Compassion in playful action: Game on!

Over 1600 people — including a number of compassionate action organizations — filled Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall for the 17th Karmapa’s teaching on compassion in action.

During His Holiness the 17th Karmapa’s public teaching, “A Call to Compassionate Action,” hosted by Nalanda West last May and held at Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall, compassionate action organizations sponsored Call to Action tables during the event. The nonprofits shared their missions of kindness and encouraged attendees to act on His Holiness’ clear and heartfelt message to put love into action right now.

One of the organizations, Compassion Games International, has been working to create a culture of compassion since 2012, and will hold its annual Compassion Games Coopetition: Survival of the Kindest next month from 9/11 to 9/21 in communities and cities — including Seattle — around the globe.

Following the Karmapa’s teaching on compassion, John Ramer of Compassion Games said, “The truth is we don’t need to learn compassion; we just need to remind ourselves that we are all connected and this illusion of being separate is destroying our planet, destroying our lives. I thought the Karmapa spoke to that beautifully. Empathy into action is the best way to describe compassion to me. You can feel what another person is feeling. Then we have to take it into action.”

The other compassionate action organizations present at the public event included: Bodhi Seeds, Nitartha Institute, Seeds of Compassion, Youth Care, Roots of Empathy and Love City Love.