<html>
<br>
Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week<br><br>
February 3, 2007 <br><br>
COMPASSION NEVER HARMS ANYONE<br><br>
In stories and in images, Avalokiteshvara [the bodhisattva of compassion]
is often shown carrying a deerskin on his back. The symbol is used
because the deer is a compassionate animal. It does not kill other
creatures, but lives on a vegetarian diet. And here Avalokiteshvara
appears as a sage. For in the Indian tradition, sages often carry their
seat on their shoulders when they are travelling, and when they want to
sit down they simply spread this on the floor and sit on it. In this
particular case, the deerskin symbolizes harmlessness, that is to say,
the act of compassion. When compassion acts, it never harms, it never
hurts anyone, but always moves gently forward in order to fulfill its
purpose.<br><br>
From "The Mahasattva Avalokiteshvara," page 450 in THE
COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume One.<br><br>
All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by
permission. <br><br>
OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5,018 subscribers.<br>
Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF
THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at:
carolyn@shambhala.com. <br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
Carolyn Rose Gimian<br><br>
<font face="MS Sans Serif, Geneva" size=2>Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the
Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. <br>
Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive
of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published
sources.<br>
</font>TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the
following link:
<a href="http://oceanofdharma.com/" eudora="autourl"><font color="#0000FF"><u>http://OceanofDharma.com</a><br>
</font></u></html>