‘The practices of generosity produce feelings of compassion precisely insofar as they are able to transform the kinds of self-understanding and self-concern that structure our lives. The new sense of self gradually generated is based on a recognition that my own good as a person is closely bound up with the good of others. From this perspective, egocentric people are always those whose lives are based on a misconception, a mistaken or immature understanding about how the world of human beings is structured. Living in that state of human character, we tragically see ourselves as independent and alone in the world, and our actions, therefore, as isolating, protecting, and securing ourselves.
The practices of generosity – acts of giving, whether in meditation or in the social world – function to develop a more mature and expansive sense of the self, one that naturally gives rise to a greater capacity for opening ourselves to others.’(The Six Perfections)
I still have a list of many dozens of sections of this book I would like to include in this blog, so expect to see more regularly.
Shundo David Haye 