In the innermost recesses of the awakened heart
there is a place that registers the pain and suffering of all sentient beings.
a place where one realizes that billions of human souls
are subject to some form of terror in their day-to-day lives,
along with billions of animals.
Most often, that place is sealed shut by the fear of personal distress,
which threatens to overwhelm the sensitive soul with feelings of insufficiency
in the face of such misery.
In some hearts, however, there is no shutoff valve.
So deeply does the suffering of others etch itself into awareness
that the person is driven to act in some way.
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