Buddhism: Reflection To Comproving Health And Buddhist Thought

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Recommended: Compassion within buddhism

My argument will focus on the component of compassion in Buddhist thought. I will be providing evidence to support my argument that practicing and experiencing compassion can function to improve the lives of those unconcerned with achieving Buddahood through means of improving health, well-being and self-motivation.
Fernquest, Jon. "Buddhism in UK prisons." Bangkok Post, 13 April. 2013: Print.
This news report consists of snippets of a conversation by a British Buddhist, Luang Por Khemadhammo. Khemadhammo looked beyond the differences between the prisoners and himself and saw the similarities that exist. Through showing compassion, he was able to relate with prisoners, ultimately leading in his decision to teach inmates Buddhism. He tells some stories about how some of the most dangerous men in prison begin showing compassion to others as a result of the Buddhist teachings just like how Buddha, through his compassion, was able to transform an evil man without using force. I’m going to use this interview with Khemadhammo to showcase how the Buddhist teaching of compassion can improve the lives of those that may have caused and are currently experiencing samsara. This also shows how powerful compassion can be as it has the ability to change people and open them up to more compassionate and kind behaviour.
Fink, Charles K. "Buddhism, Punishment, And Reconciliation." Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 19. (2012): Print.
An outcome of having compassion is an unlikelihood of committing crimes. This published essay outlines the problems with the justice system in how they treat criminals. It is subdivided into three topics: alternatives for punishment, understanding the nature of harm, reconciliation and a section of Buddhist teachings. I will ...

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...lives of those that may lack compassion due to circumstance or their situation. The youth in this article are youth in foster care which can lead to them experiencing multiple psychosocial difficulties due to the high rate of maltreatment. The results show that higher compassion practice frequency was associated with an increased hopefulness and a decrease in generalized anxiety. Their results also indicate that participants found cognitive-based compassion training to be useful for dealing with daily life stressors. The evidence presented in this article will help strengthen my argument as it provides optimistic results for applying this type of compassion training to help people improve their quality of life. It specifically demonstrates that practicing compassion can act as a medium for making one feel better and in turn encourage them to pursue a better life.

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