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How did Buddhism connect compassion with the goal of nirvana?

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Marble bust of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher, showing a bearded man with a head covering and calm expression. — History of ethics Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, portrait bust.

In Buddhism, compassion (karuna) is deeply intertwined with the pursuit of nirvana, serving as both a moral foundation and a transformative practice. The Buddha taught that a life devoted to universal compassion and brotherhood is the path through which one may reach nirvana, a state characterized by the cessation of suffering, desire, and ignorance.12

In the Mahayana tradition, this connection is further deepened through the ideal of the bodhisattva—an individual who vows to attain awakening but postpones final entry into nirvana to assist all other beings in achieving liberation. This practice is rooted in the realization of emptiness (shunyata): because no individual possesses a permanent "self," there is no fundamental distinction between oneself and others. Consequently, a bodhisattva’s own liberation is inseparable from the liberation of all sentient beings.134

Compassion is thus not merely a virtuous act but a realization of the interconnected nature of reality, where the practitioner acts for the benefit of all without discrimination, ultimately aiming to remove the pain and sorrow of all living things.134