Sustainable Compassion Training: Integrating Meditation Theory With Psychological Science
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Abstract
Meditation programs continue to proliferate in the modern world, with increasing participation from scientists and many others who seek to improve physical, mental, relational, and social flourishing. In developing such programs, the meditation practices have been adapted to meet the needs of modern cultures. However, through that adaptation, important contextual factors of traditional contemplative cultures are often dropped or forgotten. This article presents a system of compassion and mindfulness training, Sustainable Compassion Training (SCT), which is designed to help people cultivate increasingly unconditional, inclusive, and sustainable care for self and others. SCT aims to recover important contextual factors of meditation that flexibly meet the diverse needs of modern secular and religious participants. SCT draws on Tibetan Buddhism in dialogue with caregivers, other contemplative traditions and relevant scientific theories to inform meditative transformation for secular contexts. We provide an overview of SCT meditations that includes both contemplative and scientific theories that draw out important features of them. Each meditation includes novel hypotheses that are generated from this dialogical process. We also provide links to audio-guided meditations.
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Tarrasch, R., & Berger, R. (2022) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-022-01955-y · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Visualizing Compassion: Episodic Simulation as Contemplative Practice
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Gao, J., Leung, H. K., Fan, J., Wu, B. W. Y., & Sik, H. H. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.891656 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Doren, N. V., Oravecz, Z., Soto, J. A., & Roeser, R. W. (2022) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-022-01956-x · Cited by 10 · see citing works
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Self-citationZhou, J., Lang, Y., Wang, Z., Gao, C., Lv, J., Zheng, Y., Gu, X., Yan, L., Chen, Y., Zhang, X., et al. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03866-6 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
The role of relatedness: Applying a developmental-relational view of compassion in adolescence
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Self-citationGilbert, P., Basran, J. K., Plowright, P., & Gilbert, H. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150592 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Clapton, N., & Hiskey, S. (2023) · OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2301001 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Colaianne, B. A. (2025) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1002/jad.70020 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Matos, M., Gilbert, P., Gonçalves, E., Melo, I., Baumann, T., Yiu, R. X. Q., & Steindl, S. R. (2021) · Psychologica · doi:10.14195/1647-8606_64-2_1 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Gotsis, G. N., & Grimani, A. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-32257-0_16-1 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Dualism and beyond: A unified framework for self- and other-oriented compassion
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The Role and Mechanism of Meditation on Physical Health and Well-Being – a literature review
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Reddy, K. J., & Devassy, V. P. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-25498-6_15 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Together, We SOAR: A curriculum on compassion, community, and human development for K-12 teachers
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Gilbert, P., Basran, J. K., & Plowright, P. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-47219-0_108 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
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Compassion practicesPreprint
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Self-citationHow Can Medical Professionals Maintain Compassion for Their Patients with Breast Cancer?
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PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF SECULAR PROGRAMS OF COMPASSION TRAINING
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The Fears, Blocks, and Resistances to Compassion
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An Evolutionary and Biopsychosocial Conceptualization of Compassion and Its Cultivation
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Leading With Relational Compassion
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From Buddhist Studies to Buddhist Theology: A Divinatory Reading of the Heart Sūtra
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- Authors
- Condon, P., & Makransky, J.
- Affiliations
- Southern Oregon University (US)
- Boston College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Condon, Paul
- Makransky, John
- ORCID
- Condon, Paul
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2020-09-11
- Volume
- 11
- Pages
- 2249-2249
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7518715
- OpenAlex
- W3086457396
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 112
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 3.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- MindRxiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Boston College
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
- Keywords
- compassion training, mindfulness training, meditation, Tibetan Buddhism, contemplative traditions, inclusive care, dialogic process
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