19

Communication

from the Heart

L

et’s continuewith the exploration of com-
passionate action. We have a strong tendency to
distance ourselves from our experience because it
hurts, but the dharma provides encouragement to
move closer to that experience. Although there are
lots of words that could be used to explain compas-
sionate action, I’d like to stress one word, and that
word is communication—in particular, communica-
tion from the heart.

“All activities should be done with one intention.”
This one intention is to awaken bodhichitta, to
awaken the heart. We could say, “All activities should
be done with the intention of communicating.” This
is a practical suggestion: all activities should be done
with the intention of speaking so that another person
can hear you, rather than using words that cause the
barriers to go up and the ears to close. In this process
we also learn how to listen and how to look.

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