81 Compassion Quotes To Keep Your Heart Open

Here are 81 of the best compassion quotes I could find. The goal? To make us, and the world, better and more caring. You’ll discover quotes by Einstein, Mother Teresa, Dalai Lama, and more. Enjoy!

A compassionate person sees himself or herself in every being. Thich Nhat Hanh

What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. Albert Pike

Being good to people is better than preaching a sermon. Being kind and compassionate speaks louder than words. Joel Osteen

Compassion comes naturally when you lose your overinflated sense of self-importance. James Pierce

Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things. Thomas Merton

Use your voice for kindness, your ears for compassion, your hands for charity, your mind for truth, and your heart for love. Unknown

Those who are truly strong can afford to show compassion. Patrik Baboumian

Anger and hatred are signs of weakness, while compassion is a sure sign of strength. 14th Dalai Lama

Compassion. It’s not just a word. It’s a way of being. It’s not just a concept. It’s love in action. Jeff Brown

Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves. Pema Chödrön

When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as though they were his own, he or she has attained the highest spiritual union. Lord Krishna

Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. Booker T. Washington

When I understand myself, I understand you, and out of that understanding comes love. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Wise people don’t feel diminished while listening to others. Maxime Lagacé

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. Buddha

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The Best Compassion Quotes

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We only have what we give. Isabel Allende

Being nice counts the most when you are nice to people ignored by others. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Everybody sees things their way. Nobody wants to see things through the eyes of others. Shane Parrish

If we human beings help each other, serve each other, with compassion, we’ll be happy. 14th Dalai Lama

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Compassion is the ultimate expression of your highest self. Russell Simmons

Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion between supposed lovers, between supposed brothers. Unknown

A king without compassion does not deserve a kingdom. No matter how many weapons you may have, no matter how great your technology might be, the world cannot live without love. Sheeta (Castle in the Sky)

Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors. Andrew Boyd

The nature of humanity, its essence, is to feel another’s pain as one’s own, and to act to take that pain away. There is a nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness. John Connolly

There’s no place where deep listening and loving speech are inappropriate. Thich Nhat Hanh

Gentleness is powerful. When we use gentle and loving speech, we are able to transform anger, fear, resentment and suspicion in our communication. The whole intention of loving speech is to understand the other person and to be understood. Thich Nhat Hanh

When we can free ourselves from the idea of separateness, we have compassion, we have understanding, and we have the energy we need to help. Thich Nhat Hanh

True love is possible only with understanding. When there is understanding, compassion is born. Thich Nhat Hanh

When someone is caught up in the whirlpool of their own mind, you can only feel compassion for them, not anger. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Compassion recognizes the suffering of another as a reflection of our own pain. Compassion is shared suffering. Jack Kornfield

Compassion arises when you recognize that all are suffering from the same sickness of the mind, some more acutely than others. Eckhart Tolle

You didn’t choose how you looked; yet we keep judging others as if they chose and are how they look. Alain de Botton

As a human being, I am committed to the promotion of what I call basic human values, by which I mean especially compassion. 14th Dalai Lama

Generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness. 14th Dalai Lama

If we are not tolerant and loving with others, who will be with ourselves? Maxime Lagacé

Every one of us has the capacity to love, to forgive, to understand, and to be compassionate. Thich Nhat Hanh

They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them, who have renounced every selfish desire and sense-craving tormenting the heart. Bhagavad Gita

A man’s true wealth hereafter is the good he has done to his fellowmen. Mahatma Gandhi

Compassion, as love, is something which is not of the mind. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Part 2. Compassion Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Compassion Quotes

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The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action. Mother Teresa

No one has ever become poor by giving. Anne Frank

Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it’s beauty. Albert Einstein

We must be very compassionate with ourselves, and each time just center again, quiet again and begin again. Ram Dass

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. Martin Luther King Jr

The soul is composed of love, compassion, wisdom, peace, and joy. Those are all in us. Ram Dass

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. Maya Angelou

Compassion is the radicalism of our time. 14th Dalai Lama

The topic of compassion is not at all religious business; it is important to know that it is human business. 14th Dalai Lama

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. 14th Dalai Lama

Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. Pema Chödrön

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Pema Chödrön

Why do we need compassion? Experience tells us that it brings inner strength. It also benefits others and we face many unnecessary problems when we lack it. To understand this we must develop a holistic way of seeing the bigger picture, which means we must use our intelligence. 14th Dalai Lama

Change starts with us as individuals. If one individual becomes more compassionate it will influence others and so we will change the world. 14th Dalai Lama

We have a basic instinct for compassion, but we need to develop it. Concern for others is related to human rights and everyone needs to be assured of their human rights because everyone wants and has a right to be happy. 14th Dalai Lama

