Who is the most compassionate?

Three sages lived in three huts. They meditated most of the time and lived under frugal conditions. Each of these huts had a room and a small verandah, all covered by thatched roof. All the three sages noticed a bamboo shoot sprouting from the dirt floor under their verandahs. In time, these bamboo shoots grew and almost touched the ceiling of the roof.

The first sage, thought of the life forms that might be existing in (or under) the thatched roof. Hence, he would cut the bamboo shoot every time it was about to reach the ceiling.

The second sage, opened a hole in the thatched roof, so that the bamboo shoot could grow without hindrance.

The third sage, first thought of making a hole in the thatched roof for the bamboo, and then thought of the pain of all the life forms in the thatched roof, and hence decided to do nothing and let nature take its course.

Which sage should we consider the most compassionate,  and why? 

(Original idea from the Zen story of master and the bamboo shoot. Modified and extended by Staju Jacob. )©Staju Jacob, 2019.

Staju Jacob is the author of path-breaking book Karmasutra The Karma of Sex, which deals with the karmic spirituality of consensual sexual actions. This book is available globally on various Amazon sites in Paperback , Kindle, Sony Kobo, Google books, Iphone Ibook etc.  He can be contacted on Twitter @KaRmasutraTKOS