John Makransky is an American professor of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and

comparative theology Comparative theology is a relatively new discipline within theology, which holds together "comparative" and "theology" in creative tension. It represents a particular type of theological practice committed to deep interreligious learning ("comparati ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, and a

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

teacher within the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Career

Makransky practices the meditations of compassion and wisdom from Tibetan traditions and has introduced new ways of bringing these powerful contemplative methods into the secular world of social service and social justice by making them newly accessible to people of all backgrounds and faiths. He has also helped Western Buddhists deepen their contemplative experience of presence and loving compassion in the context of socially engaged practice Makransky has studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism since 1978 under the guidance of Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug teachers. In 2000 he was installed as a lama in the Tibetan lineage of his first root teacher, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, by

Lama Surya Das Surya Das (born Jeffrey Miller in 1950) is an American lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist, author of many popular works on Buddhism, meditation teacher and spokesperson for Buddhism in the West. ...

. He met his second root teacher,

Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche (Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, Wyl. chos kyi nyi ma rin po che or ne, छोकी निमा रिम्पोचे) (b. 1951) is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and meditat ...

in 2002, and now serves as a senior faculty advisor and lecturer for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche's Centre for Buddhist Studies in Bodhanath, Nepal (affiliated with Kathmandu University and Rangjung Yeshe Institute). Makransky is the guiding meditation teacher of the Foundation for Active Compassion, which provides meditation workshops and retreats not only in Buddhist contemplative settings but also in secular settings for social justice activists, social workers, counselors, teachers, therapists, and health care and other helping professionals. These workshops are sponsored by diverse organizations, such as Boston College's Graduate Schools of Social Work and of Theology and Ministry, the

American Association of Pastoral Counselors The American Association of Pastoral Counselors was a professional organization of pastoral counselors from a variety of religious and psychological traditions. In 2019, AAPC consolidated with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) ...

, Contemplative Mind in Society, the Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy, and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. He recently published a book of contemplative practices and teachings to empower people in relationships, work, service and social action entitled ''Awakening Through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness'' (Wisdom Publications, 2007). Makransky is also author of ''Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet'', coeditor of ''Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections by Contemporary Buddhist Scholars'', and the author of many articles and essays. Within the American Academy of Religion (AAR), he is co-chair of the Buddhist Theological Reflection Group and a faculty instructor for the AAR's Summer Seminars on Religious Pluralism and Comparative Theology. In addition, he is senior faculty advisor and lecturer for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche's Centre for Buddhist Studies in Nepal, affiliated with Kathmandu University and Rangjung Yeshe Institute. He lives outside of Boston with his wife and two sons.

Academic institutions and groups

* Boston College Department of Theology * Boston College Comparative Theology Program * Center for Buddhist Studies in Nepal * Society for Comparative Theology * European Network of Buddhist-Christian Studies * American Academy of Religion / Buddhist Constructive Reflection Group * Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies * International Association of Buddhist Studies

Bibliography

* John Makransky: (2007) ''Awakening Through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness'' (Wisdom Publications, ) * John J. Makransky: (August 1997)
Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet
', Publisher: State University of New York Press, (10), (13)

References

External links

Quotes

Personal website

Foundation for Active Compassion website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makransky, John Living people Boston College faculty Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teachers Tibetan Buddhists from the United States Year of birth missing (living people)