Compassion

Thich Nhat Hanh/Daniel Berrigan again:

TNH: "The real Buddhist cannot be rich"

DB: "Why Not?"

TNH: "If you have compassion, you cannot be rich."

DB: "You could say that about the real Christian. But they all get rich. Not all, many."

TNH: "Maybe it's not that all poor Christians are more Christian or poor Buddhists are real Buddhists. But it seems that compassion, both in Buddhism and in Christianity, is so important, so basic, that you can be rich only when ou can bear the sight of suffering. If you cannot bear that, you have to give your possessions away."