kindness

1. The quality or state of being kind.
2. An instance of kind behavior: I will always remember your many kindnesses to me.

noun

1. Kindly, charitable interest in others: altruism, beneficence, benevolence, benignancy, benignity, charitableness, charity, goodwill, grace, kindheartedness, kindliness, philanthropy. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, kind/cruel.
2. A charitable deed: benefaction, beneficence, benevolence, benignity, favor, kindliness, oblation, office (often used in plural), philanthropy. See give/take/reciprocity, kind/cruel.
3. A kindly act: favor, good turn, grace, indulgence, service. Archaic benefit. See help/harm/harmless.

Definition: compassion, generosity
Antonyms: cruelty, harshness, meanness, unkindness

n

Definition: service
Antonyms: disservice

n.

A brief preface to ten volumes of exaction.

Quotes:

"The flower of kindness will grow. Maybe not now, but it will some day. And in kind that kindness will flow, For kindness grows in this way." - Robert Alan

"Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning." - Frederick W. Faber

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop

"The good deed you do today For a brother or sister in need Will come back to you some day For humanity's a circle in deed." - Robert Alan

"Is there any one maxim which ought to be acted upon throughout one's whole life? Surely the maxim of loving kindness is such: Do not unto others what you would not they should do unto you." - Analects

"Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always try to be a little kinder than is necessary." - Sir James M. Barrie

See more famous quotes about Kindness

For other uses, see Kindness (disambiguation).

Look up kindness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: kindness

gift giving during a South Indian wedding.

Kindness is the act or the state of being kind and marked by charitable behaviour, marked by mild disposition, pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others. It is a recognized value in many cultures and religions (see ethics in religion).

Contents 1 In philosophy 2 In religion 3 In psychology 4 References 5 Further reading 6 See also

In philosophy

• According to book two of Aristotle's "Rhetoric" it is one of the emotions (see list of emotions), which is defined as being "helpfulness towards some one in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped".^[1]
• Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that kindness and love are the "most curative herbs and agents in human intercourse".^{[citation needed]}
• Kindness is considered to be one of the Knightly Virtues.

In religion

• It is considered to be one of the seven virtues, specifically the one of the Seven Contrary Virtues (direct opposites of the seven deadly sins) that is the direct opposite to envy^[2].
• The Talmud claims that "deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments."
• Paul of Tarsus defines love as being "patient and kind..." (I Corinthians).
• In Buddhism, one of the Ten Perfections (Paramitas) is Mettā, which is usually translated into English as "loving-kindness". Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama wrote "my religion is kindness" and authored a book entitled "Kindness, Clarity, and Insight".^[3]
• Confucius urges his followers to "recompense kindness with kindness."

In psychology

In a study of 37 cultures around the world, 16000 subjects were asked about their most desired traits in a mate. For both sexes, the first preference was kindness (the second was intelligence).^[4]

References

1. ^ Aristotle (translated by Lee Honeycutt). "Kindness". Rhetoric, book 2, chapter 7. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~honeyl/Rhetoric/rhet2-7.html. Retrieved 2005-11-22. 
2. ^ "Contrary, Heavenly, and Cardinal Virtues". 7 Deadly Sins. http://deadlysins.com/virtues.html. Retrieved 2005-11-22. 
3. ^ Dalai Lama (1984). "Kindness, Clarity, and Insight." Snow Lion Publications (ISBN 978-0937938188)
4. ^ Buss, D. M. (2003). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating. New York: Basic Books. (ISBN 0-465-02143-3)

Further reading

• RABBI-UL-AWWAL (July 1998). "What is Kindness to Parents?". Islamic Voice 12-07 (139). http://www.islamicvoice.com/july.98/hadith.htm. 
• El-Sayed M. Amin. "Kindness to a Non-Muslim Neighbor: Tips for Interaction". Society. Islam Online. http://www.islamonline.net/English/introducingislam/society/Neighborhoods/article02.shtml. Retrieved 2005-11-22. 

See also

• Altruism
• Compassion
• Emotion
• Empathy
• Generosity
• Random act of kindness
• Reciprocity
• Sympathy
• The Kindness Offensive

• Seven Heavenly Virtues

  Chastity

  Temperance

  Charity

  Diligence

  Patience

  Kindness

  Humility

• Seven Deadly Sins (opposite of the seven virtues)

  Lust

  Gluttony

  Greed

  Sloth

  Wrath

  Envy

  Pride

v • d • e Emotions (list) Acedia · Affection · Ambivalence · Anger · Angst · Annoyance · Anticipation · Anxiety · Apathy · Awe · Boredom · Calmness · Compassion · Confusion · Contempt · Contentment · Courage · Curiosity · Depression · Desire · Disappointment · Disgust · Doubt · Ecstasy · Embarrassment · Empathy · Emptiness · Enthusiasm · Envy · Epiphany · Euphoria · Fanaticism · Fear · Frustration · Gratification · Gratitude · Grief · Guilt · Happiness · Hatred · Homesickness · Hope · Hostility · Humiliation · Hysteria · Inspiration · Interest · Jealousy · Kindness · Limerence · Loneliness · Love · Lust · Melancholia · Mono no aware · Nostalgia · Panic · Patience · Pity · Pride · Rage · Regret · Remorse · Repentance · Resentment · Righteous indignation · Sadness · Saudade · Schadenfreude · Sehnsucht · Self-pity · Shame · Shyness · Suffering · Surprise · Suspicion · Sympathy · Weltschmerz · Wonder · Worry See also: Meta-emotion

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