University, October 15, 2010). This example raises the question of whether emotion is a necessary
condition of compassion (see also
. Perhaps, perhaps not. We do not know. It may be
that with long-term practice, compassion may become so ingrained that it is effortless and
automatic.
Nevertheless,
training
people to access compassion is a developmental process that can bring
forth many emotions. Such teaching might best be viewed as a facilitative process – we offer
people tools and techniques to help them access something that they already possess deep inside.
It is a tricky business to open hearts, as love and compassion may be very well protected by life
experiences or habitual patterns of behavior. We hope our suggestions are helpful to others who
undertake this privileged work, and we wish them, their students and all the people with whom
they come into contact much happiness and ease.
In fact, in CCT we use loved ones as a target before the self (whereas traditional practices start
with the self and move outward from there), given the trouble Western students have with self-
compassion. Priming the heart with an easy target seems to facilitate the move towards self-
compassion with less complication.
Table 1:
Resources for the Working with Emotion in Compassion Cultivation.
Useful for:
Title:
moistening the heart; empathy;
common humanity
“The Tire Iron and the Tamale”
(
“Wandering around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal”
(
moistening the heart; common
humanity
“At the Corner Store,” Poem by Alison Luterman
“Kindness,” Poem by Naomi Shihab Nye
gratitude
“Moving Art” (
cooperation; similarity of all
creatures
“Polar Bear plays with Huskie”
(
living together; similarity of all
creatures
“Elephant and Dog Friendship”
(
kindness, helping; common
humanity
“Special Glasses” (
maternal love; unconditional
love
“Maternal Instinct Cross-species”
(
helping; caregiving; love;
gratitude
“Monkey Helper”
(
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