about karuṇā

“Compassion is a major theme throughout much of Buddhist history. In Early Buddhism, mettā/maitrī (Pāḷi/Sanskrit), often translated as ‘loving kindness,’ is more prominent, and in Mahayana Buddhism, karuṇā, usually translated as ‘compassion,’ becomes more widespread; these two virtues are most closely associated with the English sense of compassion, or sympathetic or empathetic care, in Buddhism specifically for sentient beings, with reference to liberating them from the suffering of samsara, the cycle of birth and death.”