Tag: compassion

10/12 Practice Circle: Soften, Soothe, Allow

Mark Knickelbine | August 10, 2018 | 0 Comments

How do we deal with truly difficult emotions when they arise in our daily life? Can we meet them without being overwhelmed or using distraction or numbing to avoid them? When Practice Circle meets again this Sunday evening at 6 Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central and 9 Eastern, we’ll share another practice from Kristin Neff […]

7/22 Practice Circle: Befriend Yourself

Mark Knickelbine | July 20, 2018 | 0 Comments

This Sunday, July 22, at 6 pm Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central and 9 Eastern, Practice Circle will explore the practice of unconditional friendliness towards the self. Amy Balentine will be leading a meditation taught by Pema Chodron. In this straightforward practice, we will be invited to bring a quality of clear seeing and gentleness […]

Do We Need Attachment to be Kind?

Doug Smith | July 2, 2018 | 0 Comments

Does kindness require emotional attachment and identification with one another? Several prominent ethical systems promote the idea that our altruistic tendencies are based on emotional closeness and familiarity. We’ll look at a few of those systems, as well as a Buddhist alternative. I hope you’ll stick around for the third section where we’ll get to […]

6/24 Practice Circle: More Mindful Self-Compassion

Mark Knickelbine | June 22, 2018 | 0 Comments

I’m eager to share some of the many very useful practices I learned while being trained in the basics of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) by its originators, Kristin Neff and Chris Germer, at a recent two-day workshop. This Sunday, June 24, at 6 pm Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central and 9 Eastern, Practice Circle will explore […]

How Compassion Became Empathy

Doug Smith | June 11, 2018 | 2 Comments

Buddhist compassion practice changed radically over the first few centuries following the Buddha’s passing. One way it changed is outlined in a paper by Buddhist scholar Anālayo: compassion practice became more of a practice of empathy. This development coincided with a number of other interesting changes in Buddhist belief and practice that we will outline […]

6/10 Practice Circle: Mindful Self-Compassion

Mark Knickelbine | June 8, 2018 | 1 Comment

I’m eager to share some of the many very useful practices I learned while being trained in the basics of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) by its originators, Kristin Neff and Chris Germer, at a recent two-day workshop. We’ll begin this Sunday, June 10, at 6 pm Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Eastern, when Practice Circle will explore […]

Buddhist Compassion Meditation: a Brief History

Doug Smith | June 4, 2018 | 3 Comments

Buddhist compassion meditation practices changed dramatically during the millennium from the Buddha’s lifetime to the lifetimes of some of his most famous commentators. Using a paper by the gifted scholar Anālayo as a guide, we will look at the earliest recorded compassion practices and at practices found in works by the later philosophers and commentators […]