in the cells of Khuziv. He went out onto the road leading from the Holy Jordan to the Holy City, taking with him bread and water. If he noticed someone tired, he took his burden and accompanied him to the holy Mount of Olives. Returning along the same road, he carried the luggage of others to Jericho. One could sometimes see how the elder was sweating under great weight and carrying the luggage of one, and sometimes two youths on his shoulders. Sometimes he repaired someone's worn-out shoes, for which he took with him the necessary tools. He gave some water to drink, which he carried with him, and others he fed with bread. Whenever he met a naked person, he took off his clothes and gave them to him. You could see him working all day long. If he happened to find a dead person on the road, he performed a burial ceremony over him and buried him (102, 29-30). Source.
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They told about Abba Agathon that, once going to the city to sell his handicrafts, he found a sick wanderer there, thrown down on the street, and there was no one who would take care of this wanderer. The elder stayed with him, rented a hut with the money he received for his handicrafts, and used the rest for the needs of the sick man. He spent four months like this until the wanderer recovered, and only then did Abba Agathon return to his place (106, 56). Source.
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Abba Apollo, during his 25-year stay on Mount Nitria, labored in this way: buying in Alexandria with money acquired by his own labors everything necessary for treatment and cell needs, he supplied them to all the brethren during illness. It used to be that from early morning until nine o'clock in the afternoon he would walk around the monasteries and monasteries in all the tabernacles, open the doors and look to see if anyone was lying. He carried with him raisins, pomegranate apples, eggs, wheat bread - everything that a patient needed. The servant of Christ led such a useful lifestyle until he was very old (101, 39–40).
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Saint Andrew, a holy fool for Christ's sake, once met a monk in the market place in Constantinople, around whose neck a terrible snake was wrapped. This monk was adorned with many virtues, but, unfortunately, he was stingy and money-loving. Many, taking him for a saint, gave him gold to distribute to the poor. He put this gold in his treasury. Seeing him in the power of the devil, Andrei took pity on him and approached him. The monk, thinking that this was one of the beggars, said to Andrei: “May God have mercy on you, brother, but I have nothing to give you.” Taking a few steps away from him, Andrei was surprised to notice that above the monk’s head the words were inscribed in the air: “The serpent of the love of money is the root of all iniquity.” But he was even more surprised when, looking back, he saw an Angel and a demon arguing for the soul of a monk. The devil argued that the monk, as a lover of money and therefore an idolater, belonged to him, and the Angel, pointing out the many virtues of the elder, argued that he was worthy of God’s mercy. Their long dispute was resolved from above. A voice from heaven said to the Angel: “You have no part in it, for only the merciful receive forgiveness from Me and inherit the heavenly mansions.” After this, the Angel immediately left the monk. Compassionate Andrei, grieving over his death, decided to snatch him from the jaws of the serpent at any cost. To do this, he lay in wait for the monk in a secluded place and, taking him by the right hand, said: “Servant of God, listen without anger to your servant. Tell me, why did you, a former friend of God, become a friend of the devil? Explain why you, who had the wings of the Seraphim and a gaze as bright as lightning, became so dark? Tell me, how did you bring yourself to such destruction? Is it not because you enslave yourself to the demon of love of money?” And with these words he showed him the devil, who, not daring to come close to the monk because of Andrew, stood in the distance and looked at him fiercely. Struck by Andrei’s vision and words, the monk repented and immediately made a promise from the bottom of his heart to get rid of the love of money and be merciful. Immediately, upon the elder’s repentance, the snake disappeared from his neck, another demon standing in the distance also became invisible, and the Guardian Angel again approached the repentant. From that time on, the monk truly reformed, replaced stinginess with generosity and began generously distributing gold to the poor, constantly thanking God and His saint Saint Andrew for his conversion from sin to virtue (112, 238).
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One abbot had twenty monks in his monastery. One of them was lazy: he did not keep fasts, drank immoderately, and was especially intemperate with his tongue. The elder abbot constantly tried to persuade him to improve and even begged him. “Brother,” he told him, “take care of your soul, because you are not immortal, and therefore you will not escape torment if you do not come to your senses.” The monk went against the elder, did not pay any attention to his words, and died in such neglect. The compassionate elder became very sad about his soul and began to pray. “Lord Jesus Christ, our True God,” he said, “show me where the monk’s soul is now?” And he often asked God about this and was finally heard. One day horror attacked him, and he saw a fiery river and many people in it, scorched by fire and moaning loudly. To his greatest chagrin, among the sufferers he saw his disciple, who had died in negligence, up to his neck in the flames. “Is it not for the sake of avoiding this torment that I begged you,” the abbot then exclaimed, “so that you would at least take some care of your soul, my child? Do you see now what you have brought yourself to?” “Oh Father,” answered the monk, “glory to God for the fact that through your prayers at least my head received joy!” This is how the vision ended (112, 260–261).
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There was one hermit who had under his supervision another hermit in a cell ten miles away. And one day a thought said to him: “Call your brother to come and take the bread.” And he began to think: “I’ll bother my brother to walk ten miles because of bread; I’d better take half the bread to him.” And, taking it, he went to his brother’s cell. On the way, he injured his toe, and when the blood began to flow, he began to cry in pain, groaning. An angel dragged in and asked him: “Why are you crying?” “I hurt my finger and I feel pain,” the hermit answered him. “Should I cry over this? - said the Angel. - Do not Cry. For the steps that you take for the Lord's sake are numbered and counted for a great price before the Lord. And so that you know, here in front of you I take your blood and offer it to God.” Then he completed the journey with gratitude and, giving the monk half of the bread, told him about God’s love for mankind and then returned to his cell. A day later, again, taking half the bread, he went to another monk. It happened that the other one became jealous of doing the same. They met on the road. The first one to do a good deed began to say: “I had a treasure, and you wanted to steal it.” The other answered: “Where is it written that the narrow gate is open for you alone? Let us come in with you." And when they were arguing, suddenly the Angel of the Lord appears and says to them: “Your dispute, like a fragrance, ascended to the Lord” (98, 386).
