Compassion: What it is, what it isn’t
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Cultivating Compassion 
Dec 13, 2024 A talk given at the Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore.
- What is compassion?
- Compassion is often misunderstood
- Being compassionate does not mean giving people what they want, being a “doormat”
- Compassion is not pity or being weak
- Compassion is not becoming a people-pleaser so people will like us
- Doing what is best for people in the long term
- Compassion does not mean we have to suffer or have personal distress
- Being compassionate is not fixing other’s problems
- We think compassion is ineffective in correcting social injustice
- The example of the Dalai Lama
- The four expansive vows
- Questions and answers
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
