KATHLEEN MCDONALD : AWAKENING THE KIND HEART How to Meditate on Compassion

A Spirituality & Practice “Best Spiritual Books of 2010” winner.

Everyone appreciates kindness. A smile, a few friendly words, a show of concern when we’re troubled or feeling unwell, an offer of help—gestures of kindness like these brighten our day and ease whatever sadness we may feel in our hearts. Feeling that “someone cares” fulfills a very deep need that we all have. And just as we appreciate other people being kind to us, others appreciate it when we are kind to them. That is why it is important to learn to be kind, because it will help make our relationships and interactions with others more satisfying and less problematic.

But it’s not always easy to be kind. Sometimes our hearts are filled with anger, jealousy, or pride, and being kind is the last thing we feel like doing. Or we get so caught up in our work and responsibilities that we find no time to think of others and their needs, no time to be kind and gentle. However, these problems can be remedied. The Buddhist tradition offers a wealth of methods that can be used to overcome whatever prevents us from being kind and gentle.

Some of these methods are explored and explained in this book—in a way that will allow you to practice them in your daily life. Awakening the Kind Heart offers powerful and inviting meditation techniques to activate the heart of kindness within us all—a modern and motivating interpretation of traditional and powerful practices.

• Paperback
• 168 pages, 6.00 x 9.00 inches
• ISBN 9780861716951

Originally from California, Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro) began studying Buddhism with Tibetan lamas in Dharamsala, India, in 1973. She became a nun in Nepal the following year, and received full (bhikshuni) ordination in 1988. At the request of her teachers, she began teaching in 1980, and since then has been teaching Buddhism and meditation in various countries around the world, occasionally taking time off for personal retreats. She served as resident teacher in Buddha House, Australia, for two years and in Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore for eleven years. From 2008 to 2013 she followed the Masters Program at Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy. Since then she served for seven years as a faculty member of the Human Spirit Psychoanalytic-Buddhist Training Program in Israel, and for a year and a half as the resident teacher at the Center for Wisdom and Compassion in Copenhagen, Denmark. She currently resides at Sravasti Abbey in Washington State, USA, and teaches online. She is the author of How to Meditate: A Practical Guideand Awakening the Kind Heart: How to Meditate on Compassion.

Other books by Kathleen McDonald:
How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path
Wholesome Fear
How to Meditate