Buddhism gives us a clear understanding that every living being in the world, as big as an elephant or as small as a microorganism, no matter how big or small it is, no sentient being will feel happy when they are in pain, and no sentient being will regard happiness as suffering.

Using your own body as an explanation is the easiest way to feel appropriately. When others bring us pain, troubles, illnesses, disasters, and so on, we don't want to bear them, because we don't want to have pain, we don't want to have troubles, and we don't want to have disasters, illnesses.

If you don't want to have these sufferings and afflictions, then why do you want to inflict them on other beings?

All sentient beings want to be happy, not to suffer, so the Buddha's teachings tell us clearly: what you don't like, you shouldn't do to others; What you like, you should also give to others.

When we do what we like to others, they will be happy, peaceful, and happy because of it, and this is doing good. If we inflict on others things that we don't like, they will cause suffering, troubles, sicknesses, disasters, and so on, and that is doing evil.

The difference between good and evil does not depend on the quality of the outward image, nor is it because of the size of the outward offering or almsgiving, but on the inner motives.

Most of all the good and evil that is created in the flesh or in words is dominated by the mind. When the dominant mind is acting in a state of extreme greed or ignorance, the evil retribution is great. If it is done with good intentions, the good fortune will be very great.

Is what the body and words do a sin? A sin, of course. Because the sins of the body and words can be confessed through the heart, they are less than the sins created by the heart.

If it is a good deed, then what the body and words do is, of course, also a good karma that is not as good as the mind.

In terms of mental creation, if you smile on the surface, your inner hatred is very strong, and your sin is also very great; If there is no resentment on the inside, and the outward manifestation is a form of resentment, a state of terror, the sin will be relatively light.

If it is with compassion, in order not to let others do evil, and for the sake of the other person's good, it is not only not sinful, but it is also meritorious.

For example, if one person donates 100 million yuan and another person donates 100 yuan, if both of them are very compassionate in their minds to do this with bodhichitta in their minds, of course there will be merit and merit.

However, this is not determined by the amount of money they give, but by the proportion of what they can give.

One of the realms of compassion is not moving one's own mind, not disturbing one's mind. No matter how many meritorious things we do, if we are positive in doing good deeds, but our hearts are still full of arrogance, greed, and so on, the inequality of this kind of mind is still not compassionate, because this kind of motivation for self-interest is, to a certain extent, the same as the nature of coveting worldly fame and wealth.

True compassion needs to be built on the basis of the four immeasurable minds of compassion and joy, true selfless dedication, and being able to empathize with the suffering and difficulties of samsaric sentient beings, and at the same time do their best with their hearts, they sincerely hope that sentient beings can be free from suffering and happy as soon as possible.

That's why we say that true compassion requires us to develop unfeigned bodhichitta for all beings, not for showmanship.