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6 EASTERN HORIZON | LEAD ARTICLE

care, and gave us protection from all harms and with just that one simple article of clothing. When we
dangers, and they, themselves, experienced so many do this with every other object we use during the day,
hardships and sacrificed their own comforts in order to tracing them back, from our hands, through the process
provide us with their care and protection. to their inception, we can see that we are connected to
infinite numbers of other. There’s no end to this type of
They even sacrificed their lives for us when we were investigation.] Thinking along these lines, we remember
steeped in sorrow and bereft of joy. They have tried all their kindness. These reflections naturally lead to the
means available to place us in happiness and free us mind aspiring to repay their kindness.
from suffering.
However, we need to repeatedly familiarize ourselves
[Perhaps we do not have the view of or confidence with these above causes.
in reincarnation or haven’t had the fortune to have
had caregivers who were so kind as this. We can still In particular, compassion is said to be generated from
remember those who at different points in our life, the cherishing-love that holds all sentient beings dear
benefitted us in some way. Perhaps we had a neighbor, and precious. That is, one must hold all of our kind
a close friend, a coach, a mentor of some kind person, mother sentient beings dear and precious for they have
who showed concern for our well-being or provided showered us with extreme kindness when we were
us with some essential knowledge or skill. We all in sorrowful and wretched conditions. Today, when
came into this world naked and ignorant of even the they are in a similarly wretched and poor condition, it
knowledge or ability to speak, feed or clean ourselves, is befitting to repay their kindness for they are all the
etc. Whoever taught us these essential survival skills, ones who have been kind to us. Thus, the above are the
whether with gentleness or firmness, did provide us modes of thinking that we should train ourselves in and
with abilities we didn’t possess under our own power, help generate compassion for them. Again, the same
alone. We can remember how kind these people were approach can be applied in cultivating loving-kindness.
to take an interest in and spend time with us in these [For those who are uncomfortable contemplating
ways. On top of this, we can also change the way we life after life, they can ponder on our conditions of
see kindness, in order to skillfully stretch our minds dependence and connections with each other across
and expand our ability to see kindness in many places, time and space in the present lifetime].
thereby expanding our own hearts/minds and capacity
for the development of compassion. The typical way Now, as to the measure of giving birth to them.
we see kindness, is by having someone who knows us In general, when one trains in these attitudes, (1)
and has some concern for our well-being, who provides there is a time when one has to resort to mimicking
us with something we want and appreciate, whether others and generate superficial attitudes, faking them
affection, knowledge, material comforts, etc. If we can while one does not have a genuine one. (2) Then,
also include, that it’s a kindness we’ve received, simply there is a time when one begins to feel them from the
by virtue of having benefited from someone’s actions, depth of one’s heart and even manages to generate
whether they are even aware of us or not. From this sporadically sincere ones. However, one may still fall
view we can consider anything that we typically take for short of possessing stable experiences of them. (3) With
granted, such as one of our cotton socks. Consider how, continued training this way, one may eventually possess
in order for us to have this sock, so many people were uncontrived stable experiences. This way, one could
involved with getting it from the cotton field—from speak of these three stages of training in these attitudes.
planting seeds, tending the plant, harvesting the cotton, Of them, the first one does not even qualify as a [mind
cleaning it, spinning it into thread, dyeing and weaving of] compassion. The second is a contrived, superficial
it into cloth, etc. From this practice we can see that [mind of] compassion, though not a genuine one. An
there are infinite numbers of beings who were involved actual or a genuine one arises only at the third stage.