Tolerance and compassion are qualities of fearless people. Paulo Coelho

No matter how dark the times we must face reality and quietly work for the common good and collective evolution with love and compassion. Deepak Chopra

Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. Susan Sontag

Compassion is an action word with no boundaries. Prince

Compassion is the basis of morality. Arthur Schopenhauer

Inspirational Compassion Quotes

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Create meaning by caring for others. Maxime Lagacé

The best way to be successful is to make others successful. Shane Parrish

More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate. Roy T. Bennett

It is compassion, the most gracious of virtues, which moves the world. Unknown

Compassion is the highest form of intelligence. Unknown

Kindness and compassion towards all living beings is a mark of a civilized society. Cesar Chavez

True benevolence or compassion, extends itself through the whole of existence and sympathizes with the distress of every creature capable of sensation. Joseph Addison

The practice of compassion and altruism brings us peace of mind. Even if we face trouble or someone is critical of something we’ve said or done, compassion enables us to feel grateful to them. Compassion is the best countermeasure to anger, anxiety and so forth. 14th Dalai Lama

Compassion is the basis of our survival, not just a religious matter. Our very life depends on the affection of others, so it’s in our interest to take their concerns into account. We must think more about inner values and cultivate compassion in our own lives. 14th Dalai Lama

Be like a flower that gives its fragrance even to the hand that crushed it. Ali ibn Abi Talib

If it’s about logic, numbers and competition, we are screwed. If it’s about emotion, love and collaboration, we have a chance. Maxime Lagacé

Compassion reduces our fear, boosts our confidence, and opens us to inner strength. By reducing distrust, it opens us to others and brings us a sense of connections with them and a sense of purpose and meaning in life. 14th Dalai Lama

I regard a compassionate, warm, kindhearted person as healthy. If you maintain a feeling of compassion, loving kindness, something automatically opens your inner door, through which you can communicate much more easily with other people — you’ll find that they are just like you. 14th Dalai Lama

Compassion is action without motive, without self-interest, without any sense of fear, without any sense of pleasure. Jiddu Krishnamurti

With looking deeply and the practice of compassionate dialogue, we can transform misperceptions and anger into understanding and love, just as a gardener can transform compost to grow beautiful flowers and vegetables. Thich Nhat Hanh

My view of human nature is that all of us are just holding it together in various ways — and that’s okay, and we just need to go easy with one another, knowing that we’re all these incredibly fragile beings. Alain de Botton

Count your life not in years but by the number of breaths you take. Slow down, breathe, smile, be gentle, kind, joyful and compassionate. You will add years to your life and life to your years. Deepak Chopra

May love fill your heart, compassion guides your mind, faith rules your soul. Paulo Coelho

Gratitude eliminates fear, worry, grief, and depression, and brings happiness, kindness, compassion, understanding, and peace of mind. Rhonda Byrne

Ego builds walls, compassion bridges. Maxime Lagacé

God damn it, you’ve got to be kind. Kurt Vonnegut

Conclusion

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We humans do not understand compassion. In each moment of our lives, we betray it. We know of its worth, yet in knowing we then attach to it a value, we guard the giving of it, believing it must be earned. Compassion is priceless in the truest sense of the word. It must be given freely. In abundance. Steven Erikson

Make the vow to live every hour of the day deeply, with compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh

A few thoughts on compassion…

There’s a better way.

A better way to communicate, to make people feel better, to make people feel recognized and respected for who they are.

People all over the world are waiting to be seen and accepted.

But since most of us are caught up in competition, jealousy, and ego-building activities, we forget others in the process.

And I’m guilty of that too.

The worst part?

We end up feeling lonely, separated, and disconnected from others.

BUT,

with compassion, we can change our relationships, one conversation at a time.

By listening and truly caring for others, we can improve people’s lives and our own.

Related: Compassionate Mind, Healthy Body (greatergood.berkeley.edu)

Further Readings

• Topic: Relationships
• 139 Relationship Quotes To Level Up Your Bonding With Others
• 100 Friendship Quotes For You (And Your Best Friend)
• 65 Karma Quotes To Improve Your Mindset (And Your Life)
• 100 Peace Quotes To Inspire A Better World
• 85 Mother Teresa Quotes On Love, Generosity, Kindness
• How to Be More Compassionate: A Mindful Guide to Compassion (mindful.org)
• Self Compassion (5-minute YouTube video by The School of Life)
• 110 Love Quotes To Bring More Vitality To Your Life

I hope you enjoyed these beautiful compassion quotes.

And please don’t forget: a loving world starts with loving people. It starts with you and how you treat others.

Now, if you did enjoy the quotes, please share them with a friend today!

What is compassion to you? What’s your favorite compassion quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.