Ethan Nichtern is the author of One City: A Declaration of Interdependence (2007), a Buddhist political treatise about, among other things, youth and political activism in a post 9-11 world. He is the founder of the Interdependence Project in New York City.

Stephen C. Berkwitz wrote “History and Gratitude in Theravada Buddhism,” which appeared in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. He heads the department of religious studies at Missouri State University in Springfield.

Sharon Salzberg has taught insight meditation worldwide for more than 30 years. She is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Mass. Her many books include The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life With Love & Compassion and Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness.

Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh has taught and written extensively on the Buddhist understanding of love. His books on the subject include True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart and Teachings on Love. Nhat Hanh lives in Plum Village in France , but teaches around the world. Read an excerpt from True Love at Beliefnet.com. Nhat Hanh’s organization in the U.S. is […]

Lorne Ladner is a clinical psychologist, practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and author of The Lost Art of Compassion: Discovering the Practice of Happiness in the Meeting of Buddhism and Psychology. He teaches at the Guhyasamaja Center in the Washington, D.C., area. He can comment on the significance of gratitude from a psychological and Buddhist perspective.

John Makransky is associate professor of Buddhism and comparative theology at Boston College, president of the International Society of Buddhist-Christian Studies, senior adviser 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 […]

Victor Chan co-founded the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education in Toronto and is the author of numerous books about the Dalai Lama and Tibet. Chan is working on a memoir chronicling his five-decade friendship with the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education in Canada supports “education of the heart” and teachings on kindness, compassion and interconnectedness through research, education and dialogue.

The Shamatha Project is a research project that is attempting to measure the human potential for happiness by studying the long-term benefits of meditative practice. It is a collaboration between neuroscientists and psychologists at the University of California and B. Alan Wallace, a Tibetan Buddhist monk who is founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness […]