The Compassion Initiative
Compassion is one of the great human virtues, and has long been central to Naropa University’s distinct approach to contemplative education. Increasingly, modern scientific research is providing strong support for the value of secular compassion training, both to enhance personal well-being and to benefit others. Compassion has long been a centerpiece in Naropa’s graduate and undergraduate curriculum, with over 90 courses including modules on compassion. In recognition of these time-tested methods and insights to share about compassion, its cultivation, and its potential for transforming individuals and society, the Compassion Initiative was founded in 2014, a collaboration between Naropa core faculty compassion trainers and compassion researchers.
The Compassion Initiative is a training and research initiative to share compassion practices, teachings, and science with our community and world:
Naropa’s WELCOME Training offers a pathway to foster mindfulness alongside loving kindness for yourself, loved ones, and even the difficult people in our lives. Drawing on scientific research findings from neuroscience and psychology, as well as practices and teachings from Buddhism, WELCOME provides a multifaceted view of the power and potential of compassion. Throughout the course, you will be introduced to a series of experiential practices, receive informative suggested readings, and engage in compassionate “fieldwork” to integrate compassion into your personal, social and professional life. Key topics include: Mindfulness · Self-compassion · Loving-kindness · Empathy · Resilient compassion · Embodiment · Burnout · Is compassion always nice?
The Soft Spot: Compassion Blog
Our compassion blog, The Soft Spot, takes its name from Naropa University’s founder, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who spoke of the compassion instinct inherent in our humanity as “the soft spot.” We could be “covered with cast-iron shields, but some sore spot always exists in us, which is fantastic. That sore spot is known as embryonic compassion, potential compassion.” The Soft Spot serves as a central resource for sharing new and exciting knowledge about compassion, relevant events, and compassion science.
Hear from a Faculty Member
Compassion training not only grows our capacity to offer genuine support for others with greater skillfulness and ease—it also provides us more tools for working with our own challenges, however they may arise.
