Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote in an article called ‘A Challenge to Buddhists’ from Buddhadharma magazine (Fall 2007 issue):

‘I know we engage in lofty meditations on kindness and compassion and espouse beautiful ideas of love and peace. But note that we pursue them largely as inward, subjective experiences, geared towards personal transformation. Too seldom does this type of compassion roll up its sleeves and step into the field. Too rarely does it translate into pragmatic programs of effective action realistically designed to diminish the actual sufferings of those battered by natural calamities or societal deprivation.’