Series
Buddhist Compassion: Rest, (non)action and responsibility
Nov 04, 2025
11:00 - 12:00 PM PST
Presenter: Anna Halafoff, Associate Professor, Deakin University, Australia.
Anna Halafoff is Associate Professor in Sociology of Religion and Religious Studies at Deakin University, Australia. Her research expertise includes spirituality, Buddhism, religious diversity, and interreligious relations. Her current major projects are on ‘Buddhism in Australia: Belonging, Wellbeing and Social Engagement’ and on ‘Spirituality in Australia: Wellness, Wellbeing and Risks’. Anna's most recent books are on Freedoms Faiths and Futures: Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity (Bloomsbury, 2021) and on Religious Diversity in Australia: Living Well with Difference (Bloomsbury, 2024). She is also a qualified yoga and meditation teacher, and has practiced both for over 35 years, mainly in Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
Buddhist Compassion: Rest, (non)action and responsibility
Compassion is a central Buddhist principle, extended to all lifeforms including oneself. This presentation will explore Buddhist understandings of compassion, with a particular emphasis on Dzogchen Buddhism. Compassion can be cultivated or arise spontaneously, given it is a quality of what is known as 'Buddha nature' or the underlying 'natural state'. We will explore Dzogchen's emphasis on rest, (non)action and compassionate responsibility – the wish to free all beings from suffering – and implications this may have for social and environmental justice, both on and off the meditation cushion.
