My Response to “The Courage of Compassion” by Galen Pearl
The following is my response to a beautiful essay by a gifted teacher, Galen Pearl.
~Keith
That essay can be found here: https://www.galenpearl.com/2026/01/27/the-courage-of-compassion/?unapproved=4296&moderation-hash=7bb551a6f196d75a79365ef5f5671127#comment-4296
“Once a person has surrendered his/her will and become a mere tool, there are no lengths of evil to which the fool will not go, yet all the time is unable to see that it is evil. Here lies the danger of a diabolical exploitation of humanity, which can do irreparable damage to the human character.
But it is just at this point that we realize that the fool cannot be saved by education. What he/she needs is redemption…”
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident)
Bonhoeffer’s message is a stark warning to us all. Should we chose to march, write letters to various publications or to our congress people, give money to what we feel is a “just cause” — let us remember that all are susceptible to personal and collective error, to misguided thinking, through human frailty.
Ok, now some better news.
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REDEMPTION — the act of being rescued, liberated or bought back from psychological blindness, freedom from the bondage of stubborn pride, the sickness of self-absorbsion and/or personal or collective delusion; the healing of the heart, discovering/rediscovering one’s true identity, unconditional/sacrificial Love.
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Teachers like Lao-tzu, Siddhartha Gautama, Jesus of Nazareth and others emanated a message of redemptive healing to their misguided worlds. What their messages taught was never retributive, but always restorative, rescuing, renewing, merciful, and discerning (never judgmental) — a compassion rooted in and manifest as the “Flame of Love.”
Our hearts pain whenever we see blatant injustice: executions, torture, cold heartedness, sociopathy, etc. And yet, beyond the obvious we all need healing. Healing is born from humility. By awakening to our own misguided thoughts, and one-sided judgments — humility becomes the doorway to compassion. How does compassion find itself? By a growing sense of a single human family, we are all in this together — the declaration that my brother or sister is me, and I them; it is the Buddha nature, Christ in us, the presence of the Tao abiding in all — even to those we seemingly most despise. Judgment (fear) begins to crumble as compassion finds its way to our core. Here false divisions, false assumptions and defensive postures give way to better clarity and rising hope. This hope is the power of Love — other-centered Love. It is the source for all that is.
Consider this: Is there anything more moving than seeing those Buddhist monks walk for peace? Even their dog is a shinning example of that compassion (if you know the story). Did their companionship and emanation of light bring joy to your soul? Hallelujah!
This is the juice baby! — the woven fabric of hope for all…
~Keith Basar
“If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself.”
~ Lao Tzu
