Daisaku Ikeda says, ‘Courage and compassion are two sides of the same coin. Compassion without courage is not genuine. You may have a compassionate thought or impulse, but if you don’t do or say anything, it’s not real compassion.’

Real compassion is based on action, otherwise it is a dream. If you feel passionately about something, then take action on it. That could be writing, speaking, visiting something or someone you feel passionate about. Compassion is about a ‘common passion’- two hearts beating together. Courage can be difficult to feel sometime but compassion is a fuel that makes us take courageous action. Think about Mother Teresa, leaving to work with the poor and sick in a far away country where she did not speak the language or know the culture. It was her compassion that gave her that courage. That compassion then turned real when she actually visited India and started working there.