As mindfulness practice unfolds, our experience of dukkha (suffering, dis-ease) naturally shifts and changes. Compassion morphs to meet it. This talk explores five faces of compassion that are cultivated through our mindfulness practice: patience, capacity, humility, spaciousness, and not-self.

Instructions on cultivating compassion by starting small and gradually building to an expansive orientation of the compassionate heart.

After some personal stories from Donald about his father, who was a veteran, and about Donald’s experiences growing up at the time of the Vietnam war and being introduced to nonviolence, we explore the three main dimensions of our practice (training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom) related to the holiday. We focus on the ethical teachings about killing and nonviolence, including the complexities of these teachings; the importance of bringing mindfulness to grief, loss, and sadness, and of grounding in kindness, compassion, and love; and the wisdom and insight teachings about seeing the roots of violence. The talk is followed by discussion.

40 Mins of mettā practice with aspects of compassion and forgiveness.

What does it mean to let suffering touch you without being consumed by it? This talk traces a path from empathy through grief to the inexhaustible compassion of the bodhisattva — and offers practical steps for cultivating it from the inside out.

Making use of a wider parts or patterns based perspective for daily life practice.

Facing difficulty with wisdom, compassion, and balance - walking a path of non-harming.

Exploring a compassionate attitude to formal and informal practice, and making use of RAIN to support this.