HUU Sermon Archives

2nd UU Principle: A Good Look, Part I - Compassion

by Michele O'Connor
June 8, 2003

Good morning, today I am going to talk to you About the 2nd. UU principle, which in words is quite limited, but in scope is extremely expansive.

The preamble to all the UU Principles states in part “we covenant to promote and affirm": "justice, equity and compassion in human relations."

As many of you know the Unitarian and Universalist churches became one denomination in 1961 and the members of the church hammered out the principles over a period of several years after that. By approximately 1968 We had a working set.

Since this principle is so expansive today's service will focus on compassion, what it is, what folks have to say about it, and how we have been shown compassion by people in our church. Justice and Equity will be the topic of a service later this summer. NOTE: Scheduled for July 20th)

Mr. Webster says compassion has to do with sympathy and is similar to pity. That is rubbish and so his definition will not be included here.

Joseph Campbell, in his conversations with Bill Moyer, has two definitions about compassion: 1) "Compassion is the natural opening of the human heart to another human being." and 2) "compassion is the awakening of the heart from bestial self-interest to humanity,"

In Buddhist teaching Pema Chodron tell us: "this kinship with the suffering of others, this inability to continue to regard it from afar is the discovery of our soft spot, the discovery of Bodichitta which means "noble or awakened heart." "We awaken this Bodichitta, this tenderness for life, when we can no longer shield ourselves from the vulnerability of our condition, from the basic fragility of existence."

Rabbi Shoni Labowitz describes compassion as "the ability to feel deeply and give generously while remaining free from expectation. When you have compassion for yourself and others you interact freely and lovingly with all life."

Thich Nhat Hanh says "we know that our compassion if firm and authentic when it is not contingent on the other person being lovable." {pause. Let this sink in.} "Ever nursed a ‘bad patient ?"

A Universalist Taoist the Rev. Dr. John Murray Atwood talks of compassion as the spirit of love. He says: "one can always tell when the spirit of love, that is of god, has entered into the heart. It is not forever thinking ‘what is there in this for me? No, they have forgotten about themselves in devotion to

This service..."

Compassion can only take place in the midst and ‘mud’ of life. Pema Chodron writes it must be ‘right down there in the thick of things." not worrying about the outcome but not fearing to go wherever tenderness and an open heart are needed.

You would think that everyone would welcome a wonderful thing like compassion, but it is not always welcome. Sometimes acts of compassion will get you run over by a bulldozer like Rachel Curry who tried to stop an Israeli bulldozer from destroying the home of a Palestinian doctor. It seems from the dawn of time people who have had and preached the benefits of great compassion have been murdered with tragic predictability.

Recall that in China a group of people who got together to do meditative exercises and expressed compassion for the pain in the world were banned by the government. They had no guns, no bombs. Just goodwill and compassion and their government couldn’t handle it.

Literally compassion means to "suffer with” another. I think of all the things we have heard today Joseph Campbell may have said it best, "the natural opening of the human heart to another human being." Compassion does not look for reward, compensation or even an easy time of it. Compassion is open to all things at all times and will run to suffering and pain and not away from it.

I would like at this time to invite folks to come up and tell a story of an experience they had receiving compassion. Please light one of the little wooden chalices. I think stories about compassion given by members of the congregation would be particularly welcome but not required. I would ask however that you keep the name of the person you are talking about to yourself so that we may all share in the stories that are told.

Return to the Sermon Archives listing