Introduction
If love and compassion are not expressed in concrete action,
they can remain merely theoretical concepts, lofty and sublime,
but motionless and unable to have any positive effect on others.
Bhikkhu Bodhi
There is a moment in every spiritual journey when the practitioner wonders what the true meaning is of everything they have learned. After months or years of meditation, of refining breath and body awareness, of seeking inner peace, the question arises—probably sooner rather than later, but inevitably nonetheless: what is the purpose of all this? What is the use of sitting silently on a cushion while the world around us seems to be on fire?
These questions present themselves with particular urgency in a time when we are daily confronted with news about climate change, social inequality, and human suffering on a global scale.
Heart Qualities
In the Buddhist tradition, boundless love and compassion are described as the so-called Brahmaviharas, o…
