Affection Isn’t Soft: Defending the Innocent Without Harm

Author’s note: In light of the tragic news last week of a violent death at a university event in the US, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to defend the innocent without causing harm. This is not about politics, but about humanity — and why affection, courage, and compassion must guide us forward.

I’ve always loved the Buddhist saying: “We who follow the way are permitted to defend the innocent.”

At first glance, it sounds almost militant. But it isn’t about violence at all. It’s about wisdom.

The events of last week remind us of a simple truth: you cannot kill someone because they believe differently to you. Affection — and every wisdom tradition worth holding — teaches that human dignity must never be conditional.

Buddhism teaches non-violence (Ahimsa), compassion (Karuna), and right action on the Eightfold Path. To defend the innocent isn’t to fight with weapons, it’s to refuse indifference. It’s to uphold the dignity of life by choosing courage and compassion in every action.

Affection, like these teachings, asks us to act with courage, not passivity. Silence in the face of suffering is complicity; affection calls us to step forward.

We see this in leaders who stand up for equity when it’s unpopular. In organisations that close their doors in protest rather than carry on as usual. In individuals who choose to speak truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Affection is not cupcakes and comfort, although it can be. It isn’t pastel slogans promising that everything will be okay. Affection is also grit. It’s tension. It’s the willingness to defend humanity with care, clarity, and conviction.

Just as affection is not soft but strategic, wisdom traditions have always given us frameworks to live by. In Buddhism, that framework is the Noble Eightfold Path — a compass for living made up of eight interconnected practices: Right View, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

Noble Eightfold Path Source

This ancient compass offers more than spiritual guidance; it’s a practical framework for how we live, work, and lead. In fact, research has already begun exploring how the Eightfold Path can shape organisational life in places like Nepal, guiding leaders and teams to act with mindfulness, ethics, and compassion in their everyday decisions.

It strikes me how beautifully this mirrors the Affection Economy Values Compass. Both ask us to begin within, to orient ourselves not by profit or performance alone but by principles that put humanity at the centre.

Where the Eightfold Path speaks of Right Action, Right Livelihood, and Right Speech, the Affection Economy speaks of alignment, clarity, and connection. Together, they remind us that the compass doesn’t just point north, it points us back to ourselves.

This is what it means to live the Affection Economy: to remember that affection isn’t soft. It’s courageous compassion in action. It protects, it defends, it leads with care, without causing harm.

Defending the innocent is the essence of affection in action.

It isn’t about harm — it’s about humanity.

Not soft. Not easy. But wise, brave, and necessary.

If this struck a chord, and you’re curious about what affection in action might look like for you, your team, or your organisation, we’d love to talk.

Author’s Note:
This piece was originally published here on The Story Maker. It is available for republication, syndication, or editorial adaptation.
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