A Teaching from Lama Rod Owens — Compassion and Spaciousness: Antidotes to Contraction and Violence

by Nalanda Institute with an excerpt from Lama Rod Owens

A Teaching from Lama Rod Owens

The new edition of Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy: Accelerating Personal and Social Transformation offers mental health professionals of all disciplines and orientations the most comprehensive and rigorous introduction to the art of integrating contemplative psychology, ethics and practices, including mindfulness, compassion and embodiment techniques. New chapters within this edition discuss how contemplative work can affect psychosocial change at the personal, interpersonal, and collective levels to address racial, gender and other forms of systemic oppression. As a glimpse into how contemplative work can support these individual and collective transformations, below is an excerpt from one of the chapters from this new edition, written by guest contributor, Lama Rod Owens.

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by Fiona Brandon

Lama Rod Owens led the 2021 Spring retreat for the San Francisco Contemplative Psychotherapy Program (CPP). The cohort had the honor of learning from Lama Rod over the course of a weekend. The San Francisco CPP opened up the retreat to the public for Lama Rod’s book talk, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger.

We are delighted to share this book talk with you! Join in to hear Lama Rod explore how to practice the healing arts of Buddhist psychology during this time of social, racial, and political upheaval. You will get a taste of sitting with Lama Rod and hear the answers to questions including his experience of relating to anger, confronting discrimination in Buddhist communities, and accessing joy and happiness.

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Presented by Nalanda Institute with an excerpt by Lama Rod Owens

Lama-Rod-Owens-Love-and-Rage

Lama Rod Owens, dharma teacher, meditation and mindfulness instructor (and recent visiting faculty in our Contemplative Psychotherapy Program!) explores with grace and candor the power and uses of anger. In his just-released book, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger he shares his personal journey with rage—how, at a young age, he internalized the belief that his anger was dangerous.

In a recent press release, Lama Rod has shared an adapted excerpt entitled “Blackness and Anger” from his book which we would like to share with you. Read on….


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by Helen Park

On an unseasonably warm November night, current students and alumni of the Contemplative Psychotherapy Program (CPP) in New York City gathered to receive teachings from Lama Rod Owens. Lama Rod is one of the most exciting and inspiring Dharma teachers of our time, having received teaching authorization by the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism after completing a three-year silent retreat, and drawing upon his own very personal life experiences as a Black, queer man raised in the South. He held space with us for close to three hours, inviting us to be in contemplative presence together that was intimate, playful, ‘triggering in a positive way,’ and deeply restorative.

Lama Rod Owens

Lama Rod Owens teaching about skillful ways to work with compassion and anger for the Contemplative Psychotherapy Program in New York City.

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