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From Compassion to Self-Compassion: a Text-Historical Perspective

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Abstract

Stand-alone self-compassion or mindful self-compassion, presented independently from the cultivation of other-oriented compassion, has recently emerged as a specific field of secular training and research. Its purported Buddhist background has so far received limited attention in academic scholarship. This article surveys Buddhist precedents—or lack thereof—to the contemporary emergence of this notion. In view of the yet to be established presence of an altruistic component as a psychological corollary of self-compassion, an analysis of the Buddhist sources may offer insights relevant for facilitating future research on the self-other relationship in self-kindness (or self-benevolence) and self-compassion constructs and on altruistic aspects as correlates of self-compassion.

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Abbreviations

Abhidh-k:

Abhidharmakośabhāṣya

AN:

Aṅguttara-nikāya

D:

Derge edition (Tōhoku)

MĀ:

Madhyama-āgama

P:

Peking edition (Ōtani)

SN:

Saṃyutta-nikāya

Ud:

Udāna

Vism:

Visuddhimagga

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, 149 Lockwood Road, Barre, MA, 01005, USA

    Bhikkhu Anālayo

  2. Department of Buddhist Studies, Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, 700 Fagu Road, Jinshan District, New Taipei City, 20842, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā

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  1. Bhikkhu Anālayo
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  2. Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā
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Anālayo, B., Dhammadinnā, B. From Compassion to Self-Compassion: a Text-Historical Perspective. Mindfulness 12, 1350–1360 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01575-4

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