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Open-Hearted Life: Transformative Methods for Compassionate Living from a Clinical Psychologist and a Buddhist Nun

An Open-Hearted Life: Transformative Methods for Compassionate Living from a Clinical Psychologist and a Buddhist Nun

$35.00 USD
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Book description

A life overflowing with compassion. It sounds wonderful in theory, but how do you do it? This guide provides practical methods for living with this wonderful quality, based on traditional Buddhist teachings and on methods from modern psychology—particularly a technique called Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). The methods presented by the two authors—a psychotherapist and a Tibetan Buddhist nun—turn out to have a good deal in common. In fact, they complement each other in wonderful ways. Each of the sixty-four short chapters ends with a reflection or exercise for putting compassion into practice in various life situations.

Russell Kolts

Author Bio

Russell Kolts, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor at Eastern Washington University outside of Spokane, Washington. He is the author of The Compassionate Mind: Guide to Managing Your Anger.

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Thubten Chodron

Thubten Chodron

Author Bio

Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977, Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey. Sravasti Abbey is the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Westerners in the US and holds gender equality, social engagement, and care for the environment amongst its core values. Ven. Chodron teaches worldwide and is known for her practical (and humorous!) explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also actively involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and has coauthored a book—Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions—with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with whom she has studied for nearly forty years.

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Praise for the book

Christopher Germer

PhD, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion and clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School

“This book is a gift. It will quietly lift you up, touching our deepest desire that all beings, including ourselves, be happy and free from suffering. With beautifully clear language and examples, the authors show how to make compassion an easy and central part of our lives. Allow this book to work on you, reading it slowly and gently practicing what you learn. It will heal your heart.”

Sharon Salzberg

author of Real Happiness and Lovingkindness

“The human and planetary situation today cries out for sturdy, clear-eyed compassion that motivates actions of real benefit to others and ourselves. Toward that end, An Open-Hearted Life offers a powerful synergy of wisdom and practical instruction drawn from Russell Kolts's deep experience with Compassion-Focused Therapy and from Ven. Thubten Chodron's lifetime committed to Tibetan Buddhist practice.”

Roshi Joan Halifax

author of Being with Dying

“This important and highly accessible book on compassion is a powerful and comprehensive contribution to what it means to have a heart that is kind and that can meet the world with strength and wisdom.”

Daniel Gilbert

PhD, author of Stumbling on Happiness and professor of psychology at Harvard University

“A collection of reflections on the practice of compassion in everyday life that provides a recipe for a deeper life and a better world. It is written with minds and hearts wide open.”
Open-Hearted Life: Transformative Methods for Compassionate Living from a Clinical Psychologist and a Buddhist Nun

Russell Kolts, Thubten Chodron

An Open-Hearted Life: Transformative Methods for Compassionate Living from a Clinical Psychologist and a Buddhist Nun

$17.99 USD