Pity, Mercy and Compassion

A scholar asked Nasrudin, "What is the difference
between pity, mercy, and compassion?"
Nasrudin answered, "Suppose I heard you were sick. Now
if I heard you were sick and felt sorry for you and
was glad it was not me who was sick that would be
pity. Suppose I felt sorry for you being sick and
brought you some chicken soup to help you feel better
and told you you were in my prayers that would be
mercy. But suppose I not only brought you this chicken
soup but fed you by hand and heard of all the pain you
have been feeling without interrupting once - now that
would be compassion."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Short spirtual stories for organisational and personal transformation
Peter Hawkins

84 amusing stories that will transform how you see your organisation and your own leadership.

Nasrudin is the archetypal wise fool, who lived in the Middle East over 600 years ago, though his stories have travelled the world and been updated in every generation.

Peter Hawkins has given a modern spin to 84 of these storeis by turning Nasrudin into a management consultant. Simple truths are told in a straightforward and higly entertaining way. They shock us into seeing situations and ideas with which we have become familiar from a different perspective. Each story slips into our house by its engaging good humour, but once inside it can start to rearrange the furniture and knock new windows through the walls of our mind - a process that can be releasing and refreshing, but at times disconcerting! The book also provides an introduction to Nasrudin and his stories, and a chapter on "Telling Tales; the positive use of stories in organisations."