We have so confused compassion with sympathy. Compassion is really
the understanding of the whole world as one, that there's no separation
between me and you. If you just give and give and give because you have
sympathy, you're not taking care of yourself, and then you're
not taking care of the whole world either. Women are trained to give
away our own selves so much that it's very very difficult for us to
take ruthless action. But if you just give and give, in the end you
become a very angry person and you don't know why you're angry. Unconsciously,
it bubbles up. When this anger seizes you, it's dangerous. I realized
I would have to be able to say no to certain things, which was very
difficult for me.
I gave my Kwan Yin the sword of wisdom and ruthless action. So that
I can cut through that kind of bullshit sympathy and allow my real self
to act. And so that I can really take care of myself, too. And taking
care of myself is taking care of others."
(artist Mayumi Oda on "Goddess,
Give Us Strength to Cut Through" — her silk-screen dragon-riding,
sword-holding Kwan Yin; quoted in Sandy Boucher's book, Discovering
Kwan Yin)
Johanna Stuckey 
