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Webster Online Dict.:
compassion
Pronunciation: k&m-'pa-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin compassion-, compassio, from compati to sympathize, from Latin com- + pati to bear, suffer -- more at PATIENT
: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it
synonym see PITY
- com·pas·sion·less /-l&s/ adjective
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To be compassionate is an importand part of my job (social worker) and my life as well. But - what actually is compassion? Is it just a feeling, an attitude? Is it maybe some mixed, undefined emotion? Or something more ...? Through my behaviour I've found out, that I have some attitude that could be called compassion, but - on the other hand - is it not just a selfish wish to make my ego happy (look, what a compassionate being am I, and the like ...)? It is somehow very easy to recognize compassion within the others, but to find it within my own mind is much more difficult. An eye cannot sees itself. But, isn't it enough just to live with some compassion attitude? Maybe. I don't know...
However, the only explanation of compassion, that fits my pattern, my understanding of it ... I've found in the words of Dalai Lama (maybe because I'm a buddhist).
So here it is for those who wants to know more about it:

"My message is the practice of compassion, love and kindness. These things are very useful in our daily life, and also for the whole of human society these practices can be very important.

"Basically, universal responsibility is the feeling for other people's suffering just as we feel our own. It is the realization that even our own enemy is motivated by the quest for happiness. We must recognize that all beings want the same thing we want. This is the way to achieve a true understanding, unfettered by artificial consideration.

"At the heart of Buddhist philosophy is the notion of compassion for others. It should be noted that the compassion encouraged by Mahayana Buddhism is not the usual love one has for friends or family. The love being advocated here is the kind one can have even for another who has done one harm. Developing a kind heart does not always involve any of the sentimental religiosity normally associated with it. It is not just for people who believe in religions; it is for everyone who considers himself or herself to be a member of the human family, and thus sees things in accordingly large terms.

"The rationale for universal compassion is based on the same principle of spiritual democracy. It is the recognition of the fact that every living being has an equal right to and desire for happiness. The true acceptance of the principle of democracy requires that we think and act in terms of the common good. Compassion and universal responsibility require a commitment to personal sacrifice and the neglect of egotistical desires.

"I believe our every-day experience confirms that a self-centred attitude towards problems can be destructive not only towards society, but to the individual as well. Selfishness does not solve problems for us, it multiplies them. Accepting responsibility and maintaining respect for other will leave all concerned at peace..."

BUDDHA QUOTES
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others.
He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.All that we are is the result of what we have thought.
If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him,
like a shadow that never leaves him.Believe nothing, no matter where you read it,
or who said it, no matter if I have said it,
unless it agrees with your own reason
and your own common sense.Do not dwell in the past,
do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment.He who experiences the unity of life
sees his own Self in all beings,
and all beings in his own Self,
and looks on everything with an impartial eye.You, yourself, as much as anybody
in the entire universe,
deserve your love and affection.There is nothing more dreadful
than the habit of doubt.
Doubt separates people.
It is a poison that disintegrates friendships
and breaks up pleasant relations.
It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed.
The deed develops into habit.
And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care.
And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.

You can find more Buddha quotations here!

In march this year my friend Srečko Lavbič passed in a terrible train accident. For more than 30 years he was one of my best friends and he was also a great guitar player, a member of my band Kladivo, konj & voda, and one of the best music composers I've ever met. A month or so after he passed, I asked his wife Nevenka to borrow me his 30 - years old guitar for one performance. She said yes (for many performances!) ...
So now I'm proud (and honoured as well ...) to play a brilliant 30 years old Yamaha FG - 180-1. It's priceless and it sounds really great after all these years!!! And whenever I play it, the smiling face of my friend appears in front of me ... like he's with me.
And he is: in my heart.



Srečko Lavbič (1957 – 2006, R.I.P.) with another guitar.


This Old Guitar
(John Denver)

This old guitar taught me to sing a love song
It showed me how to laugh and how to cry
It introduced me to some friends of mine
And brightened up some days
It helped me make it through some lonely nights
Oh, what a friend to have on a cold and lonely night

This old guitar gave me my lovely lady
It opened up her eyes and ears to me
It brought us close together
I guess it broke her heart
It opened up the space for us to be
What a lovely place and a lovely space to be

This old guitar gave me my life my living
All the things you know I love to do
To serenade the stars that shine
From a sunny mountainside
Most of all to sing my songs for you
I love to sing my songs for you
Yes, I do, you know
I love to sing my songs for you

Jetsun Milarepa,1052-1135 (approx) was one of one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. He said:
"The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation."
"Hasten slowly and ye shall soon arrive"
"Though you youngsters of the new qeneration dwell in towns infested with deceitful fate, the link of truth still remains ..."

Here you can read a lot about this saint. With nice pics ...

I know a few things about computers. Not a lot, but I'm able to install a new operating system (Windows, Linux, Unix...), I can make an old PC running, I can fix some problems, bugs; install new programs and apps, etc. Just for my own satisfaction and to keep my systems up to date... But some friends of mine ask me from time to time to help them when their systems crash. Why not, I like to help the others... But - slowly this "help" is becoming a nightmare! Two or three of my friends constantly have "problems" with Windows and they call me even in the middle of the night, they send desperate messages on my mobile phone, via e - mail... Because they are too lazy too learn how to work with some simple programs, apps ..., and because of that they crash their Windows almost once every week...
It's hard to say no to a friend, but here I go: my beloved friends, I will not fix your Windows anymore!