Compassion Q&A

Written by:

Updated on:

August 24, 2016

In this article:

Tara Brach holds a Q&A session on the topic of Compassion. Let the heart soften and open, bring mindfulness attention to untangle the tangle.

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How do we open ourselves to our compassionate heart? This talk by Tara Brach guides us to explore the topic of compassion. Tara Brach covers three skillful means as ways to open ourselves up to compassion, before deepening the exploration through a talk and Q&A session.

Object Awareness for Compassion

The first anchor for compassionate awareness is object awareness. As we rest our attention on a single object – or on the breath for instance – the chaos of the mind calms down and a calm clarity arises. When this happens, compassion is more likely to make itself known. This focusing of attention helps us to soften the mind as we ground ourselves in the heart space.

Metta Meditation

Brach explains that metta can be understood as anything that helps the heart to come back to its natural state of openness. When left unexamined, we may notice that the heart has a tendency to contract in resistance to the world around us. Metta requires us to pay attention in a way that allows the heart to open. We can use imagery, messages, touch, or anything else that helps the heart to expand.

RAIN for Self-Compassion

The third skillful means she identifies is mindful awareness of the RAIN acronym. This recognition, allowance, inquiry, and nourishment of whatever our present experience is can help us to move deeper towards the compassion heart.

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Sean Fargo

Sean Fargo is the Founder of Mindfulness Exercises, a former Buddhist monk of 2 years, a trainer for the mindfulness program born at Google, an Integral Coach from New Ventures West, and an international mindfulness teacher trainer. He can be reached at [email protected]