What exactly is compassion? Put simply, compassion is the ‘recognition’ of another’s suffering and a desire to alleviate that suffering.
Compassion is often dismissed as a religious term and therefore increasingly irrelevant in a modern secular society. However, rigorous empirical data increasingly supports the view of all major world religions that compassion is good for us all. There is now a science developing around compassion, which is clearly indicating its relevance to each one of us, regardless of one’s religion, social standing, culture, education and experience.