My study and practice of Eastern psychology began when I was 17 years old. It was during this time and the several years that followed when I was actively incorporating many of the teachings of Buddhist wisdom into my life. I no longer have to consciously apply many of these teachings as they have become my second nature. In other words, they have become my habitual responses to the events of life. One of these teachings is the teaching of compassion. I recall my many times of practicing the teaching of compassion and I place a great value of importance on this teaching as it serves as an effective method of emotional self-healing. The teaching of compassion has helped steer me through my many past times of unusually difficult and horrific living conditions.
Without going into too much detail, one example of the circumstances I endured was having all of the money I earned from working jobs taken from me. As a legal adult, I was also not allowed to choose the clothes in my wardrobe, and on some evenings I was even denied dinner, among countless other injustices. My parental figures at the time were an evil step-dad and an evil mother who made it clear to me and told me that they will not allow me to move out of their household and that I had to comply and obey. I did manage to escape them at the age of 26 with the help of 2 friends who assisted me as my eye-witnesses for when I called the sheriffs to evacuate all of my belongings from the garage that I was sleeping in after sharing several videos of what was happening to me on social media. Nevertheless, the period of time that I had to endure these great injustices lasted for 8 years after 18 years old. I attribute my ability to endure all of my struggles mostly to my experience of practicing Buddhist wisdom. It was during these times of hardship when I employed the teaching of compassion.
The most important practice of the teaching of compassion is the practice of self-compassion. To practice self-compassion, we take a moment to reflect on ourselves and what we are going through and we deliberately choose to be compassionate for ourselves. Practicing this alleviates our suffering, cleanses our minds, and elevates our mood. Once practiced enough times, self-compassion can become our natural response to life's unfortunate circumstances.
The second most important practice of the teaching of compassion is the practice of having compassion for others. By practicing compassion for others, we cultivate the therapeutic state of mind that comes with it, and by doing so we improve our own ability to have compassion for ourselves. Having compassion for others can also help us understand that we are not alone in the world when it comes to suffering. The outcome of the practice of compassion is emotional self-healing.
There are many people who do not know of this method of self-healing and are clueless to the fact that this is something that they can do to assist themselves during times of suffering. If we learn that we can practice compassion and we give it a try, we can evolve ourselves to become wiser human beings that use our minds to work for our well-being.
© 2026 Hazon, Nir
