Compassion

“The Buddhist deity White Tara 1400-1500 Nepal Gilt copper repousse” by mharrsch is licensed under CC BY 2.0

True healing can only be given by the one who has healed him/herself. This truth is found in all healing traditions, such as the shamanic or the yogic. 

Bird Phoenix can be seen as a symbol of this truth. The Phoenix is said to burn up and then be reborn from its ashes. In the same way, we are reborn from our ashes. It is the transformation that takes place when we find a way out of our own suffering. 

Bird Phoenix is also said to be healing. This can be seen as a symbol of the compassion that arises from one’s own suffering, and the desire for others to find a way out of it, as you have done.

Tara is a goddess who within the Buddhist Tantran symbolizes compassion. According to this tradition, she was born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara (the bodhisattva of compassion, grace, and divine love). Tears he spilled as he witnessed the suffering of the world. 

The last post was about forgiveness. It is through compassion that this forgiveness becomes possible.

Music: Graceful Passages, Gary Malkin & Michael Stillwater. 

Similar Posts

  • Yoga as a truth-seeking

    Tantra speaks of the actions of “the All”, which are also the individual’s 5 powers. These are: Srsti-creation Stihiti-stasis Samhara-dissolving Tirodhana-forgetting, veiling Anugraha-unveiling, remembrance These actions are the acts of consciousness. Consciousness can create a thought, hold on to a thought, let a thought dissolve, and can forget something by dropping the focus on it….

  • To hit the target

    In the Amshu Tantra (1000s) and further through Tattwa Chintamani (in 1577) positions are given that are reminiscent of a straight stick, a stick broken into several parts in shape, or arcuate shapes. These are called dandas (sticks) and are also the names used for the positions in the sun salutation. One of the positions…

  • Being with truth

    One student asked me after the last post, this appropriate question: So if you want to go through the process of Yoga, of facing truth more and more, how do you do it? Last time, we talked about Yoga as a truth-seeking tradition, and about unveiling layers of untruth and faulty knowledge. We also talked…

  • Ma!

    The Navaratri of spring is approaching. The 9 nights of Navaratri are sometimes divided into three parts. Three nights for the invocation of Durga, three for the invocation of Lakshmi and three for the invocation of Saraswati.  Durga is the aspect of the Goddess in its entirety; Mahadevi, who is summoned to fight Mahishasura in…

  • To be worthy

    A legend from the 12th-14th century described in the text Matsyendra Samhita describes how the fisherman Mena is swallowed by a whale. The story tells how Mena is devoured by a choice and thereby hears secret teaching from Shiva when, at Shakti’s request, he teaches her the ultimate being of everything, at the bottom of…