--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think of compassion as the fundamental…" description: "\"I think of compassion as the fundamental religious experience and, unless that is there, you have nothing.\" — Joseph Campbell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/joseph-campbell-300_compassion_i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental_2647568.png" --- # I think of compassion as the fundamental religious… ![“I think of compassion as the fundamental religious experience and, unless that is there, you have nothing.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/joseph-campbell-300_compassion_i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental_2647568.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/joseph-campbell-300_compassion_i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental_2647568.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/joseph-campbell-300_compassion_i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental_2647568.png) > “I think of compassion as the fundamental religious experience and, unless that is there, you have nothing.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion is the core of religious experience; without it, religion lacks substance. **In simple terms:** Compassion is essential to true religion. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion as a spiritual practice. Themes compassion religion humanity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - community service - personal reflection Key Concepts spirituality ethical foundations empathy Questions to Reflect On - How does compassion shape your spiritual life? - Can compassion exist without religion? A Different Perspective May alienate those who view religion differently. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Fundamental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-fundamental-2322231/) [Experience Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-unless-2322233/) [Fundamental Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamental-religious-2322232/) [Fundamentals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentals/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-experience/) [Think Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-compassion-676487/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [No one will presumably ever be able to prove or disprove such fundamental religious principles as the existence of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/no-one-will-presumably-ever-be-able-to-prove-or-disprove-such/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [My misfortune is my ability to see both sides even of the fundamental religious question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrietta-szold/my-misfortune-is-my-ability-to-see-both-sides-even-of-the-fundamental/) [Henrietta Szold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrietta-szold/) > [“You can learn from those who have come down from the mountain, but you won’t have the same experience unless you climb yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/you-can-learn-from-those-who-have-come-down-from-the-mountain-but-you/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [“In my experience, unless experiences are honestly expressed to the right person it’s like throwing biscuits into a tumble dryer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-calman/in-my-experience-unless-experiences-are-honestly-expressed-to-the/) [Susan Calman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-calman/) > [Nothing can come into your experience unless you summon it through persistent thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/nothing-can-come-into-your-experience-unless-you-summon-it-through/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [There's something special for everyone to do. Remember, no experience is a bad experience unless you gain nothing from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-s-something-special-for-everyone-to-do-remember-no-experience/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [“that nothing will come into your experience unless you invite it through your thought—with emotional”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/that-nothing-will-come-into-your-experience-unless-you-invite-it/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“The image of God is your final obstruction to a religious experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-image-of-god-is-your-final-obstruction-to-a-religious-experience/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [and while faith based on theological reasoning is today universally engaged in a bitter struggle with doubt and resistance from the prevailing brand of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-while-faith-based-on-theological-reasoning-is-today-universally/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [ “\[P\]eople think of compassion as, like, kindness. The image comes to mind of some nice New Age guy bending to something with a look… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/p-eople-think-of-compassion-as-like-kindness-the-image-comes-to-mind/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I think compassion is the only way to approach any subject, especially if it's to do with physical appearance. I don't think it's really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameela-jamil/i-think-compassion-is-the-only-way-to-approach-any-subject-especially/) [Jameela Jamil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameela-jamil/) > [I don't understand love quite honestly. I think compassion is important but love fizzles out eventually. But if there is compassion in a relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anushka-sharma/i-don-t-understand-love-quite-honestly-i-think-compassion-is/) [Anushka Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anushka-sharma/) > [Many of us think that compassion drains us, but I promise you it is something that truly enlivens us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/many-of-us-think-that-compassion-drains-us-but-i-promise-you-it-is/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [I don't think of compassion as sympathy but rather as empathy. An understanding of how people are feeling, which often translates into action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-hawke/i-don-t-think-of-compassion-as-sympathy-but-rather-as-empathy-an/) [Hazel Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-hawke/) > [This is going to be a difficult few hundred years. No matter what we do, we have to give up some of the advantages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-munk/this-is-going-to-be-a-difficult-few-hundred-years-no-matter-what-we/) [Walter Munk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-munk/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think of compassion as the fundamental religious experience and, unless that is there, you have nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental-religious-experience-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental-religious-experience-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/joseph-campbell-300_compassion_i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental_2647568.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/joseph-campbell-300_compassion_i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental_2647568.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/joseph-campbell-300_compassion_i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental_2647568.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think of compassion as the fundamental religious experience and, unless that is there, you have nothing.” — Joseph Campbell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think of compassion as the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental-religious-experience-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-compassion-as-the-fundamental-religious-experience-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```