Bonus: Four Stories of the Compassion of Siddhartha
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The two "cardinal virtues" of Buddhism are Wisdom and Compassion. Much is made of the wisdom of the Buddha; after all, one of his most important titles is Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the Shakyas" (the name of his clan).
But equally important is his embodiment of compassion. These two are like two wings of a bird, two sides of a coin, or whatever other clichéd simile you'd like to use.
When I used to give tours at Hsi Lai Temple near Los Angeles, I would propose this case to visitors:
An unhoused person comes to you on the street and asks for some money.
The wise person will know that the money could be misspent, so says "No."
The compassionate person knows that this person is in need, so says "Yes."
"What is the solution?" I asked my audience.
The answer: Buy that person some food! Step into a 7-11 or whatever is handy and get a wrapped sandwich. That's Wisdom AND Compassion--in action.
With no further ado, then, let's look at four well-known stories often told to indicate the compassion of the Buddha. (Note that in these stories, he was not yet the Buddha. He was, at that stage of his life, sometimes called "the Bodhisattva"--one on the path to becoming a Buddha.)
