John Makransky

John Makransky, PhD, has been a professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College, senior academic advisor for the Centre for Buddhist Studies of Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Nepal, president of the Society of Buddhist-Christian studies, Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, and Senior Editor for the Buddhism section of the St. Andrews Encyclopedia of Theology. John's scholarly writings focus on connections between devotion, compassion, and wisdom in Buddhism, on adapting Buddhist practices to meet contemporary minds, and on theoretical issues in interfaith learning. In 2000, John was ordained as a Lama in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism--a teacher of innate love and wisdom practices. For the past twenty-five years, John has taught meditations of innate compassion and wisdom adapted from Tibetan Buddhism for modern Buddhists, those in other spiritual traditions, and for people in caring roles and professions. In consultation with participants from those settings, John developed the Sustainable Compassion Training model of contemplative practice (SCT) to help Western Buddhists, people of diverse faiths, and those in caring roles generate a more sustaining and unconditional power of compassion and awareness to support their lives and work.