Abstract
Compassion science has been shaped and guided by Mahāyāna Buddhist conceptions of compassion, including the potential for compassion to be cultivated through contemplative practices and training. Despite these influences, important Buddhist perspectives and ideas about compassion are still underrepresented in the scientific literature. This Special Issue focuses on initiating a body of literature on skillful means, a foundational idea from Mahāyāna Buddhism pertaining to the enactment of compassion joined with wisdom. Arising from a seminal Think Tank centered around compassion and skillful means, scholars and trainers representing diverse perspectives were invited to contribute to a Special Issue introducing a variety of perspectives, insights, and approaches that may help to advance contemporary understanding, research, and training of compassion. This includes papers that examine skillful means within Buddhism and Christianity, empirical studies that draw on skillful means to motivate or frame tractable questions, theoretical papers that reflect on skillful means in relation to other topics in psychological science, and how common compassion practices may themselves serve as skillful means. Considered together, we believe the variety evident throughout this Special Issue highlights the potential of skillful means to serve as a broad and flexible concept that can inspire many new ideas and directions for the field.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anālayo, B. (2023). Skill in means and mindfulness. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01795-2
Andreu, C. I., Navarrete, J., Roca, P., Baños, R. M., & Cebolla, A. (2022). Effects of quality practice on a Compassion Cultivation Training: Somatic and imagery levels of analysis. Mindfulness, 13(12), 3070–3079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-02013-3
Berry, D. R., Rodriguez, K., Tasulis, G., & Behler, A. M. C. (2023). Mindful attention as a skillful means toward intergroup prosociality. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01926-3
Cha, J. E., Serlachius, A. S., Kirby, J. N., & Consedine, N. S. (2023). What do (and don’t) we know about self-compassion? Trends and issues in theory, mechanisms, and outcomes. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02222-4
Chodron, B. T. (2023). Compassion manifesting in skillful means. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-02007-1
Condon, P., & Makransky, J. (2023). Compassion and skillful means: Cultural adaptation, psychological science, and creative responsiveness. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01866-y
Davidson, R. J., & Harrington, A. (Eds.). (2002). Visions of compassion: Western scientists and Tibetan Buddhists examine human nature. Oxford University Press.
Dreitcer, A. (2023). Skillful means in Christian-tradition compassion formation. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01877-9
Dunne, J. D., & Manheim, J. (2023). Compassion, self-compassion, and skill in means: A Mahāyāna Perspective. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01864-0
Gilbert, P., & Van Gordon, W. (2023). Compassion as a skill: A comparison of contemplative and evolution-based approaches. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02173-w
Han, A., & Kim, T. H. (2023). Effects of self-compassion interventions on reducing depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 14(7), 1553–1581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02148-x
Hsu, F. (2021). American cultural baggage: The racialized secularization of mindfulness in schools. In R. Payne (Ed.), Secularizing Buddhism: A new perspective on a dynamic tradition (pp. 79–94). Shambhala Publications.
Jennings, P. A., & Min, H. H. (2023). Transforming empathy-based stress to compassion: Skillful means to preventing teacher burnout. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02115-6
Kang, Y., Cakar, M. E., Shumaker, K., O’Donnell, M. B., & Falk, E. B. (2023). Experience similarity, mindful awareness, and accurate interpersonal understanding. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01859-x
King, S. B. (2023). Mindfulness, compassion and skillful means in engaged Buddhism. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01847-1
Lavelle, B. D. (2017). Compassion in context: Tracing the Buddhist roots of secular, compassion-based contemplative programs. In E. M. Seppala, E. Simon-Thomas, S. L. Brown, M. C. Worline, C. D. Cameron, & J. R. Doty (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science (pp. 17–25). Oxford University Press.
Marx, R. (2023). Kindness and compassion practice. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01839-1
Mascaro, J. S., Palmer, P. K., Willson, M., Ash, M. J., Florian, M. P., Srivastava, M., Sharma, A., Jarrell, B., Walker, E. R., Kaplan, D. M., Palitsky, R., Cole, S. P., Grant, G. H., & Raison, R. L. (2023). The language of compassion: Hospital chaplains’ compassion capacity reduces patient depression via other-oriented, inclusive language. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01907-6
Mey, L. K., Wenzel, M., Morello, K., Rowland, Z., Kubiak, T., & Tüscher, O. (2023). Be kind to yourself: The implications of momentary self-compassion for affective dynamics and well-being in daily life. Mindfulness, 14(3), 622–636. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-02050-y
Potvin, A. S., Penuel, W. R., Dimidjian, S., & Jinpa, T. (2023). Cultivating skillful means of care in schools through compassion practice and individual and joint inquiry. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01867-x
Quaglia, J. T. (2023). One compassion, many means: A big two analysis of compassionate behavior. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01895-7
Quaglia, J. T., Soisson, A., & Simmer-Brown, J. (2021). Compassion for self versus other: A critical review of compassion training research. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(5), 675–690. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1805502
Reilly, E. B., & Stuyvenberg, C. L. (2023). A meta-analysis of loving-kindness meditations on self-compassion. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01972-x
Simmer-Brown, J. (2023). Activity of the armless mother: Applications of compassion and skillful means from Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01868-w
Wilson-Mendenhall, C. D., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2023). Visualizing compassion: Episodic simulation as contemplative practice. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01842-6
Yong, A. G. (2023). Skillful means in interreligious compassion education. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02197-2
Zheng, D., Berry, D. R., & Brown, K. W. (2023). Effects of brief mindfulness meditation and compassion meditation on parochial empathy and prosocial behavior toward ethnic out-group members. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02100-z
Acknowledgements
We wish to express our profound thanks to the numerous scholars and contributors of our Think Tank, renamed a “Heart Tank,” on compassion and skillful means in April 2020, which provided valuable insights and direction for this Special Issue.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Quaglia, J.T., Simmer-Brown, J. Compassion and Skillful Means: Diverse Views, Novel Insights, and Extended Applications for Compassion Science and Training. Mindfulness 14, 2293–2298 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02223-3
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02223-3