Dharma Topics

Prior to each Thursday evening gathering in Silver Spring for meditation and Dharma sharing we send out an announcement of the topic. The announcement is includes a short essay that focuses on a way of bringing mindfulness into our lives, families, work, and society. Below are topics that we've discussed in the past.

The archive goes from 2004 to the present. You can search by one or more key words, such as: Compassion Training (no quotes), or by phrases, such as: “emotional and spiritual healing” (with quotes). If you would like to receive our weekly announcement, please click on the bar to the right.

Cultivating Karuna

Facilitated by: Eliza King| in: Dharma Topics

Discussion Date: Thu, May 26, 2022

Thursday Evening Online Program

May 26, 2022, 7:00 to 8:45 pm Eastern Time

Dear Still Water Friends,

In my twenties, I felt overwhelmed and paralyzed with grief from low self-esteem about my visual impairment. I was depressed. One powerful source of support was my therapist. He showed me mindful breathing and body-awareness practices that helped me begin to accept myself as I was. What was especially nourishing for me was his ability to listen in a caring, calm way, to offer karuna (compassion). This experience taught me how important it is to hold a caring, calm space and to listen to another with compassion.

In a Mindfulness Bell article from 1997, Thich Nhat Hanh writes: The second aspect of true love is karuna, the intention and capacity to relieve and transform suffering... Continued