COMPASSION IS NOT A TYPE OF AFFECTION, BUT A KIND OF WISDOM
Master Jun Hong Lu: To be compassionate is to be selfless. When you can feel how pitiful and desperate others are for your help, you are considered selfless in this context, because you are focused solely on the well-being of others.
Compassion is not affection but wisdom. If you are compassionate towards someone, it is not because you get along well with each other that you want to offer your help; rather, it is a reflection of your wisdom. Knowing that he is a sentient being, it is meritorious to help him, and I should fulfil my vow by assisting him to be free from suffering. Hence, compassion in Mahayana Buddhism is synonymous with wisdom. Similarly, prajna wisdom is compassion. Hence, the prajna wisdom of Guan Yin Bodhisattva reflects Her great loving-kindness and compassion.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Episode 53