<p>In ~30 years of (western) Buddhism I haven't come across &quot;four stages of compassion&quot;. However, there are:</p>
<ul>
<li>the four <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmavihara" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Brahmaviharas</a> and</li>
<li>five stages of cultivating compassion, introduced by Buddhaghosa in the Visuddhimagga and explained for example in <a href="https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/guided-compassion-meditation-karuna-bhavana" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wildmind</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>For &quot;great compassion&quot; maybe see <a href="https://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php/Mahakaruna" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Mahakaruna</a>. The Indians tend to put a &quot;maha&quot; before a word to mark the term as informed by the experience of liberation.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-07T09:40:18.507Z
"Maha" is used as a prefix which translates as "greater".
HomagetoManjushri
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-02T20:42:47.303Z
2023-01-02T20:42:47.303Z
fraber
<p><strong>Dear friends</strong>, I am looking for references pertaining to the notion of the <em>Four Stages of Compassion</em> in the Mahayana traditions.</p>
<p>Thank you for your kind and generous help, may you all be well and safe.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you ask what is ‘great compassion,’ it is unstinting loving kindness toward all sentient beings, when there are actually no sentient beings. That is called great compassion.</p>
<p>The Buddha (Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in Ten Thousand Lines)</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/buddhistsociety/status/1242096361388093441?s=19" rel="noreferrer">Tweet by The Buddhist Society</a></p>
</blockquote>

<reference-request><mahayana><sutras><compassion>
Stages of Compassion in Mahayana
# Stages of Compassion in Mahayana

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-03-29)

**Dear friends**, I am looking for references pertaining to the notion of the *Four Stages of Compassion* in the Mahayana traditions.

Thank you for your kind and generous help, may you all be well and safe.

> If you ask what is ‘great compassion,’ it is unstinting loving kindness toward all sentient beings, when there are actually no sentient beings. That is called great compassion.
>
> The Buddha (Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in Ten Thousand Lines)
>
> [Tweet by The Buddhist Society](https://twitter.com/buddhistsociety/status/1242096361388093441?s=19)

**Tags:** reference-request, mahayana, sutras, compassion


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-01-02. Score: 1

In ~30 years of (western) Buddhism I haven't come across "four stages of compassion". However, there are:

* the four [Brahmaviharas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmavihara) and
* five stages of cultivating compassion, introduced by Buddhaghosa in the Visuddhimagga and explained for example in [Wildmind](https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/guided-compassion-meditation-karuna-bhavana).

For "great compassion" maybe see [Mahakaruna](https://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php/Mahakaruna). The Indians tend to put a "maha" before a word to mark the term as informed by the experience of liberation.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: "Maha" is used as a prefix which translates as "greater".  

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