--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Compassion has been advocated by all the…" description: "\"Compassion has been advocated by all the great faiths because it has been found to be the safest and surest means of attaining enlightenment. It dethro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00c/karen-armstrong-1053_breaking-down_compassion-has-been-advocated-by-all-the_1512435.jpg" --- # Compassion has been advocated by all the great faiths… ![“Compassion has been advocated by all the great faiths because it has been found to be the safest and surest means of attaining enlightenment. It dethrones the ego from the center of our lives and puts others there, breaking down the carapace of the selfishness that holds us back from an experience…” quote by Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00c/karen-armstrong-1053_breaking-down_compassion-has-been-advocated-by-all-the_1512435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00c/karen-armstrong-1053_breaking-down_compassion-has-been-advocated-by-all-the_1512435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00c/karen-armstrong-1053_breaking-down_compassion-has-been-advocated-by-all-the_1512435.jpg) > “Compassion has been advocated by all the great faiths because it has been found to be the safest and surest means of attaining enlightenment. It dethrones the ego from the center of our lives and puts others there, breaking down the carapace of the selfishness that holds us back from an experience of the sacred. And it gives us ecstasy, broadening our perspectives and giving us a larger, enhanced vision.” [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion displaces ego, fostering enlightenment, ecstasy, and broader perspective. **In simple terms:** Compassion replaces ego, leading to enlightenment. Key Takeaway Practice compassion. Themes spirituality ethics enlightenment Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal growth - community service - meditation Key Concepts self-transcendence ego dissolution Questions to Reflect On - How can compassion be cultivated? - What ego barriers exist? A Different Perspective May be idealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attaining Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attaining-enlightenment-350601/) [Breaking down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaking-down/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Advocated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-advocated-5570747/) [Ecstasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecstasy/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Great faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-faith/) [Great Faiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-faiths-1562230/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [The Hindu religion is the only of the World's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-hindu-religion-is-the-only-of-the-world-s-great-faiths-dedicated/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [India, which is the nursery of the great faiths of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/india-which-is-the-nursery-of-the-great-faiths-of-the-world/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [In the course of time one does not feel even the existence of God. 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The principal one of the great faiths of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/irreligion-n-the-principal-one-of-the-great-faiths-of-the-world/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Irreligion - the principal one of the great faiths of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/irreligion-the-principal-one-of-the-great-faiths-of-the-world/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I think what has happened, actually, is that September 11 has given a spur, a renewed urgency, to dialogue between the great faiths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carey/i-think-what-has-happened-actually-is-that-september-11-has-given-a/) [George Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carey/) > [By ecstasy I mean inner joyousness, and by inner joyousness I mean those inspirational fires which burn within the consciousness of great geniuses, fires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/by-ecstasy-i-mean-inner-joyousness-and-by-inner-joyousness-i-mean/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [It's quite common for a Sufi mystic to cry in ecstasy that he's neither a Jew, a Christian, nor a Muslim. 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It takes great faith to trust that no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-bixler/faith-and-hope-isn-t-about-what-you-will-receive-it-is-about-what-you/) [Heather Bixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-bixler/) > [If you're going to vote for somebody because you think they have a great faith in God, you'd better be sure that God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/if-you-re-going-to-vote-for-somebody-because-you-think-they-have-a/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) ## More by Karen Armstrong > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [A gentleman is not born but crafted. He had to work on himself in the same way as a sculptor shaped a rough stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/a-gentleman-is-not-born-but-crafted-he-had-to-work-on-himself-in-the/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I was a lousy nun. I couldn't do it. I couldn't find God. It wasn't suitable for me. 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I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/after-i-left-the-convent-for-15-years-i-was-worn-out-with-religion-i/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“As we have seen, so many of the things we once took for granted have proved unreliable that we may have to “forget” old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/as-we-have-seen-so-many-of-the-things-we-once-took-for-granted-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet a personal God can become a grave liability. He can be a mere idol carved in our own image, a projection of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/yet-a-personal-god-can-become-a-grave-liability-he-can-be-a-mere-idol/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. 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Huxley (1825–95) have found altruism problematic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/advocates-of-evolutionary-theory-since-thomas-h-huxley-1825-95-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) [Explore all 296 Karen Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## More Breaking down quotes > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Look at music for what it's worth around the world and not just America. 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