I wanted to understand Buddhism a little better and picked up Sylvia Boorstein’s book, It’s Easier Than You Think. One thing in particular which impressed me is called Sympathetic Joy – feeling really happy for another person’s success.
The Dalai Lama suggests that if you can celebrate another’s good fortune as though it were your own, your chances of experiencing joy increase immeasurably (which is probably why we love to watch organized sports). “On this planet, my chances of feeling pleased would be enhanced to 5.5 billion to 1. Those are good odds.”
As Christians we are told, do not envy. Do not covet. Don’t be jealous. It’s a commandment, right? Buddhists offer a “why” to the law in a way that I can really appreciate.
Sylvia Boorstien (who is of Jewish upbringing, by the way) shares these relatable words:
“I have been embarrassed, even felt guilty, to find that in short moments after learning of someone’s good news in a category in which I have personal yearning, I begin to feel envy. I reprimand myself by thinking, “What’s the matter with you, Sylvia? Your cup runneth over. How can you possibly think that?”
It’s not a question of whether the cup runs over or not. The world is so full of wonderful things, there is no end of things to put into the cup. It’s a question of clear seeing. When we see clearly, we see there is only one cup.”
There is only one cup! What a concept! Everyone is connected to each other. Your good fortune is my good fortune. Subsequently, your bad fortune is mine. In Christianity, this concept is worded as, “we are all God’s children”. In my faith culture, we call one another brother and sister and are commanded to love and care for one another (and in particular, the most vulnerable). Why? Because we want to go to heaven? Sure, I guess. More to the point, because we are all connected. There is one cup and we all share it.
Christians believe God commands us to be one - one with Him and each other.
In some Catholic circles, there is this concept that Christ is in everyone and in everything. Mother Theresa spoke of seeing Christ in the faces of the poor - hitting home to the point that by loving one another we are loving God. Franciscan Monk, Richard Rohr even goes so far as to suggest Christ is in every part of nature – from tender reed to towering oak, little stream to vast ocean, humblest mouse to noblest elephant…
I have an Atheist friend living in Lethbridge whose property has an infestation of maybugs – and they congregate around his front door. In order to keep them from entering the house as he enters, my compassionate friend sucks them up with his hand-vac and moves them to another location. Why? Because, he takes life very seriously. As he sees it, all death is final and so he cannot separate his need from another living creatures (as much as he can help it). They are connected.
It kind of gives you pause to think a little, doesn’t it? Compassion in all its glorious diversity.