We can approach the importance of compassion through intelligent reasoning. If I help another person then I myself will benefit from that. However, if I harm others, eventually I will be in trouble. If we wish to be truly selfish, then we should be wisely selfish rather than foolishly selfish. Our intelligence can help to adjust our attitude in this respect. If we use it well we can gain insights as to how we can fulfill our own self-interest by leading a compassionate way of life.
-The Dali Lama