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COMPASSION: THE WISH-FULFILLING JEWEL 203only himself he had helped through his action: The power ofhis compassion had also purified the tigress and her cubs oftheir karma, and even of any karmic debt they might haveowed to him for saving their lives in the way he did. Becauseit was so strong, in fact, his compassionate act created akarmic link between them that was to continue far into thefuture. The tigress and her cubs, who received the flesh ofMahasattva's body, were reborn, it is said, as the Buddha'sfirst five disciples, the very first to receive his teaching afterhis enlightenment. What a vision this story gives us of howvast and mysterious the power of compassion truly is!5. How to Meditate on CompassionYet, as I have said, evoking this power of compassion in usis not always easy. I find myself that the simplest ways arethe best and the most direct. Every day, life gives us innumerablechances to open our hearts, if we can only take them. Anold woman passes you with a sad and lonely face, swollenveins on her legs, and two heavy plastic bags full of shoppingshe can hardly carry; a shabbily dressed old man shuffles infront of you in line at the post office; a boy on crutches looksharried and anxious as he tries to cross the street in the afternoontraffic; a dog lies bleeding to death on the road; a younggirl sits alone, sobbing hysterically in the subway. Switch on atelevision, and there on the news perhaps is a mother inBeirut kneeling above the body of her murdered son; or an oldgrandmother in Moscow pointing to the soup that is her foodfor today, not knowing if she'll even have that tomorrow; orone of the AIDS children in Romania staring out at you witheyes drained of any living expression.Any one of these sights could open the eyes of your heartto the fact of vast suffering in the world. Let it. Don't wastethe love and grief it arouses; in the moment you feel compassionwelling up in you, don't brush it aside, don't shrug it offand try quickly to return to "normal," don't be afraid of yourfeeling or embarrassed by it, don't allow yourself to be distractedfrom it or let it run aground in apathy. Be vulnerable:use that quick, bright uprush of compassion; focus on it, godeep into your heart and meditate on it, develop it, enhance,and deepen it. By doing this you will realize how blind youhave been to suffering, how the pain that you are experiencingor seeing now is only a tiny fraction of the pain of theworld. All beings, everywhere, suffer; let your heart go out tothem all in spontaneous and immeasurable compassion, and