Among the Brahma-Viharas, the word used for compassion is “karuna”. But almost nowhere else in the Canon is the word karuna used to represent compassion. “Anukampa” is the term used as the English variant “compassion” in every other phrase the Buddha speaks, Brahma-Viharas being the only exception. Anukampa is actually a more vivid and clear expression of compassion, for its literal meaning is that of “crying out at the crying out of another.” It is therefore more expressive, contains more heart than that of the compassion found in meditative states known as karuna. Anukampa is listed as the reason the Buddha taught his message, and the reason the monk ordains. It is a compassion of a higher caliber than karuna, because it is natural, and automatic - a trembling at the moment the other trembles; a crying out at the moment the other cries out. An automatic reaction in the body that is a true sign of solidarity with another. It represents a love much greater than the Christian “agape”. This is why it is spoken about so highly, and the reason that the journey to wake up begins with anukampa. It is a calling to a higher ordination, a higher life, a higher way of thinking - because it already started with one. Anukampa.
