Active Compassion
Meditations to Empower People Who Empower Others

Retreat for Social Activists/Peaceworkers with John Makransky

Oct. 23-24, 2009

Schedule

Friday
7 to 9 p.m.

"Empowering yourself for service and action:
guided meditations"

Saturday
9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Guided Meditation Retreat

Student Registration

Guiding Teachers

The Foundation

Tell Somebody!

On October 23-24, 2009, Professor/Lama John Makransky, Boston College will guide a retreat for social activists and peaceworkers, assisted by Julie Forsythe and Leah Weiss Ekstrom. This retreat is intended especially, though not exclusively, for people who work in social justice or social service areas and want to revitalize their spiritual lives in action. It is both for new and experienced meditators.

To be most effective in service and social action, we need to embody the deepest spirit and motivation of our work. In this workshop-retreat, participants are guided into powerful meditations of compassionate communion and presence adapted from the natural ease tradition of Tibet (dzogchen) in newly accessible ways for people of all faiths and backgrounds.

These meditations help the mind relax into its most natural state of tranquility, openness and simplicity—evoking compassion for self and others, energy, and joy. From this place of natural ease, wisdom and love we can be more fully present—communing with others in the depth of their being instead of reacting from superficial judgments. When this unity of love and wisdom is embodied in social action and service, it becomes a powerful force to challenge injustice and to remake our world into a place of mutual reverence and care. Such loving action can speak truth to power clearly and boldly, but also nonviolently and compassionately.

The retreat provides guided meditation, lively discussion and instruction on bringing the practice home into relationships, service and activism.

It begins on Friday evening with a presentation titled "Empowering yourself for service and action: guided meditations," followed by Saturday's day-long guided meditation retreat. Participants are encouraged to attend both friday evening and saturday, but attending friday evening alone is permissible.

Current UTS Students - One point of elective credit may be earned by attending both the Active Compassion meditation on Friday, October 23 and the retreat on October 24. To earn credit, you must register in advance with the Registrar's office for SU 190, Section 05. You should also register online

The cost for the Friday evening introductory session is $20 and the day-long retreat is $75. Note: Scholarship are available. For more information about scholarships, please contact Cathy Cornell at 646-648-0731.

Registration is required. Please register online before October 15. Students are invited to attend free with student ID, or by signing into the web site before registering online.

The retreat is co-sponsored by Union Students for Peace and Justice, The Poverty Initiative, and the Union Interfaith Caucus.

For more information, contact Cathy Cornell at 646-648-0731, or cathycornell@gmail.com.

Guiding Teachers

Lama John Makransky, PhD, Boston College
John Makransky has practiced meditations of wisdom and compassion from Tibetan Buddhism for thirty years and has pioneered new ways of taking them into the worlds of social service and social justice by making them newly accessible to people of all backgrounds and faiths. A professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College and senior advisor to the Centre for Buddhist Studies in Nepal, John was ordained a Tibetan Buddhist lama in 2000. He is co-founder and guiding teacher of the Foundation for Active Compassion, which provides contemplative training for social justice and service. John has taught meditations of natural awareness and compassion to thousands of people across the United States, and is the author of Awakening through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness (Wisdom Publications, 2007). Learn more.

Julie Forsythe
Julie Forsythe is a co-founder and associate teacher of the Foundation for Active Compassion with her teaching mentor, Lama John Makransky, and Leah Weiss Ekstrom. She served as secretary on the national board of the Dzogchen Center for eight years where she focused on development of community contemplative practice groups. She was on the national board of the American Friends Service Committee for six years focused on international programs of relief and reconciliation. Learn more.

Leah Weiss Ekstrom
Leah Weiss Ekstrom is a co-founder and associate teacher of the Foundation for Active Compassion. She has received Masters degrees in Social Work and Pastoral Ministry from Boston College where she is currently a doctoral student in Theology and Education. She is also an associate teacher for Natural Dharma. Learn more.