“Compassion is an aspiration, a state of mind, wanting others to be free from suffering. It’s not passive — it’s not empathy alone — but rather an empathetic altruism that actively strives to free others from suffering.” Dalai Lama
One of my colleagues in the business school told me recently about his student, Raymond. He was very frustrated that he had to take a Business and Ethics class with a strong spiritual component. From the very beginning of the ten week class, he proudly announced he didn’t think the spiritual content of the class was relevant to his interests in business. My colleague, Tom, was open and clear about the goal of the class: “this is about finding a connection between business ethics and the world’s greatest spiritual wisdom. This is not about converting anyone.”
Raymond relaxed and in the next weeks he discovered that 
the practice of compassion actually helps businesses. There are plenty of studies that show that organizations that practice compassion become stronger and more successful. According to the CompassionLab, organizations of all kinds can be “sites of everyday healing and pain.” Greed, anger and desire are amplifiers, not solutions to the pain and suffering of the world. Our practice needs to find alternative solutions to the endless chain of pain that extends from the individual to families, from communities to nations, and to the whole planet.
Tom told me how at the end of the ten week course his student changed. He was more aware, more mindful and his behaviour was more open to others. The last day of classes they were walking together in the rain. On the corner, a homeless man was asking for a few coins. Raymond stopped and noticed the rain falling on the man. He gave his umbrella to the homeless person and said: “You need it more than I do.”
Try this exercise:
- Sit with your back straight and focus on your breathing.
- As you are breathing in, notice you are breathing in. As you are breathing out, notice you are breathing out. Try that for a few minutes.
- Try to remember the different moments of your day. Mindfully watch those moments in your mind. Notice if during the day you watched somebody in pain and failed to help or to respond to that person. Watch without judgment. Just notice how sometimes we are so busy, we fail to see those moments when we could’ve helped.
- When you finish, write down your insights. Write about the power of compassion and openness, and the way it affects your actions in life.
Peace,
Juan