What it Takes to Manifest Compassion: A Talk with the Sabal Foundation

·42 min·4 clips

Compassion is not a noun but a verb, a decision to act that transforms both the helper and the helped.

The episode begins with host Chris Berlin, a faculty member and Buddhist student counselor at Harvard Divinity School, chanting the Medicine Buddha mantra to set a tone of healing and peace. He introduces the event, which centers on a film by the Sabal Foundation about the work of Drs. Ashok and Bibek Banskota in Nepal. Berlin explains his motivation for screening the film at HDS and invites students to explore international field placements with the foundation. Aileen Moncure, executive director of Sabal Foundation, is introduced as a guest; she has 27 years of experience supporting grassroots leaders in South and Southeast Asia. Moncure shares stories of her work, such as helping undocumented migrants in Thailand obtain work permits, and emphasizes listening to local contexts. She then provides background on Dr. Ashok Banskota, who returned to Nepal after medical training in the U.S. to live in a one-room hut and treat children with disabilities. Moncure reframes compassion as a verb, highlighting Banskota's decision to start with one child. A film excerpt follows, featuring voices from HRDC hospital, including Dr. Banskota and his son Bibek, who describe the mobile clinic network and how treating disability empowers children to overcome poverty, lack of education, and gender bias. The film shows a girl who regained the ability to walk and attend school. Dr. Santosh Rao, a postdoctoral fellow in Buddhist ministry at HDS, responds to the film, sharing statistics on disability in India: 4-8% of children are disabled, totaling over 90 million, with 70% from marginalized communities like Dalits and tribes. Rao discusses social stigmas, citing examples from the COVID-19 pandemic in India, and argues for 'great compassion' (maha-karuna) as a radical action that transcends religious and cultural boundaries. He references Buddhist texts, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's views on education, and praises HRDC's work for straightening not just bones but human beings. The episode concludes with Rao emphasizing compassion as a human quality that sanctifies existence and a call to create a better world.

As heard by us

A Buddhist-minded reflection on compassion as practice, from spiritual aspiration to medical care and service.

Compassion is treated less as a feeling than as a discipline in motion. The episode opens with a Medicine Buddha mantra, then moves through Harvard Divinity School, Buddhist reflection, and a film centered on care for children in Nepal.

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Why you'd press play

You will hear a Medicine Buddha mantra open into a Harvard Divinity School gathering on compassion, care, and children walking for the first time.

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