True Compassion on the Bodhisattva Path: SPP2025 (Part 5)

In this second Zazenkai day talk of Spring Practice Period, Sensei Shinzan explores the essence of compassion in Buddhism. He begins with a Matrix-inspired question to illustrate the Bodhisattva vow: “Somebody tells you, if you take this pill, you’re going to be free of suffering… But if you take the other pill, you are going to go back and suffer a lot to help others to be free. Which pill are you going to take?” Shinzan clarifies that true compassion requires wisdom and equanimity, warning against the “enemies of compassion” – pity without wisdom, moral outrage, and fear. Shinzan weaves together traditional Buddhist teachings on the four sublime states (Brahmaviharas) with personal stories that illuminate compassion in action. He shares about Las Patronas, a group of volunteer women in Mexico who provide food and support to Central American migrants traveling through Veracruz on freight trains. When asked why they help, one woman answered simply, “Because I see the other in myself.” Shinzan emphasizes that compassion connects rather than depletes us, quoting Roshi Joan he says: “You and me are one and the same, connected by life and death as by suffering and joy.” Through silence and presence, we can embody the Buddha’s highest compassion: entering the tangle of life to show others the path to end suffering. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here.