How to learn
It is difficult to develop the best moral qualities in yourself; for this you will have to work every day. You can begin to behave properly only with a high level of self-control.
Important! The ability to reflect is especially valuable, i.e. analyze your actions and actions.
The necessary level of empathy can be developed through training. To do this, when communicating, you need to put yourself in the place of another, try to understand his emotions and feelings.
When reasoning, it is important to try not to judge a person or speak negatively about him. Such actions will not bring any benefit. It's better to think about how to solve the problem.
You can try to take part in charity projects. Today they can be found in most Russian cities. While helping different people, empathy will be formed.
Where to begin?
Subject to several rules. They are light, believe me. Try to follow them when the need arises and see if you can learn to empathize. In fact, this is not given to everyone. And if we cannot understand another person, then it can be quite difficult to provide support.
So, in order to understand what empathy means, we need:
- Interest. When a person shares his experiences, we speak loudly. We don’t wander in our thoughts, but put ourselves in his place. We are trying to get to the bottom of the problem.
- The ability to remain silent. It would seem, how can sympathy be connected with silence? Sometimes a person needs to speak out. Let him speak, you listen. And try to understand his problem. Don't interrupt or comment unnecessarily. Just listen.
- Don't give advice unless asked. Have you listened and want to show how interested you are in helping your interlocutor? Don't rush to give advice unless asked, but offer to help. Don't be afraid to say, “How can I help you?”
- Look the speaker in the eye. If we examine the interior of a room while they pour out their souls in front of us, then what kind of sympathy can we talk about here? Look at your interlocutor.
- Ability to observe. And knowledge of body language. Be careful, watch the facial expressions of the person who came to you for help. Watch his hands carefully, look at his posture. Is the person trying to close himself off or, conversely, is he as open as possible? Tense or relaxed? Depending on what the interlocutor’s body tells you, you can think about how to help him.
- Don't shy away from help. Give moral support. Can't find the right words? Just be there. Does the person need financial support or your presence in some place? Provide both.
- Ability to leave on time. Sometimes a person speaks out and wants to be left alone with himself, and we start fussing around him, which irritates him even more. Allow your interlocutor to be alone with his thoughts.
This is what it means to sympathize. Now it’s clear why it’s not always possible to do this sincerely.
Facets of manifestation
Compassion is a special internal state that allows you to feel the pain of all living beings. But this feeling is not always sincere and correct. For example, someone through him asserts himself at the expense of the weak, develops a painful attachment.
When manipulated, the rescuer becomes an aggressor, displays anger and physical violence
In this state, the victim is unable to leave on his own. This kind of situation is not real compassion. Some people cannot empathize properly due to their soft nature. They are easy to manipulate, and they are willing to talk about misfortunes.
As a result, a sympathetic person does not see the difference between reasonable help and parasitism. He constantly helps morally and financially, then the victim lives well at someone else’s expense.
To develop the spiritual part of the personality, you need to engage in charity. This brings moral satisfaction, but it is worth remembering: help should be limited, while the person in need is taught to cope with problems on their own.
Each individual determines what different terms may mean to him, especially if they do not have strict definitions. Empathy and compassion are not much different. Both qualities are necessary for the existence of civilization. Without them, it would be difficult for people to coexist and do good deeds.
The ability to empathize and sympathize with others is called empathy, this feeling is very important for communication. With its help, one individual determines the boundaries of what is acceptable in communication with another person. This is especially important for psychologists and doctors who deal with the grief of others every day.
This quality helps make family life wonderful.
Through charity, people support each other in difficult times. This is how difficult situations are experienced: disasters, accidents, destructive natural phenomena. People from different countries provide assistance at such moments. Not even in a global sense, each individual decides for himself whether empathy is needed in life and how it should be manifested.
Main points
There are several interesting theses about compassion and people who are capable of showing it. At first glance, the actions that a person performs out of mercy seem meaningless and even stupid. After all, everyone has different moral values. Some people want to become responsive and help others. And some people believe that doing good deeds without benefit for yourself is pointless.
Even in difficult situations you can become merciful. If you help a person for free at a time when it is difficult for himself, he will remember it. Such actions are valued above all else, because it can be called not only mercy, but also self-sacrifice. Often you have to lose something in order to help someone else. This could be time, physical and moral strength, money and other material values. But these sacrifices are always justified.
A great feeling can awaken in a person gratitude and a desire to do something for others. Some categories of the population deserve special sympathy:
- orphans;
- disabled people;
- war veterans;
- widows and widowers;
- homeless people and animals.
An orphan has been deprived of parental love and care since childhood. He, like no one else, needs warmth and sympathy. For some children, it’s enough just to talk to an adult, trust them with their little secrets and receive moral support. It does not matter at what age a person became disabled. He is physically limited, but continues to live, and this is worthy of respect and compassionate treatment. The main thing is not to show pity for such people, this will once again remind you of their shortcomings.
A person who survived the war years or took part in battles is himself able to sympathize with others. He saw the death of comrades and enemies, these events make it possible to understand what life is worth and how great the problem of compassion is. The need for sympathy among widows and widowers is also considerable. They lost the closest person, their entire future life is filled with grief and suffering.
Individuals without a home or relatives most often beg for alms, but they are rarely treated well. Although they deserve respect, because it is unknown for what reasons their life structure changed. Don't give them a wide berth, not respond to greetings, or refuse to help. This also applies to homeless animals; they also need compassion.
