“How Compassion Works is a balm for these times of division and uncertainty. Makransky and Condon have achieved a masterful synthesis of modern psychology and cognitive science with traditional Buddhist wisdom, offering insights and practices that are truly life changing. Not to be missed.”
—Wendy Hasenkamp, science director of the Mind & Life Institute and host of the Mind & Life podcast
“Universal care and loving-kindness for all beings illuminate the bodhisattva path of complete awakening. In this book, Makransky and Condon offer accessible yet profound meditations that help us discover our ultimately unconditioned capacity for love and compassionate action. Their skillful integration of contemporary psychology and cognitive science with classical Buddhist wisdom creates a bridge between current scientific understanding and timeless spiritual insights. May this work help and inspire readers to awaken the inherent wisdom that lies at the heart of all.”
—Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, author of Sadness, Love, Openness
“While we all wish to be good people, How Compassion Works actually shows us how. Grounded in ancient contemplative techniques and modern psychological research, Makransky and Condon demonstrate that emotional evolution is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of training. By directing attention mindfully, and developing a regular practice, anyone can open their heart without losing their balance. How Compassion Works is not only a handbook for the heart: it provides tools of emotional alchemy capable of changing your life forever. Indispensable for caregivers, lovers, and the human race.”
—Willa B. Baker, PhD, author of The Wakeful Body
“Befriending one’s mind through formal meditation practice can be thought of as a radical act of love, sanity, wisdom, and healing. How Compassion Works is a high-resolution guide to both the instrumental and non-instrumental dimensions of meditation practice based predominantly on Tibetan teachings yet explicitly inviting a broader inclusivity. It is also a welcome and timely compendium of scientific evidence supporting the value of this relational approach and its liberative non-dual essence.”
—Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and author of Wherever You Go, There You Are and Coming to Our Senses
“How Compassion Works is a clear, carefully researched, accessible, and practical guide on how to develop and deepen love and compassion both within ourselves and over time as we mature, to all those we meet. We learn, step-by-step, how not only to open our hearts and wisdom mind but apply these powerful discoveries to the challenges of the world.”
—Tsoknyi Rinpoche, author of Why We Meditate
“How Compassion Works has the power to transform individual lives and the very fabric of our world. The practices in this book truly work, offering a profound exploration of compassion as both an innate tendency and a skill we can intentionally cultivate. John Makransky and Paul Condon illuminate how reconnecting with the essence of love at our core is essential for individual healing and societal change. With practices to deepen love, prevent burnout, reduce bias, and bridge divides, this book is an indispensable guide for fostering connection and meaningful transformation in these polarized times.”
—Kaira Jewel Lingo, Buddhist teacher, author of We Were Made for These Times and coauthor of Healing Our Way Home
“How Compassion Works offers a truly rich resource, especially from Tibetan Buddhism, to develop and enhance the defining human quality of compassion. I particularly admire how the authors—a Buddhist scholar and a psychologist—engage Buddhist compassion practices from the perspective of ‘attachment theory,’ a framework that has brought important insights into human behavior and relationships. This book brings a whole new dimension to our understanding of how Buddhist meditative practices, especially loving-kindness and compassion, can bring about lasting personal transformation.”
—Thupten Jinpa, principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama and author of A Fearless Heart
“As science begins to take seriously the possibility that the Buddhist view of consciousness as the ground of all being may actually be the true reality, this wonderfully timed book takes readers on a guided tour of two paths to compassion: one called ‘relative,’ which is understanding how we can orientate and train our evolved troublesome brains towards compassion, and the other called ‘ultimate’ is compassion that arises naturally from the non-dual ground of experience. This book from two internationally recognized scholars and practitioners is a delight of insights and wisdoms. It details the way the two paths can be engaged as complementary and mutually empowering. It points the way to the nature of benevolent love as residing in our awareness of non-separateness.”
—Paul Gilbert, founder of Compassion Focused Therapy, author of The Compassionate Mind and Mindful Compassion
“Our greatest task as a species is to cultivate the capacity to live from a place of compassion. In this wise and evidence-based guide, we are given the tools to nurture our inner well-being while offering healing and love to the world around us. Practical, profound, and deeply timely, this book has the power to uplift and serve the hearts and spirits of countless beings.”
—Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion
“A compelling synthesis of traditional Buddhist wisdom and contemporary scientific research, offering both practical guidance and profound insights into compassion’s vital role in our lives and its relevance to addressing the main challenges of the twenty-first century.”
—Matthieu Ricard, author of Altruism
“How Compassion Works offers a clear and carefully laid out practice path for anyone interested in deepening their experience and expression of compassion and love. This insightful offering is yet another important answer and resource supporting our evolution into a more care-centered collective.”
—Lama Rod Owens, author of The New Saints
“For anyone seeking to experience the wisdom of their own heart, Makransky and Condon offer an accessible guide to the boundless love and compassion within us all, regardless of our spiritual background or beliefs.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Life
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