MURYOKO
'Infinite Light'
Journal of Shin Buddhism
Harold Stewart
Great Compassion
Since the Great Compassion of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas transcends both kindness and cruelty, it is not in the least sentimental and should on no account be confused with philanthropy, charity, and the doing of good works for ego-enhancing motives. When confronted by intransigent evil, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are possessed of the power to assume wrathful forms as an expedient means for subduing and redeeming wickedness that can be reached in no other way. For the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are arya, or noble, an inherent aristocratic quality that modern democratic and egalitarian prejudices are bound to mistake for arrogance and condescension, forgetting that noblesse oblige. Such superhuman beings naturally regard unregenerate mankind de haut en bas for the simple reason that they are spiritually superior to what the sutras call ‘the foolish common people’, not because of any haughtiness or holier-than-thou attitude, but as a plain statement of fact. All the great Traditions recognize the naturally aristocratic structure of the celestial hierarchies, though these have no necessary direct correlation with social rank and prestige in this world; indeed, the last here may well be the first there.