20 Compassion Quotes to Bring Peace to Your Soul

Compassion is feeling sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering of others. It’s a desire to hope that the one suffering in front of us heals soon.

So why do we need compassion? Because life is hard. Some of us had a tough childhood, some struggle with health problems, loss of a loved one, financial problems, and millions of people are homeless. It’s clear that everyone is fighting their own battle.

People talk about grandiose ideas of changing the world. But real change starts with changing the little things around us. We need to remember the values which actually make us human.

So it’s important that wherever we find the opportunity to show compassion, we don’t hesitate. It may mean nothing to us, but it may mean the world to the one who’s suffering.

On this note, here are 20 compassion quotes to bring peace to your soul

1. “The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.” – John Green

We must learn not just to forgive others, but also forgive ourselves for the mistakes we’ve made in the past. Nobody is perfect.

2. “Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.” – Dalai Lama Compassion Quotes

Showing emotions is often considered a sign of weakness. However, the truth is that emotions drive human beings to accomplish everything in life. Showing compassion means being able to face the darkness, the suffering of the other person. It’s a great strength.

3. “Look for a way to lift someone up. And if that’s all you do, that’s enough.” – Elizabeth Lesser

We just need to help one person at a time. If we help them regain their lost faith in humanity, we save one human life, which is much more precious than any grandiose ideas that people talk about but never implement.

4. “Instead of putting others in their place, put yourself in their place.” – Amish Proverb

Instead of putting people down, try to feel what they’re going through. Aggression comes from a mindless perspective, compassion from a mindful one.

5. “Grief can be the garden of compassion, if you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.” – Rumi, Compassion Quotes

If you have experienced pain, it’s here to show you how to be compassionate towards yourself and others.

6. “Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it’s beauty.”  ― Albert Einstein

When a great mind like Albert Einstein can feel the need for compassion in his heart, it’s important that we ordinary people understand that compassion will free us of all suffering.

7. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”  ― Dalai Lama XIV

Compassion not only heals others but also heals you.

8. Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”  ― Pema Chödrön

The one who shows compassion towards the wounded knows how much the wound can hurt. In that, they are both on the same level, dealing with the same darkness.

9. “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. ” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Beggars don’t just need your coins, they need the collective support to restructure the system which didn’t give them a single opportunity to grow out of their misery.

10. “If you had not suffered as you have, there would be no depth to you as a human being, no humility,no compassion.” – Eckhart Tolle, Compassion Quotes

Pain builds character. It teaches many lessons, one of which is that if there were no suffering, we won’t value the happy moments in life. It shows us that nothing good in life comes without pain and struggle.

11. “Compassion is the wish to see others free from suffering.” — Dalai Lama

We develop compassion when we understand how painful circumstances are for others and want them to have a peaceful life.

12. “From the wisdom of suffering to the love of letting go of a limited self-concept, this whole rhythmic dance—all of it—is teaching us compassion.” — Martha Beck

Suffering and letting go, both teach us that in the end, the only thing we can hold onto is ourselves, our own compassionate hearts.

13. “Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.” — Bradley Miller

Teaching a person the importance of compassion helps them treat themselves gently so that when they make mistakes, they don’t blame themselves.

14. “Compassion is not a virtue—it is a commitment. It’s not something we have or don’t have—it’s something we choose to practice.” — Brené Brown, Compassion Quotes

Compassion isn’t something we just have. It’s something that we commit to, a moral behavior we choose.

15. “It’s easy to judge. It’s more difficult to understand. Understanding requires compassion, patience, and a willingness to believe that good hearts sometimes choose poor methods. Through judging, we separate. Through understanding, we grow.” — Doe Zantamata

Judging closes the conversation. When we label people as weak, there is no scope to understand their story. But when we open ourselves to their life story, only then can we reach the truth of why they’re suffering.

16. “Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.” — Judy Blume

Showing compassion for others doesn’t mean we’ll run out of compassion. It means we’ll become stronger.

17. “Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.” ― Patañjali, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

When we can show compassion, our mind becomes calm. Those who can’t show compassion have an urge to run away from others’ suffering. Their minds become imbalanced in presence of suffering.

18. “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” — Mary Oliver, Compassion Quotes

Darkness in life can help you develop compassion, strength, and character. Problems are not meant to destroy us, they help us rise and grow.

19. “If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.” – Bob Hope

If your heart doesn’t melt seeing others suffer, it means you’re equally hard on yourself in times of suffering. And to be disowned by yourself when suffering is the worst kind of pain.

20. “Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.” – Frederick Buechner

Compassion is the feeling that our happiness lies in seeing the other person heal.