Can kindness be cultivated as a skill?
How?
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Meditation is part of a solution - it gives you some space to do this
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Is that your actual experience with meditation?
My experience is that more motivation naturally (and even spontaneously) leads to more action. More action leads to more skill, and the desire to learn whatever is necessary to be kind (or compassionate or generous, etc.)
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Yes, every specific situation needs skilled handling besides general predisposition
Of course. But without the state of mind powering it I’d argue that it’s generalized skill training, not training in kindness. The state of wishing others well is necessary, but not sufficient, for gaining skill in kindness. This state of well wishing IS what makes it kindness.
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Example: It takes skill to make subtle conceptual distinctions, such as we’re doing here. I’ve noticed in your writing that you’re very good at this skill. But if I try and do that so that I can be right, then that skill is in service of righteousness not kindness.
What follows for me, is that it’s extremely important to have a solid baseline of wishing others well, so that the specified skills we develop (and we do need to develop them, I agree) aren’t weaponized against others.
measuring one's sensing accuracy and precision when kindness is needed and measuring the (delta) pain relieved of the target during/after actuation of kindness?



