I haven't thought deeply about compassion before, but since coming here, I've been experiencing a state where I feel gratitude and joy repeatedly in my daily life. As a result, I've been repeatedly questioning what compassion is during meditation.

In terms of stages, it seems that compassion comes after a state of stillness and then gratitude. However, I'm unclear about how compassion is involved in this process, and understanding the true nature of compassion is my challenge. Until now, after a state of stillness, I would directly enter the stage of gratitude, and I didn't understand the true nature of compassion.

While questioning this, I meditated several times and observed carefully, and suddenly I realized that there seem to be low and high forms of compassion. The order seems to be as follows:

1. State of stillness
2. Low compassion, feeling compassion
3. Gratitude, a feeling of thankfulness towards others
4. High compassion, compassion that acts upon others

I, who unintentionally reached a state of "meditation where I simply feel grateful," didn't consciously focus on the placement of compassion. However, questions arose about the relationship between love, gratitude, and compassion, and what compassion is as mentioned in Buddhism.

When I meditate while observing from the perspective of compassion, it seems that what can be called "compassion" is sandwiched between the state of "gratitude."

Low compassion appears in the form of empathy for others, and it appears after the state of stillness.

First, I reach a state of stillness, then low compassion appears, and as I continue meditating, my feelings become elevated, and a feeling of gratitude emerges, enveloping me in a feeling of "thankfulness." After that, I feel that high compassion, which acts upon others, gradually emerges.

In my current stage, gratitude seems to be the main focus, and I haven't entered the stage of high compassion very much. However, I think the order is probably like this.

Looking at the sequence, "gratitude" is surrounded by low and high compassion. Therefore, I sometimes think that if that's the case, gratitude itself could be considered a form of compassion. However, it's a sensory experience, and when I try to express it in words, "gratitude" feels like the most appropriate term in the middle. Therefore, it seems that it's more appropriate to consider 2 and 3 as compassion, as described above.

In other words, the second option could be considered a low level of gratitude, and if that's the case, the third option could be considered a moderate level of gratitude, and the fourth option could be considered a high level of gratitude.