Eknath Easwaran's Commentary
Many of us find it difficult to be compassionate towards other people for the simple reason that most of our sensitivity is directed towards ourselves. The less we dwell on ourselves, the more our sensitivity will open out to the needs and feelings of others.
Every time you hurt someone and then grieve inside because of it, you are attending a valuable seminar on sensitivity. It is a seminar at the deepest and most personal level, the experiential, and it is infinitely more effective than anything we can attend for college credit. The credit comes to us directly, when we change our behavior and don’t hurt people again. “Everybody’s feelings can be hurt,” we realize, “just like my own. I have to take others’ feelings into consideration in what I do.”