It is said that a long time ago, a Buddhist master was teaching about enlightenment in ancient India, when his words were interrupted by the barking of a dog. The loud insistent barking so annoyed one man in the crowd that he threw a rock at the dog, striking him on the left side.

At that instant, the master fell to the ground and cried out in pain. Later, when his worried disciples asked what had happened, they saw that on the teacher’s left side there was a large bruise. The dog’s pain had so touched this teacher’s noble and tender heart that it became his pain. He took it on himself.

from Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight steps to Enlightenment by Lama     Surya Das

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“To care for anyone else enough to make their problems one’s own, is ever the beginning of one’s real ethical development.” Felix Adler