Contemplative Psychotherapy Program
The Nalanda Institute Contemplative Psychotherapy Program (CPP) was developed in 2011. Its mission is to teach psychotherapists and caregivers from all backgrounds the foundations of contemplative science, psychology, ethics and practice, and to support them to integrate these traditional insights and methods with the latest developments in neuroscience, clinical practice, and social justice. The CPP is a three-year program that begins with a year of training in mindfulness-based psychotherapy, goes on to a second year training in compassion-based psychotherapy, and culminates in a final year of embodied contemplative psychotherapy and psychosocial change, all informed by the comprehensive Nalanda tradition faithfully preserved in Tibet.
Over the years, we have gathered a growing, international community of faculty, students, and graduates. This volume features many of our distinguished faculty, and very closely reflects the comprehensive curriculum of the CPP. By offering this book, we hope to open the mandala of this rare curriculum, faculty, and community to the growing network of like-minded caregivers the world over who may find them edifying and helpful.
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Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science
Mission/Vision
Nalanda Institute is a diverse contemplative learning community of people devoted to transforming their lives, supporting others in changing themselves, and working together to better care for the world we share. We recognize that a fundamental shift is needed in the way we live, from a culture of scarcity and domination to one of abundance, deep equity and caring community. The Institute’s programs facilitate this transformation in the personal, interpersonal, institutional and communal domains.
Our mission is to support people from all walks of life to cultivate an open mind, warm heart and altruistic way of being by infusing timeless contemplative science and practice into contemporary life.
Our vision is to be a vital partner in a global movement of personal and collective liberation through transformational programs, exemplary faculty, compassionate community, and a culture of social engagement.
What We Do
Nalanda Institute offers a variety of short and long courses designed to improve the key ingredients of well-being: Aware Mind, Engaged Heart, Energized Body and Purposeful Life.
- Aware Mind. Current neuroscience confirms that our brains and genomes are far more plastic (and powerfully shaped by the mind) than we believed. Through mindfulness meditation, we learn to control our attention and expand our awareness to overcome bias and cultivate greater clarity, flexibility and optimism.
- Engaged Heart. Positive psychology confirms that empathy, love and compassion are traits that can be developed and strengthened with practice. Compassion-based meditation helps foster the capacity to more fully accept and care for ourselves and others while promoting a greater sense of social connection, well-being and belonging.
- Energized Body. Research on the autonomic nervous system shows that stress and trauma strain our body’s health and well-being. Embodied practices can train the autonomic system to calm stress-reactivity, balance positive energy, and sustain well-being.
- Purposeful Life. By engaging mind, heart and body in these practices we are empowered to make wiser choices and build healthy habits which opens a whole new way of being and living—one that is more equitable, joyful, and socially engaged.
Background
The Institute was founded in 2007 and grew out of research in contemplative science conducted by our founder, Joe Loizzo, at Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medical College from 1996 until its inception. It was inspired by the ancient University of Nalanda, the world’s first university, which flourished in North India from the fifth to the thirteenth centuries, and influenced all Asia. It offers a paradigm of a human-centered culture of transformational learning that puts contemplative science, practice and ethics at the heart of learning in the physical and social sciences, humanities and the arts, with the aim of fostering a way of life that is fully embodied, compassionate, equitable and sustainable.
We welcome all people to come learn and change with us.
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