Past Events

Teacher(s): Lama John Makransky

Join the developer of Innate Compassion-Wisdom Training (ICT), Lama John Makransky, in deepening the experience of our innate awakened capacity. In this practice, we become receptive to the unconditioned openness, compassion, wisdom, and peace of our buddha nature by participating in a field of unconditional love for self and others. Parts of us, often unconsciously, prevent us from becoming more fully receptive to the qualities of awakening. This can impede even long-time practitioners from much fuller access to awakened awareness.…

Teacher(s): Lama John Makransky, Richard Schwartz, Ph.D, Lama Willa Miller, Ph.D (Discussant), Ed Yeats, Ph.D (Discussant)

A Conversation Between Internal Family Systems and Tibetan Buddhism Have you noticed that, even after years of dedicated and sincere spiritual practice, whole areas of our personalities and our lives can remain untouched by the compassion and wisdom described in spiritual teachings? There is a paradigm shift taking place in both psychology and spiritual practice. It hinges on recognizing that we have not just one personality, but many inner sub-personalities, or parts, whose burdens obscure our access to the qualities…

Teacher(s): Lama John Makransky

Public Talk: Friday, April 26, 5:00 – 6:30 pm, at Textor Hall 101, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850 Workshop: Saturday, April 27, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, at Muller Chapel, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850 Sustainable Compassion Training (SCT) adapts a pattern of contemplative practice seen across faith traditions into a secular and inter-religious form aligned with areas of social psychology and neuroscience. SCT helps individuals cultivate a more inclusive and replenishing power of care and compassion for themselves and…

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The Buddha teaches that we each possess, as our ultimate nature, a pure, all-encompassing primordial wisdom far more profound than we can possibly imagine. Through guidance in the practice of Dzogchen meditation, we can come to recognize the uncomplicated nature of our own mind and embody the innate compassionate and perfectly enlightened nature that is ours. Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche will introduce the participants at the retreat to this natural state. He will give simple but powerful guidance that allows students…

Teacher(s): Lama John Makransky

This is a private event for FAC meditation teachers.

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This daylong retreat will be led by Foundation for Active Compassion meditation teachers Katherine Bonus and Diana Grove. During the retreat, we will explore practices designed to cultivate and deepen our connection with "a power of unconditional care from within, that can be deeply healing and sustaining." These practices, developed by Lama John Makransky, can help us learn to relax into the space of natural kindness and compassion that is always available in whatever circumstances life presents. For more information…

Teacher(s): Lama John Makransky, Bob Morrison, Lama Liz Monson, Janine Grillo Marra

While this retreat is open to all persons, priority registration will be given to participants of the Natural Dharma Fellowship’s Margha Program. Registration for the general public will open at 10 am on November 23. This week-long retreat will focus on transformative practices that allow us to directly access the love and wisdom that are the very fabric of our deepest nature. Teachings and practices will enable participants to deepen in their experience of their innate, awakened capacity. In particular,…

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“As adults, we need to become newly aware of the love that has infused our lives all along, to turn our attention to it afresh with the eyes of a child. To do so is to become conscious of the tremendous capacity for love that even now permeates our being—to open to it, to be healed by its life-giving energy, and to participate in its power to renew our world. We can awaken to the deepest goodness in ourselves and…

Teacher(s): Lama John Makransky

This program will explore ways of accessing and settling into our innate awakened awareness through practices adapted from Tibetan Buddhism. By participating in an empowering field of loving, spiritual connection, we can become increasingly receptive to the unconditioned openness, wisdom and compassionate energy of our buddha nature. Yet parts of us, often unconsciously, may prevent us from becoming more fully receptive to such qualities of awakening. This is true even for long-time practitioners. To address that, we will focus on…

Teacher(s): Lama John Makransky, Paul Condon

Professors John Makransky and Paul Condon will present the theory and practice of Sustainable Compassion Training (SCT), a program created for people who seek a more sustaining and inclusive power of care and compassion for their lives and work. Initially developed by Professor Makransky, SCT is adapted from Tibetan Buddhism into a form that is immediately accessible to people of all backgrounds, religious and/or secular. SCT has three modes of meditative practice: 1) The receptive mode helps us find new…