Compassion in the landscape of suffering
Christina Feldman, Willem Kuyken
Contemporary Buddhism May 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1080/14639947.2011.564831 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 237 |
| Key points | Argues that compassion is cultivated implicitly within mindfulness-based approaches through program structure and teacher embodiment, and that this cultivation supports living with chronic conditions like recurrent depression, illustrated by a case example. |
Abstract
In this paper we investigate compassion and its place within mindfulness-based approaches. Compassion is an orientation of mind that recognizes pain and the universality of pain in human experience and the capacity to meet that pain with kindness, empathy, equanimity and patience. We outline how learning to meet pain with compassion is part of how people come to live with chronic conditions like recurrent depression. While most mindfulness-based approaches do not explicitly teach compassion, we describe how the structure of the programme and teachers' embodiment enable participants to cultivate compassion in the landscape of suffering. We describe a case example of how this process unfolded for someone through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
Citations in the library
Cited by 37
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
- Compassion as a Skill: A Comparison of Contemplative and Evolution-Based Approaches Mindfulness August 3, 2023
- A Framework for Supervision for Mindfulness-Based Teachers: a Space for Embodied Mutual Inquiry. Mindfulness 2015
- Believing in the Powers of Mindfulness: A Thematic Narrative Approach and the Development of a New Scale Mindfulness June 21, 2023
- An expanded mindful mindset: The role of different skills in stress reduction and life satisfaction Journal of Consumer Affairs January 26, 2023
and 32 more in the library
Cites 8
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse Psychotherapy Research March 1, 2003
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion October 1, 2008
- Training Teachers to Deliver Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Learning from the UK Experience Mindfulness April 26, 2010
and 3 more in the library