The following talk was given at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California.

Please visit our website at audiodharma.org.

So, continuing on the theme of attunement,

living attuned to the suffering of the world,

suffering of the people we encounter,

to be attuned to our own suffering,

means not to simply experience it in the usual way,

or experiencing the ways that are challenging for us,

but to engage in a process where being attentive to suffering

is for our betterment and leads the betterment of the world.

And one of those ways is to be attuned to suffering,

being in harmony with it, to find a balance with it.

So, we're using this acronym touch,

which seems very nice for compassion,

to be compassionate means to be touched by the suffering,

and this idea being touched in some deep way,

it's kind of tender, it's kind of loving,

it's kind of like we get touched by the things that are important for us,

that we value, that move us.

And then in return to touch others,

not literally, maybe, but to touch others with our kindness,

with our support.

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