The Tear in the Eye of the Buddha
So, what one develops is Compassion — That is
why there is always a tear in the eye of the Buddha that no one
sees — for the pain and suffering of others. Because without
a requisite knowledge of that pain and suffering, you are mortal.
You only become immortal when you feel the suffering of others, and
are one with it — as you feel the joy of others and are one with
it, and yet step beyond both into immortality itself and dissolve in
Eternity — And yet that tear remains even after Enlightenment,
Even though it is invisible. It is only visible to those who know.
And there is no way to will that — it will come when it will —
through the Grace of God. And therefore to be so absurd — or
knowledgeable, or even as a teacher, autocratic — to assume any-
thing at almost anytime seems to me — to forget that there is a
tear in the eye of the Buddha — and that we are all the Buddha.
And we all have that tear, but we don’t see it because we are so
caught up in the illusion of Self Realization that we forget that
our Self Realization and our Enlightenment is of little importance,
that what matters is the Welfare of others — And when you
forget that, you forget what matters — and only when you
remember that, will Enlightenment occur.
When you become totally concerned with the Welfare
of Others — without any sense of self-importance — it is
only with that complete commitment and simplicity and humility
and humor — that is engendered by taking on the impossible
task of Selfless Giving and doing it anyway — perfectly —
without any sense of self — that real progress begins to occur. That is
the preparation for the higher Enlightenment.
— It is a Noble Endeavor —
~ Rama
For some thirty-plus years the beautiful, poetic passage above has served as my primary teaching on compassion. The Tear in the eye of the Buddha is a profound metaphor that definitely entices our awareness in the direction of the exquisite emotional frequency that we call compassion. I actually thought that through receiving this teaching and all of the opportunities I’ve had to experience this emotion both in myself and others, I was on intimate terms with its vibration.
However, I have recently been taken on a fascinating journey with this profound quality and begun to experience it in far greater depth and subtlety. I’m finding that there is a deeper experience of compassion that is a far more powerful key to unlocking the expansive realms of the heart than I had ever imagined. And that access to the realms of higher love is truly the doorway into higher Dimensions. Quite profound and most exquisite.
“It is indeed, a Noble Endeavor”
We all think we know what compassion is. It is a a term we toss about liberally in spiritual circles, but can we really say that it is our go-to response to the suffering of others? Are we really open to fully feel both the suffering and joy of others as defined above? Do we even know what that would truly look like? Is it simply a sweet emotion that says “everybody is doing the best they can, if they could do better they would”? This attitude is a lovely entry point, and one that can serve all of us very well. But there much more to discover and embody if we are truly inspired to be that Buddha with the invisible tear in our eye.
The journey into its deeper significance is ultimately one of experiencing compassion as both an initiation into, and a highly advanced state of consciousness. This yields two potent realizations. One — it is a brilliant way to alchemize empathy from a quality that can give us a lot of pain and suffering, into one of transcendental heart opening. And two, it is a necessary initiation to take if we wish to move into higher planes of consciousness.
It is indeed, a Noble Endeavor. And one never more needed than now. Fully opening the heart has never been more critical if our species is to continue on this planet, and therefore supported by all of the energies of the universe!
