Compassion is a feeling deep within ourselves, a "quivering of the heart," when we find ourselves affected by the suffering of others. Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad are the most well known exemplars of compassion, which is the central ethical virtue in the religions which sprang from their teachings. It is also a core value for other great religions of the world.

Compassion is more than a feeling. Compassion is a spiritual practice, and you can get better at it over time. The world's religious and spiritual traditions offer us specific ways to do this. This e-course will teach you how you can be a compassionate, caring presence to those suffering in your community and the wider world and even to yourself. It will give you antidotes to attitudes that hinder compassion — all those "isms" like racism, sexism, ageism, classism, and nationalism.

This is a six-part e-course, and it is truly a "multifaith guide" to this spiritual practice. Our six presenters are each deeply rooted in their respective religions; they are highly regarded as knowledgeable and caring spiritual leaders. Each of them will cover two sessions of the course, showing how compassion is a core value in their tradition and providing practices for you to incorporate into your life. We are honored to have teachings by:

Week 1: Frank Rogers for Christianity. Frank is the Muriel Bernice Roberts Professor of Spiritual Formation and Narrative Pedagogy and the co-director of the Center for Engaged Compassion at the Claremont School of Theology.

Week 2: Sally Taylor for Buddhism. Sally is a contemplative guide and practitioner within the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism who offers spiritual direction that reaches across faith traditions.

Week 3: Ted Falcon for Judaism. Rabbi Ted is a Reform rabbi with a doctorate in clinical psychology, co-founder with his wife of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue and one of the Interfaith Amigos.

Week 4: Jamal Rahman for Islam and Sufism. Imam Jamal is a popular workshop leader, the co-founder and Muslim Sufi minister at Interfaith Community Sanctuary in Seattle and one of the Interfaith Amigos.

Week 5: Philip Goldberg for Hinduism. Phil is an Interfaith Minister, author, public speaker, and meditation teacher who co-hosts the podcast Spirit Matters and leads American Veda tours to North and South India.

Week 6: Thomas Moore for Spiritually Independent. Thomas is a psychotherapist, former monk, and bestselling author who writes and lectures in the fields of archetypal psychology, mythology, care of the soul, and creating a religion of your own.

In sessions that you schedule at your own pace, you will receive twelve emails in which our presenters reflect on compassion in their traditions and share practice suggestions with us. If you have been sorrowing for the world or for those near to you; if you are in a caring profession like nursing, teaching, counseling, or ministry; if you have a hard time being kind to yourself; or if your vision for a more compassionate world exceeds the reality of what you see expressed around you, then this e-course is for you.

4 CEHs for chaplains available.

To register for this e-course, click on the "Subscribe" button below.

Available On-Demand
(choose your own start date and frequency)

$49.95

SubscribeGive as Gift