What propelled those juicy grapes’ journey through that desert commune? The drivers were compassion and loving-kindness, the attitude of putting the needs of others ahead of our own. Technically, “loving-kindness” refers to wishing that other people be happy; its near cousin “compassion” entails the wish that people be relieved of suffering. Both outlooks (which we’ll just refer to as “compassion”) can be strengthened through mind training—and if successful, the result will be acting to help others, as demonstrated by the Desert Fathers and that bunch of grapes.
