“Unless we change social structures and institutions, we cannot expect our society to change in any fundamental, enduring way.  So much suffering and unfairness is caused by structural conditions of our society.”

Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D,  A Fearless Heart

We join the world in mourning the killing of George Floyd and stand in solidarity with calls for justice for Mr. Floyd and the countless other Black Americans who have suffered, and who are suffering, because of systemic and structural racism.

At Compassion Institute, we promote the importance of compassion training for individuals and the need for compassionate practices to infuse our systems and structures. We believe that through cultivation of our innate compassion we can make compassion an animating principle for each of us as individuals and an organizing principle for societies.

Because compassion calls us to take action to relieve suffering, if we are to authentically and meaningfully make compassion the lens through which we navigate our lives, if we are to achieve a real and lasting cultural shift to end the “suffering and unfairness caused by structural conditions of our society,” then we must take concrete steps to dismantle systemic and structural racism, and the suffering and violence that it creates. Compassion practice demands this of us.

As an organization we have an obligation to learn more, to listen more, and to do more. As Compassion Institute’s Executive Director, I understand that we have an obligation and responsibility at the Institute to turn statements borne out of witnessing tragedy into action. Actions that we hope will contribute to both the dismantling of systemic and structural racism and to healing. We at Compassion Institute will strive our best to live up to the ideals required by our name.

Frank J. Martin
Executive Director

Compassion Institute, Inc.