Compassion is based on your being responsible for EVERYBODY’S suffering—including your own

There are two ways to look at the extraordinary claim that you are responsible for everybody’s suffering—including your own:

It is actually true.

It is virtually true.

Actually, in this life, you have caused others to suffer and caused yourself to suffer. This is something to address, though in your mind it falls far short of everybody.

Virtually, with a different concept, you have been around before this life, as have all others. These others have been friends, enemies, or strangers to you in those lives. And now those others are back as friends, enemies, or strangers to you. Did you cause any of them suffering before this? Did you cause all of them suffering before this? Are you causing any or all of them suffering now?

Call it a trick of the mind. No matter your metaphysical beliefs, if you consider it a possibility that you owe everybody your compassion—as if that is so—what have you lost? Is there some fine point of moral philosophy or justice that you are stubbornly determined to prove by making distinctions—and continuing to cause suffering?

Once you have opened up to that, it is not even a step to include yourself in that company. Yes, you are one of the everybody that you have made suffer. So yes, you are just as deserving of the compassion you are extending to everybody.

Quite a trick.