John Makransky, PhD is an associate professor of Buddhism and comparative theology at Boston College, senior advisor and lecturer in Kathmandu University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies in Nepal, developer of the Sustainable Compassion Training (SCT) model, co-founder of the Courage of Care Coalition and Foundation for Active Compassion (two socially engaged contemplative organizations), and author of the popular meditation manual Awakening through Love.
Dr. Makransky’s academic writings have focused on connections between doctrine and practice in Asian Buddhism, on adapting Buddhist contemplative practices to meet contemporary needs, and on theoretical issues in interfaith learning. For the past fifteen years, he has taught ways to cultivate sustainable care and compassion, adapted from Buddhism in newly accessible ways, to educators, health care professionals, social workers, mental health providers, and those who work with prisoners, the hungry, and the dying. He has offered contemplative workshops at Harvard Divinity and Medical Schools, Brown University, Emory University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Virginia, Boston College Mind and Life Institute, and many other institutions. He has published several books and many articles on Buddhist practices, their adaptation to secular contexts, and contemplative resources for service, social change, and inter-religious learning.