karuṇā
Compassion
[ ka-ROO-naa ]
Seeing it in life
Karuṇā trembles at the suffering of others. One of the four brahmavihāras.
In short
The wish that beings be free from suffering.
The analysis
Karuṇā trembles at the suffering of others — the second of the four brahmavihāras, a wish that beings be free from dukkha, distinguished from mere sympathy by its active, moved quality. Its near enemy is grief, its far enemy is cruelty; the texts distinguish karuṇā from sorrow that becomes overwhelmed or callousness that fails to be moved at all.
Where it sits
Karuṇā is cultivated alongside mettā, muditā, and upekkhā as the four brahmavihāras — often developed after mettā, when suffering specifically is the object.
The genuine wish for someone's struggle to ease, held without needing to fix it or being pulled down by it, is karuṇā functioning cleanly — distinct from the anxious over-involvement that can masquerade as compassion.
Commonly mistaken for
Pity, which carries a subtle sense of looking down. Karuṇā is offered without the implicit hierarchy pity often carries.
Absorbing others' suffering as one's own. That's closer to karuṇā's near enemy, grief.
Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha IX; Brahmavihāra Sutta (AN 4.125).
Related terms