Compassion is the very soul of Buddhism.

Buddhism Day by Day

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Monday, July 29, 2013:

 

Compassion is the very soul of Buddhism. To pray for others, making their problems and anguish our own; to embrace those who are suffering, becoming their greatest ally; to continue giving them our support and encouragement until they become truly happy—it is in such humanistic actions that Nichiren Buddhism lives and breathes.