DHARMA QUOTE of the WEEK-by Tsering Wangmo Dhompa

Don't Pull the Dog's Tail

He says Tibetans are unique because we value the practice of Buddhism. He gives the example of Tibetan mothers who in the course of a day point repeatedly toward suffering. They tell their children: don't kill the ant, it will suffer; don't pour hot water on the soil, the earthworm will feel the sting and the heat will cause it great pain; don't pull the dog's tail so hard. We are told to think for the animals and insects who cannot voice their pain but for whom suffering is as acute as it is for humans. From a young age, he says, we are reminded that nobody is free from suffering.

I agree that my Tibetan friends are instinctively more likely to brush away flies or mosquitoes instead of crushing or swatting them. But why is compassion so important? What about our land, our independence? Will compassion free our land?