In an era of artificial intelligence, digital distraction, and social disconnection, cultivating the inner capacities to live wisely, compassionately, and relationally has never been more urgent. Drawing from Buddhist contemplative traditions and engaged practice, this talk explores how mindfulness, loving-kindness, and community practice can help us reclaim embodied presence, relational intelligence, and ethical discernment. Participants will consider how contemplative practice can support connection, empathy, and collaboration while helping us navigate trauma, polarization, and the pressures of the attention economy. The talk invites reflection on what it means to “come home to ourselves” and cultivate the capacities within each of us to remain deeply present, compassionate, and connected in a rapidly changing technological world.

This keynote is part one of a three-part series with Kaira Jewel Lingo in the Contemplation By Design Summit.

To extend the knowledge and skills you develop during this keynote lecture, please consider attending Kaira Jewel Lingo's interactive workshop titled Educating for Interbeing: Imagination, Embodiment, and the Education of Compassion on Thurs. Oct.15 at 11:30am, and her iPause Guided practice titled Interbeing Meditation: Touching Our Source and Growing Our Connection on Fri.Oct. 16 at 7:30am.  

You are welcome to join one or all three of Kaira's Summit sessions.

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Zen lineage and a Vipassana teacher, and a member of the Plum Village North American Dharma Teachers Council of Elders. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, she now offers spiritual mentoring and leads meditation courses and retreats, focusing on racial and earth justice and engaged spirituality. She is the author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption and co-author of Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation. A Stanford alumna, she holds a BA and MA in Anthropology and Social Sciences, and serves as faculty in the Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy training and as a guiding teacher with One Earth Sangha. 

This session is part of the FREE Contemplation by Design Summit, Oct. 14-25, 2026.

The full summit schedule for this year will be posted at: https://med.stanford.edu/contemplation/summit.html.