"When we have complete ease and perceptual openness in all our
experiences—especially the negative ones—then we find a superb
helpfulness already present within us, which like the sun, is always
shining. There’s a natural ease of being in which no one is a stranger.
Compassion never needs to be cultivated or developed—it is always
naturally present in awareness. In fact, compassion is equal to
awareness and can only be found in awareness. The compassion that
can be cultivated and developed is lifeless compared to the
unstoppable compassion that shows no bias. True compassion is totally
innocent and totally free. We can become acquainted with this
compassion only by seeing that awareness has complete mastery over
everything that appears in our thoughts, emotions, and experiences."
"Just as the lotus arises out of the mud but is completely
unaffected by the mud, the beautiful flower of compassion appears out
of our deepest, darkest emotions, thoughts, and experiences."