Theos-Talk Archives (August 1997 Message tl00144)

>... compassion without careful attention
>to ethics becomes the opposite of compassion.  Likewise 
>ethics without a cultivated compassion become unethical behavior.

I disagree with your first observation, but agree with the second.
Could you please give me an example of the first?? Compassion
for others, if genuine, will result in ethical behavior automatically.
When we worry about "careful attention  to ethics" we will
always find ourselves more worried about ourselves than others.
"Did I do right?"  "Did I make bad karma for myself?"  etc, and so
on.  My whole point here is that we should (1) develop a strong
sense of ethics and morals, (2) develop compassion, and then
(3) forget ethical codes and behaviors and act out of the
compassion learned in (2).  By doing this, the ethics learned
in (1) won't get in our way nor bloat our ego.

Jerry S.
Member, TI