In Asaṅga’s Yogācāra, compassion (karuṇā) is not a peripheral sentiment but the very heart of the bodhisattva orientation. It is described as the primary motive force behind the arising of bodhicitta, the resolve to attain awakening for the sake of all beings. Spiritual practice is thus framed as fundamentally other-regarding: liberation is sought not as a private escape, but as a means to alleviate the suffering of all sentient life. In this way, compassion defines what it means to be a bodhisattva and sets the ethical and existential tone for the entire path.

Compassion also functions as a powerful agent of inner transformation within Yogācāra’s analysis of mind. The storehouse consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna), which carries the seeds of past tendencies, is gradually purified through compassionate intention and action. As compassion is cultivated, self-centered patterns, anger, and hostility are weakened, and wholesome, altruistic seeds are strengthened. This transformation of consciousness is not merely psychological; it is presented as a necessary condition for the emergence of wisdom and for the cessation of suffering.

At the same time, Asaṅga’s tradition insists that compassion and wisdom must be held together. Compassion without insight into the nature of experience remains limited, while wisdom without compassion becomes sterile and detached. As Yogācāra clarifies how suffering arises through ignorance and karmic constructions, this understanding deepens and stabilizes compassion, making it more universal and less entangled in partiality or attachment. The mature bodhisattva thus embodies a union of penetrating insight and boundless care.

Finally, compassion is given a practical, methodical expression in the training of the bodhisattva. Systematic cultivation of the brahmavihāras—loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity—expands the heart’s concern from a narrow circle to all beings without exception. Guided by compassion, the bodhisattva develops skillful means (upāya), adapting teachings and actions to the diverse needs and capacities of others. In this vision, compassion is at once the starting point, the method, and the natural expression of awakening itself.