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Abstract

This book describes many different forms of compassion practice from various perspectives such as experiences in schools, in psychotherapy, coaching, or in the end-of-life care. Theoretical core concepts from a psychological, a Buddhist, or an evolutionary point of view are discussed. Furthermore, many of the newest scientific findings and secular training programs are presented in this volume. The starting point for the book was the workshop “How to train Compassion” which took place in July 2011 at the studio of world-renowned artist Olafur Eliasson in Berlin and was organized by the Department of Social Neuroscience of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig under the supervision of Prof. Tania Singer. Scientists, psychotherapists, Buddhist monks, and artists came together to discuss compassion training and its social and political relevance in today’s world. In the end, there was a mutual agreement among all participants about the desire to make this collective knowledge available to the public. The eBook not only contains chapters written by the workshop participants but also many videos of the authors, sound collages by Nathalie Singer, and artistic photos by Olafur Eliasson.