[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Idiot Compassion

[Carolyn Gimian]

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

January 16, 2006

IDIOT COMPASSION

Student: Could you briefly describe idiot compassion?

Chogyam Trungpa: Idiot compassion is the highly conceptualized idea that 
you want to do good....Of course, [according to the mahayana teachings of 
Buddhism] you should do everything for everybody; there is no selection 
involved at all. But that doesn't mean to say that you have to be gentle 
all the time. Your gentleness should have heart, strength. In order that 
your compassion doesn't become idiot compassion, you have to use your 
intelligence. Otherwise, there could be self-indulgence of thinking that 
you are creating a compassionate situation when in fact you are feeding the 
other person's aggression. If you go to a shop and the shopkeeper cheats 
you and you go back and let him cheat you again, that doesn't seem to be a 
very healthy thing to do for others.

 From GLIMPSES OF MAHAYANA in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, 
Volume Two: pages 407-408, 410.


All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by 
permission.

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Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications,  the Archive of his 
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