Meditation on fear of compassion
Venerable Sangye Khadro 
Cultivating the Four Immeasurables 
Aug 27, 2023 A guided meditation led at Sravasti Abbey’s monthly Sharing the Dharma Day.
An explanation of and meditation on fear of compassion – what it is, why it happens, and how to bring wisdom to bear on it – drawing from Chapter 61, “Fear of Compassion,” from the book, An Open-Hearted Life.
- When others have fear of compassion it makes it difficult for us to help them
- Setting an altruistic motivation for the session
- Breathing meditation for five minutes
- Analytic meditation
- Recall a time when you tried to show compassion but the other person’s response was fear
- Reflect on your expectations and how you felt
- Reflect on why the other person may have had fear of compassion or kindness
- Reflect on how you can have patience and compassion in such situations
- Dedication
Meditation on fear of compassion (download)
The rest of the Sharing the Dharma Day talk can be found here.
Venerable Sangye Khadro
California-born, Venerable Sangye Khadro ordained as a Buddhist nun at Kopan Monastery in 1974 and is a longtime friend and colleague of Abbey founder Venerable Thubten Chodron. She took bhikshuni (full) ordination in 1988. While studying at Nalanda Monastery in France in the 1980s, she helped to start the Dorje Pamo Nunnery, along with Venerable Chodron. Venerable Sangye Khadro has studied with many Buddhist masters including Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, and Khensur Jampa Tegchok. At her teachers’ request, she began teaching in 1980 and has since taught in countries around the world, occasionally taking time off for personal retreats. She served as resident teacher in Buddha House, Australia, Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore, and the FPMT centre in Denmark. From 2008-2015, she followed the Masters Program at the Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy. Venerable has authored a number books found here, including the best-selling How to Meditate. She has taught at Sravasti Abbey since 2017 and is now a full-time resident.
