Love and Compassion
A comparison of agape (love) in the Bible and compassion (慈悲) in Buddhist scriptures. We explore together the nature of love as spoken of by both traditions.
The Definition of Love
Bible
Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται· ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ ζηλοῖ, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται, οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν, οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, συγχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ· πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Sutra
以慈滅怨，以善滅惡，以施滅慳，以實滅妄
“By compassion, destroy enmity; by good, destroy evil; by giving, destroy miserliness; by truth, destroy falsehood.”
Unconditional Love
Bible
συνίστησιν δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγάπην εἰς ἡμᾶς ὁ θεός, ὅτι ἔτι ἁμαρτωλῶν ὄντων ἡμῶν Χριστὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανεν.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Sutra
無眼耳鼻舌身意，無色聲香味觸法
“No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no forms, no sounds, no smells, no tastes, no tangibles, no mental objects.”
Love for Neighbors and Sentient Beings
Bible
δευτέρα δὲ ὁμοία αὐτῇ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.
“And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Sutra
若有無量百千萬億衆生，受諸苦惱，聞是觀世音菩薩，一心稱名，觀世音菩薩即時觀其音聲，皆得解脫
“If there are immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of sentient beings experiencing various sufferings and hardships, and they hear of Guanyin Bodhisattva and call upon his name with single-minded devotion, Guanyin Bodhisattva will immediately observe their cries and enable them all to be liberated.”