Thought of the week

Before cultivating love and compassion, it is important to understand what these two terms refer to. In the Buddhist tradition, they are seen as two aspects of the same feeling of benevolence: love is the desire that all beings may be happy, and compassion is the wish that they may be free from suffering.

FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA, TENZIN GYATSO (B. 1936)
Summarized and adapted from Les voies spirituelles du bonheur, Presses du Chatelet, Paris, 2002; Points Sagesse, Seuil, 2004. English version: The Compassionate Life, Shambhala 2003