Use code SUMMERPRACTICE for a 25% discount on all On Demand Courses through August 31.

The Power of Self-Compassion

With Chris Germer recorded on June 11, 2023.

Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.

Most people are more compassionate toward others than themselves when things go wrong. However, burgeoning research shows that self-compassion is good for everybody.

Fortunately, it can be learned. 

How can we seamlessly bring self-compassion into meditation practice and daily life? 

What are two secrets about self-compassion practice that make all the difference?

Listen to the audio version below, or click here to download the mp3.

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • Pamela Weiss

    True Refuge

    This talk will explore the Three Refuges — Buddha, Dharma and Sangha — as sources of true refuge in difficult times. The teaching of the Refuges is found within all schools of Buddhism and offers clear guidance for responding to our beautiful, aching world with skill and kindness.

    Read More

  • Vimalasara Mason-John

    When did you stop breathing?

    We could say that the Buddha was teaching us to breath again. It’s said that the prince Siddhartha was sitting under a Bodhi tree, practicing the anapanasati (the mindfulness of breathing) when he gained enlightenment and became awake, a Buddha. He was aware of the whole experience of breathing. Through breathing he trained the mind…

    Read More

  • Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of January 17, 2022

    This week’s theme is: Embracing Anger.

    How do you deal with your feelings of anger?

    Is it okay to be angry at times or do we need to get rid of it once and for all?

    Meeting our anger can be a challenge, as it comes with a driving energy and tends to evoke reactions of blame, fear or delight within us. The Buddha encouraged us to familiarize ourselves with all expressions of the heart-mind but equally warned about the destructive forces of ill-will. Let us look deeply into the nature of anger and learn ways to channel it in skilful and liberating ways.

    Read More

  • Illness, death, urgency and love.

    Yes, the Buddha repeatedly recommended that each of us contemplate our own aging, illness and death. But what gap do you feel between an abstract contemplation and the actuality of this fragile and limited life? With death rolling in like a mountain, quickly and from all sides, do you feel any samvega, or sense of…

    Read More

  • Dharma Practice as Play, or, There is no Path until you Walk It!

    In our troubled world dharma practitioners sometimes become earnest. But beings learn and develop through play, and to play we have to be fluid in mind, heart and body. Play fertilizes the human spirit and makes us feel a sense of belonging. Welcome to a session exploring dharma practice as original play and creativity.

    Read More

  • Leigh Brasington

    The Fruits of the Spiritual Life

    2 Kings. Palace Intrigue. A Murder. 500 Elephants. A nighttime visit to see the Buddha. And that’s just the backstory to one of the Buddha’s deepest teachings: his curriculum for spiritual advancement. Join us as we explore the lessons from the 2nd of the Long Discourses and gain a deeper understanding of how morality, concentration,…

    Read More

  • Beyond Mindfulness: The Fullness of Insight Meditation

    Mindfulness is the engine of meditation practice, and it tends to get all the press. But is mindfulness sufficient to transform our hearts, minds and lives? In this session, we’ll explore some of the other qualities and cultivations that are essential to deep on the spiritual path.

    Read More

  • Living the Bodhisattva Vow

    In Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is one who, having realized deep insight into the nature of self and reality, dedicates their life to alleviating suffering and guiding others toward awakening. Through examining the foundational principles of the vow of the Bodhisattva, we will consider what it means to be “Bodhisattvas in training” and how this intention…

    Read More