Compassion is the ability to ...

Compassion is the ability to see how it all is.
 Ram Dass

Quotes from the same author

It is possible that in the 21st Century the Earth will not be inhabited by humans. One of the great mystics of India, a very simple man up in the mountains, somebody once asked him about the future. He said there will come a time when you'll walk five miles and you may see a light and you'll be so happy to know another being exists.
 Ram Dass
A Tibetan Lama said to me, "The best place to stand, Ram Dass, is halfway between hope and hopelessness." So I can write a scenario for the 21st century in either direction. One is that it all goes to hell and that it's truly the dark age.
 Ram Dass
The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.
 Ram Dass
In an evolutionary perspective, the rational mind takes a certain distance and no further, & we must be able to transcend it.
 Ram Dass
In mystical traditions, it is one's own readiness that makes experiences exoteric or esoteric. The secret isn't that you're not being told. The secret is that you're not able to hear.
 Ram Dass