A Prayer for the Abuser

I believe that practicing compassion for ourselves and others is vital for healing. It's easy to show compassion to those we perceive as victims. It's harder to show compassion to those we see as perpetrators. The following prayer has been of great benefit to me in this area.

Kuan Yin's Prayer for the Abuser
 
To those who withhold refuge, I cradle you in safety at the core of my Being.

To those that cause a child to cry out, I grant you the freedom to express your own choked agony.

To those that inflict terror, I remind you that you shine with the purity of a thousand suns.

To those who would confine, suppress, or deny, I offer the limitless expanse of the sky.

To those who need to cut, slash, or burn, I remind you of the invincibility of Spring.

To those who cling and grasp, I promise more abundance than you could ever hold onto.

To those who vent their rage on small children, I return to you your deepest innocence.

To those who must frighten into submission, I hold you in the bosom of your original mother.

To those who cause agony to others, I give the gift of free flowing tears.

To those that deny another's right to be, I remind you that the angels sang in celebration of you on the day of your birth.

To those who see only division and separateness, I remind you that a part is born only by bisecting a whole.

For those who have forgotten the tender mercy of a mother's embrace, I send a gentle breeze to caress your brow.

To those who still feel somehow incomplete, I offer the perfect sanctity of this very moment.