According to Osho, compassion is emphasized because only love arising from one's self-nature truly transforms. Anger drags both down and merely feeds old conditioning people can easily bear, while compassion hits deep and awakens awareness. Remaining rooted in one's being radiates a reminder for others to center themselves. Even severe Zen methods work only when they are expressions of compassion, never anger; love is the only medicine.
Love changes people because it comes from your true self and touches their heart, while anger just creates more anger.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, what is compassion?
Man goes on living like a robot, functioning well, efficiently. In fact, the more like a robot you are, the better you function, the better the society feels with you -- because it is a society of robots. To be awakened, alert, conscious here is dangerous. It is a society of blind people; to have eyes is to invite danger. But without creating consciousness you will never be able to know the beauty, the blessing that God has bestowed upon you. You will never know the great opportunity that has been given for you to grow, to become. You can be sunlit peaks and you are just dark holes! "Shit!" said Polaris. "I got a real jolt in court this morning. The judge fined me five hundred dollars for attempting to rape some broad I met on the subway. And then when he took a good look at her he…
When I encounter you, you are always total compassion and loving warmth. Why do we never encounter you in total anger like gurdjieff or the zen masters? After all, the way we carry on here, we surely deserve it sometimes.
Of course! You deserve it. But that is not my way of working; that is not the way I am. I don't function according to you; I function according to me. I don't do a single thing because of you. Because then it will be unnatural, then it will be a pretension, and then I will be going out of my self-nature. You deserve it, I know, but nothing can be done. I am helpless. You may deserve anger, but I will go on giving my love. This much I know: that the only way to make you alert and aware is to remain in my self-nature, so that it becomes a constant remembrance to you to fall into YOUR self-nature. I would like you to be centered in yourself so that nothing disturbs, nothing distracts. Whatsoever happens around you remains like a dream and you remain rooted in your…
When bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.
LATER THE PUPIL WAS CAUGHT IN A SIMILAR ACT, AND AGAIN BANKEI DISREGARDED THE MATTER. THIS ANGERED THE OTHER PUPILS, WHO DREW UP A PETITION ASKING FOR THE DISMISSAL OF THE THIEF, STATING THAT OTHERWISE THEY WOULD LEAVE IN A BODY. WHEN BANKEI HAD READ THE PETITION HE CALLED EVERYONE BEFORE HIM. 'YOU ARE WISE BROTHERS,' HE TOLD THEM. 'YOU KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS NOT RIGHT. YOU MAY GO SOMEWHERE ELSE TO STUDY IF YOU WISH, BUT THIS POOR BROTHER DOES NOT EVEN KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG. WHO WILL TEACH HIM IF I DO NOT? I AM GOING TO KEEP HIM HERE EVEN IF ALL THE REST OF YOU LEAVE.' A TORRENT OF TEARS CLEANSED THE FACE OF THE BROTHER WHO HAD STOLEN. ALL DESIRE TO STEAL HAD VANISHED. I was reading in some history book that twenty persons were expelled from England; they were sea robbers.…
"please explain how it is possible that one can be spiritually transformed by being total in actions that are of anger, hatred and violence."
In any situation, the volcano may erupt. It is erupting every day. Someone kills someone, and just a day before he was as normal as you. No one ever suspected that he was going to be a murderer. No one suspects about you, and you have so many thoughts in your mind to murder. You have thought, you have planned it many times. The idea to murder someone else or yourself has come to you. It has happened to you if you are not absolutely idiotic. Psychologists say that an intelligent man is bound to think of suicide at least ten times in his life -- at least ten times! -- and ten thousand times you think to murder someone. You never do it, that is another thing. But you can do it; the possibility is always there. Make your anger a total act in meditation, and then see what…
The monk zuigan used to start every day by saying out loud to himself, "master, are you there?" and he would answer, "yes sir, I am." then he would say, "better sober up." and he would reply, "yes sir, I'll do that." then he would say, "look out now, don't let them fool you." and he would answer, "oh no sir, I won't, I won't."
In America, the whole market depends on how you can befool the customer, how you can create an idea in the minds of others. Now, a two-car garage is a must if you want to be happy; in America, a two-car garage is a must. Nobody asks why. If you are not happy with one car, how can you be happy with two cars? If there is fifty percent happiness with one car, how can you be happy with two cars? With one car you are unhappy; with two cars you will be doubly unhappy, that's all. The mathematics is simple. But there is advertisement, propaganda; the whole society exists by manipulating others. Happiness is something like a commodity in the market -- you go and purchase it, it has to be purchased. How can happiness be purchased? Happiness is not a commodity, it is not a thing; it is…