Gazing over the small fire, I could see the flames reflected in the sages eyes. Her face,
nowilluminated by the firelite, appeared ageless, except for a few lines around the
eyes-from smiling. I supposed. She smiled often, so that even when she seemed deeply
serious, I could detect an underlying sense of humor and perspective.
After we spent some time in silence, gazing into the burning embers, she invited me
outside to learn the Law of Compassion. We rose together and stepped through the
doorway.
I looked around in wonder. Had the terrain changed again, or was it a trick of the
moonlight?
Before us lay a level area with enough to offer shelter from a misting rain that settled the
days dust and carried a pleasant, earthy odor of bark and leaves mixed with soil and
grasses.
"Everything feels so alive," I remarked.
"And so it is, " she responded as she caressed the rough bark of a nearby tree. In the
light of a waxing moon, the rolling hills became curves on the earths body. "Extend your
mind far beyond these hils," She continued. "Reach across the oceans, the fords, the
volcanoes, the reefs, the towering mountains above and beneath the sea, all teeming
with life, all of it, the flesh and bones, the blood and spirit of Earth, our mother."
She held up her fingers to show me a tiny flea, which leaped up and disapeared. "If you
were a flea," she said, "standing on an elephants back, you would see only a forest of
great hair growing around you, with no idea what you actually stood upon. But if you
leaped high into the air and looked back, you'd see that you actually lived on the skin of a
living creature.
This is what happend to the astronauts who first soared into space; they left Earth as
scientist and pilots and came back as mystics, because they saw the vision of a single,
glorious, sacred, blue green, living, breathing planet. This vision brings humility and with
it, a sense of awe and compassion that carries into the affairs of ordinary life."
"Just as you can learn balance from an egret and presence from a cat, you can learn the
Law of Compassion fromt he Earth on whose skin we tread, whose trees we cut and
burn, and whose living wealth we exploit, going about our busines without ever thinking of
asking permission or giving thanks."
The sage looked up into the night sky. "For many centruies, I"ve spoken with the Earth. I
know her heart, and I say to you that she understands in a way so deep and Profound
that tears would come to your eyes if you could but touch the edges of her compassion.
The Earth forgives us because she knows that we are flesh of her flesh- we are part of
her that is still learning and growing."
"And so I ask you this," she continued, squatting down taking some rich soil in her hands,
and letting it run through her fingers, "if the Earth can forgive you for your mistakes, can
you not forgive yourself, and offer others the same compassion?"
I lay bakc and looked up at the starry sky. "I don't think i"m all that good at compassion."
"You don't give much of it to yourself do you?" she asked gently.
"No, I don't suppose I do."
"Then that's where to begin; the more loving kindness you give to yourself, the more you
can give to others." She rose and walked back inside the hut. I followed. Gazing at me
over the crackling fire, with a light in her eyes, the sage reveled the heart of this law.
"The time has come, Traveler for you to see yourself and others in a new way, free of the
judgements and expectations that come between you and the world. The time has come
to understand that all of us- friends and adversaries alike- are doing the best we know
how within the limits of our beliefs and capacities.
"the poet Rumi once wrote, "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoings and rightdoing ther is a
field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk
about. Rumi could write these words because he understood that judgements are human
invention-that God is not here to judge us, but to provide us the means to learn from our
errors so that we can grow and evolve." The sage turned to me and asked, "If you can
accept that God doesn't judge you, why should you judge others?"
"I try not to judge others," I said, "but what about violent or cruel people?"
"the law of compassion is not arbituary or conditional," she said. "We know that deeply
troubled and destructive people do exist in this world, and that disturbed people tend to
distrub others. Compassion doesn't mean letting such people walk over you or continue
their destructive behaviours' some individuals need to be separated from society. But
one can have compassion for evil without succumbing to it. In battle, you can feel
compassion towards your adversaries even when fighting to the death."
"But why feel compassion for cruel or despicable people? Why not just hate what is
hateful?"
"That is an important question. And deserves a clear answer-an answer you must find for
yourself. But consider this: Hate and compassion are different kinds of energy; which do
you want to fill your world?"
"I can't argue with your goodwill," I responded, "But I stil find it very difficult to feel kindly
towards bigots or those who prey on children."
"I never said that compassion was easy!" she said. But easy or not, the law directs you
to act out of love and understanding rather than out of hatred or ignorance. To do so
requires a leap to a larger perspective. to the realization that you live in a universe as just
as it is mysterious. This depth of understanding flows from intuitive insight into the
inherent intelligence of the universe.
Whether you find such an understanding through observation, reason, or religious faith, it
reveals, finally, that in the natural world you have no friends, you have no enemies. You
have only teachers."
"It seems like one has to be a saint to practice this law."
Smiling she answered, "The Law of Compassion presents a loving demand to transcend
our limited perspective. This can feel overwhelming at times. So remember that
compassion starts with yourself. Be gentle and patient. We each have many thoughts
and feelings, both positive and negative, that arise in the mind and heart. You don't have
to be a saint, but instead of believing or resisting the negative thoughts, let compassion
wash them away in a wave of love and understanding."
"It stil sounds pretty saintly."
The sage stood and paced for a few moments before turnign to face me. "Can you
remember a time in your life when you were in the midst of an heated argument-when
you felt resentful, envious, or betrayed?"
"Yes," I said.
"Go back to one of those times," she said, "and feel the pain and anger."
"Okay, I feel it."
"Now, imagine in the midst of this heated argument, that the person you are arguing with
suddenly clutches his or her heart, utters a cry, and falls dead at your feet."
"My God," I said, picturing what she had said.
"Where is your anger now? Where is your envy and jealously, your resentment and
pain?"
"Those feelings are gone," I answered. "But-what if I were glad they were dead? What if I
couldn't forgive them?"
"Then you can forgive yourself for not forgiving them. And in that forgiveness you'll find
the compassion that heals the pain of being human in this world. To cal forth such
forgiveness when you need it," she added, "remember to imagine your friend, love, or
adversary lying dead at your feet as you will one day lie at the feet of th Spirit.
Then you will see through different eyes, because death is the great equalizer. We are all
going to depart this world and leave those we love. We all feel hope and despair; we all
share dreams and loss. We are all joined without knowing why, in the mystery of life,
doing the best we can."
"Maybe that's what Plato was saying when he wrote, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is
fighting a hard battle."
"Yes, said the sage. "Now you understand." With that, she walked over to a bed of
leaves and lay down. I watched her for a few moments, in the fading glow of the fire, as
the last embers flickered and died.
Taken from "The laws of Spirit"
Dan Millman
