>
> Also, you've probably seen the old debate come up about whether
> awakening necessarily entails compassion or not. Many touchy-feely
> folks demand it does (and they may well be right): that if you are
> sufficiently awakened, you are so interconnected to others, that you
> can't help but feel compassion and act on it. Some, including Tang,
> have taken the other view: that you can be awakened but not
> necessarily be compelled to act out of compassion. You might just
> bliss out or be an amazing artist and create, or live as a hermit,
> etc.
>
> Anyway, the concentration theme sheds light on this issue. If one
> develops high levels of concentration without mindfulness or the other
> factors in the 8-step plan, one can easily become a very aware warrior
> or hit man, who is totally focused and can kill with emotional
> detachment and with no hesitation (indeed, such hesitation or
> compassion may just do him in and allow the other to get the first
> shot in). Martial arts are filled with egoless concentration.
> ...