Compassion Quotes

Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.

Henri Nouwen

Lonely, Hurt, Pain

Henri J. M. Nouwen (2017). “You are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living”, Hachette UK

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Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

Dalai Lama

Love, Inspirational, Life

"A Small Drop of Ink: A Collection of Inspirational and Moving Quotations of the Ages". Book by Linda Pendleton, 2003.

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My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style

Maya Angelou

Inspirational, Life, Inspiring

Twitter post from Aug 19, 2015

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Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Mark Twain

Inspirational, Relationship, Positive

Mark Twain (2015). “Bite-Size Twain: Wit and Wisdom from the Literary Legend”, p.18, St. Martin's Press

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To pity distress is but human; to relieve it is Godlike.

Horace Mann

Inspiring, Forgiveness, Charity

Horace Mann (1845). “Lectures on Education”, p.297

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The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in time of crisis.

Thurgood Marshall

Country, Greatness, Times Of Crisis

"Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238". U.S. Supreme Court case, supreme.justia.com. June 29, 1972.

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In compassion lies the world's true strength.

Gautama Buddha

Peace, Strong, Lying

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Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.

Pema Chodron

Relationship, Real, Empathy

Pema Chodron (2003). “Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion”, p.73, Shambhala Publications

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The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.

Meryl Streep

Inspirational, Fundraising, Empathy

"'I Want To Feel My Life While I’m In It' – The Wonderful Meryl Streep’s Greatest Quotes". www.marieclaire.co.uk. June 23, 2015.

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You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Inspirational, Life, Motivational

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If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Dalai Lama

Inspirational, Happiness, Happy

Dalai Lama, Victor Chan (2012). “The Wisdom of Compassion: Stories of Remarkable Encounters and Timeless Insights”, p.11, Random House

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To be hopeful in bad times is based on the fact that human history is not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

Howard Zinn

Hope, Kindness, Future

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Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Leo Buscaglia

Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

"Love". Book by Leo Buscaglia, 1972.

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If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

Jack Kornfield

Motivational, Buddhist, Yoga

Twitter post from Jan 31, 2015

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No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Aesop

Inspirational, Life, Inspiring

Aesop (1963). “Aesop's fables”, Cliffs Notes

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Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.

Confucius

Inspirational, Wisdom, Courage

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An attitude of compassion does not mean looking down on someone, pitying them in their misery. Compassion is based on respect. We discuss life as equals, learn from each other and strive together to improve our lives.

Daisaku Ikeda

Attitude, Mean, Together

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But if we have the energy of compassion and loving kindness in us, the people around us will be influenced by our way of being and living.

Nhat Hanh

Kindness, People, Energy

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This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

Dalai Lama

Inspirational, Uplifting, Spiritual

"The Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness: An Anthology by and about the Dalai Lama" edited by Sidney Piburn, (p.52), 1990.

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A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.

Amelia Earhart

Kindness, Spring, Roots

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If someone is too tired to give you a smile, leave one of your own, because no one needs a smile as much as those who have none to give.

Samson Raphael Hirsch

Smile, Kindness, Tired

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The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the other.... The whole purpose of life is to live by love.

Thomas Merton

Ideas, Purpose, Life Is

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Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.

William Faulkner

Truth, Honesty, Lying

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Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.

Benjamin Disraeli

Inspirational, Being Yourself, Clever

"Contarini Fleming". Book by Benjamin Disraeli, 1832.

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