When the commitment to justice comes together and coalesces with the spirit of love, what results is conscientious compassion…

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Conscientious Compassion

Topic: Love, Compassion, & Kindness

When the commitment to justice comes together and coalesces with the spirit of love, what results is conscientious compassion—compassion stemming from an assent to the hard demands of justice and from an ardent wish for others to flourish and realize their fullest potential. Conscientious compassion unites the highest moral visions of the great spiritual traditions in a call for transformative action. If we follow the call of conscientious compassion, we can bring into being the kind of world for which we long.

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, originally from Brooklyn and born as Jeffrey Block, found his calling in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. He moved to Sri Lanka in 1972 to fully immerse himself in monastic life and Buddhist scholarship. There, he focused on translating Pali texts, the original scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. His translations serve a clear purpose: to make these ancient teachings understandable and relevant for people today.

In 2008, he founded Buddhist Global Relief (BGR), turning his attention to pressing global issues like hunger and malnutrition. The Buddha himself said, 'There is no illness like hunger,' emphasizing the deep spiritual value of providing for those in need. Bhikkhu Bodhi took this teaching to heart. BGR doesn't just feed people; it works to address the root causes of hunger, including social injustice and economic inequality.

More recently, Bhikkhu Bodhi joined the Global Compassion Coalition, expanding his efforts to a broader interfaith setting. He is also a spiritual ambassador for Our Voices, a climate action group that involves multiple faith traditions. His work is a reminder that the core Buddhist values of compassion and interconnectedness aren't confined to a single faith or community. Rather, these values are universal, urging us all to take action in the face of suffering and ecological imbalance.

Buddhism

Bodhi, Bhikkhu. "Conscientious Compassion." Global Compassion Coalition, 2023, www.globalcompassioncoalition.org/conscientious-compassion/.

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Theme: Compassion

About This Bhikkhu Bodhi Quote [Commentary]

Bhikkhu Bodhi’s words point us to a truth that resides at the core of all meaningful spiritual traditions: the union of love and justice. The term he uses, “conscientious compassion,” speaks directly to this melding of heart and action. Compassion isn’t just a passive sentiment; it’s an active stance that requires us to step into the complexities of human suffering and social disparity. And it’s not optional if we’re serious about spirituality. Our faith calls us to engage with the world in a way that alleviates suffering and promotes fairness, dignity, and opportunity for all.

He also helps us understand that compassion and justice are not two separate concepts but are intrinsically connected. When compassion is devoid of justice, it risks becoming shallow sympathy that may provide temporary relief but doesn’t challenge the structures that perpetuate suffering. Similarly, justice without compassion can become harsh, mechanistic, and devoid of the individual care that makes it meaningful. By uniting them into “conscientious compassion,” Bhikkhu Bodhi emphasizes that our actions should not just provide relief but should address the underlying issues causing suffering, whether they are social, economic, or political in nature.

The call for “transformative action” is both an invitation and a challenge. It’s not enough to hold these ideals within us; they must be lived out in the community, in the policies we support, and in the way we interact with the world. We’re asked to create a world that aligns with our deepest values of love and justice. This is an ongoing, collective endeavor, one that requires courage, persistence, and the participation of each one of us. It’s how we manifest a world that reflects the true essence of our shared humanity and interconnectedness.

A Few Additional Bhikkhu Bodhi Quotations

“Conscientious compassion unites the highest moral visions of the great spiritual traditions in a call for transformative action. If we follow the call of conscientious compassion, we can bring into being the kind of world for which we long.”

—Bodhi, Bhikkhu. “Conscientious Compassion.” Global Compassion Coalition, 2023, www.globalcompassioncoalition.org/conscientious-compassion/.

“When compassion and justice are unified, we arrive at what I call conscientious compassion. This is compassion, not merely as a beautiful inward feeling of empathy with those suffering, but a compassion that gives birth to a fierce determination to uplift others, to tackle the causes of their suffering, and to establish the social, economic, and political conditions that will enable everyone to flourish and live in harmony.”

—Bodhi, Bhikkhu. “Conscientious Compassion—Bhikkhu Bodhi on Climate Change, Social Justice, and Saving the World.” Buddhist Global Relief, 14 Aug. 2015, buddhistglobalrelief.me/2015/08/14/conscientious-compassion-bhikkhu-bodhi-on-climate-change-social-justice-and-saving-the-world/.

Conscientious Compassion

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