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therefore, to prevent further suffering, it’s better not to
recommend that doctors keep patients on life support.

In the Brahma Vihāras, we are taught to start our
practice by cultivating loving kindness and then
compassion, followed by joy and equanimity.
How is loving kindness similar or different from
compassion?

The Brahma Vihāras or the four immeasurable practices
in Buddhism are Loving Kindness, Compassion, Joy,
Monastery in south India
and Equanimity. Loving kindness is actually a part of
Compassion. The definition of compassion in Buddhism,
however, is “a strong sympathetic loving kindness for
the suffering or the misfortune of others.”

How do we ensure that others do not take advantage
of our kindness and compassion?

I don’t know if there is a way to ensure this as such.
Being wise in your kind actions may be the best way to
go, but if someone does take advantage of your kindness
and compassion, I would just forgive them and move on,
because the nature of genuine kindness and compassion
Geshe-la teaching at the Institute
should be unconditional.

Buddhism also teaches that there is no real self. Buddha Shakyamuni’s explanation of the nature of
That being the case, who is being compassionate, existence, dependent origination or the interdependent
and to whom is our compassion directed at? nature of phenomena, and his profound understanding
of the law of causality are unprecedented realizations
Very good question, and it is one of the toughest that makes a Buddha different from all other prophets
philosophical theories, particularly for non-Buddhists. of the world. His first official sermon on the Four
You are talking about the Buddhist view on the two Noble Truths speaks about the conventional world of
truths, the ultimate truth and the conventional truth. No life. On the other hand, in the Heart Sūtra, the Buddha
“real self “ or “absolute self” refers to the ultimate truth, spoke about emptiness or the voidness of phenomena
which is the voidness or emptiness of the “I” or “self “ in by Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in conversation with
its own independent existence. In conventional truth, Venerable Shariputra at Vultures Peak Mountain. In this
or at the conventional level, we are all born, live, and teaching, the Buddha taught that there is no real self
die due to causes and conditions. Because of this, we at the ultimate level. Mahāyāna Buddhism regards this
cultivate compassion towards those in pain and misery teaching as the second turning of the wheel of Dharma.
and share loving kindness with each other among all This teaching on emptiness as taught in the Heart Sūtra
sentient beings. is found in both the Tibetan and Chinese traditions,
although it is now translated into many languages for
the benefit of sentient beings throughout the world. EH