Associate Professor
Department of Theology
Stokes Hall 419N
Telephone: 617-552-4603
Email: john.makransky@dos5.net
Alternative models of enlightenment
Compassion and devotion in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
Theoretical bases for Buddhist approaches to interreligoius learning
Issues in current adaptations of Buddhist meditation practices for modern applications in education, healthcare, and social service.
John Makransky is Associate Professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College, President of the international Society of Buddhist-Christian Studies, senior advisor and lecturer in Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s Centre for Buddhist Studies in Nepal, co-founder of the Foundation for Active Compassion and of Courage of Care (two socially engaged contemplative organizations), developer of the Sustainable Compassion Training (SCT) model, and author of the popular meditation manualAwakening through Love. Dr. Makransky’s academic writings have focused on connections between doctrine and practice in Asian Buddhism, on adapting Buddhist contemplative practices to meet contemporary needs, and on theoretical issues in interfaith learning. For the past fifteen years, he has taught ways to cultivate sustainable care and compassion, adapted from Buddhism in newly accessible ways, to school teachers, healthcare professionals, social workers, psychotherapists, those who work with prisoners, the hungry, and the dying. He has offered contemplative workshops at Kathmandu University, Harvard Divinity and Medical Schools, Brown University, Emory University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Virginia, Boston College, Catholic Charities, Mind and Life Institute, and many other institutions. He is the author of the books, Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India; Tibet; Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections by Contemporary Buddhist Scholars; and Awakening through Love: Unveiling your Deepest Goodness. Additionally, Makransky has published several books and many articles on Buddhist practices, their adaptation to secular contexts, and contemplative resources for service, social change, and inter-religious learning.