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Tonglen, which means “sending and taking” in Tibetan, is a thousand-year-old compassion practice that gently and directly allows us to meet ourselves and others in both our pain and our well-being. Working simply with the breath, we awaken our tenderness as well as our strength, and connect with our capacity to extend loving care to those close and far. Join us for an introduction and guided practice.
This guided practice is part of a three-part series taught by Charlotte Rotterdam during the Contemplation by Design Summit. You are welocme to attend one or all three sessions. The other sessions include a lecture titled Compassionate Presence: Contemplative Skills to Engage a Complex World on October 21st and an interactive workshop Transforming Obstacles into Wisdom: A Compassion Practice on October 22nd.
Charlotte Rotterdam, MTS, is a contemplative educator, meditation instructor, and Buddhist teacher. She directs Naropa University’s Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education (CACE) and has been faculty in the Core College, World Wisdom Traditions, and Graduate School of Psychology since 2002. Charlotte co-developed and teaches Naropa’s Mindful Compassion Training, a secular program to cultivate compassion in personal and professional contexts. The Training has been offered widely online and in-person; to teachers in the Great Falls, Montana School District during Covid; and most recently to employees of the City of Boulder. She served as a compassion consultant and meditation instructor for the University of Colorado-Boulder Institute of Behavioral Sciences and the Crown Wellness Institute’s Compassion and Dignity Training for educators. A Senior Teacher (Dorje Lopön) and lineage holder at Tara Mandala Buddhist Retreat Center, founded by Lama Tsultrim Allione, Charlotte teaches meditation and other Buddhist practices worldwide. She received a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Charlotte is mother of two boys. She has published essays in Mandala, Lion’s Roar, Buddhadharma and Fearless Nest, an anthology. Co-authored with her husband, her book, Skymind: The Radical Path of Open Awareness, reflects on Buddhist nature of mind teachings from the great 11th century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön and their application in modern life (forthcoming from Shambhala Publications, 2026). www.naropa.edu/cace www.skymind.us
This session is part of the FREE Contemplation by Design Summit, Oct. 15-27, 2025.
The full summit schedule is posted at: https://med.stanford.edu/contemplation/summit.html.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stanford-contemplation-by-design-summit-2025-online-oct-15-27-registration-1520413249959