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Mindfulness
Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness 10/2023

29-03-2022 | ORIGINAL PAPER

Compassion and Skillful Means: Cultural Adaptation, Psychological Science, and Creative Responsiveness

Auteurs: Paul Condon, John Makransky

Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness | Uitgave 10/2023

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Abstract

This article addresses two distinct but interrelated aspects of “skillful means” that can inform compassion training: (1) the historical precedent and need for adapting meditation practices to meet new cultural contexts, and (2) the need to express compassion flexibly in ways that creatively meet the specific contexts, mentalities, and needs of particular persons and situations. We first discuss ways that the doctrine of skillful means was employed by Buddhists to rationalize the repeated adaptation of Buddhist teachings to meet the culturally situated mentalities and needs of diverse Asian peoples. Then, in continuity with that history of Buddhist adaptation, we explore how theories from modern psychological science, such as attachment theory, can be newly drawn upon to support adaptation of relational frameworks operative in traditional Buddhist cultures of compassion training for modern contexts. Finally, we draw on theories from cognitive science, namely situated conceptualization, that provide a tractable framework for understanding skillful compassion as embodied emptiness—involving the relaxation of pattern completion mechanisms, which helps open up greater discernment and presence to others, so that care and compassion can be more unrestricted, creative, and directly responsive to the person and situation at hand.
vorige artikel Skill in Means and Mindfulness
volgende artikel Activity of the Armless Mother: Applications of Compassion and Skillful Means from Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
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Metagegevens
Titel
Compassion and Skillful Means: Cultural Adaptation, Psychological Science, and Creative Responsiveness
Auteurs
Paul Condon
John Makransky
Publicatiedatum
29-03-2022
Uitgeverij
Springer US
Gepubliceerd in
Mindfulness / Uitgave 10/2023
Print ISSN: 1868-8527
Elektronisch ISSN: 1868-8535
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01866-y

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