What Reincarnation Can Teach Us About Compassion

Growing up in the Buddhist tradition was sometimes a bit confusing. As a child, I would be angry at someone and instead of justifying it an adult would say, “Just remember: that person was your mother in a past lifetime.”

What? How is that useful? Well, whether we believe in reincarnation or not, thinking about the mere possibility that the person we’re pissed off at has shown us the same kindness our mother has, is often enough to snap us out of our storyline and to consider them with compassion.