Presence and Compassion in a Violent World

Tara Brach

Tara, Dharma, Selfhelp, Talks, Spiritual, Buddhist, Insight, Audio, Tarabrach, Mindfulness, Rain, Psychology, Compassion, Vipassana, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Meditation, Guided, Brach, Buddhism, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 10.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As our societies unravel in fear and reactivity, we are called to live from our most awake and wise heart. This talk and meditation was first offered to Satyam, a community of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals devoted to creating a future of justice, safety, freedom, and dignity for all. It invites us to move beyond the conditioning of “bad-othering,” and to cultivate clarity, compassion, and the capacity to respond in ways that seed healing.

In this talk, Tara explores:

how the trance of “bad othering” fuels division and how compassion can free us from blame.
the practice of the U-turn—turning inward with kindness to transform anger, fear, and grief into care.
the balance of a “strong back and soft front,” cultivating courage and tenderness in times of violence.
how seeing the suffering beneath harmful actions allows us to meet others with wise compassion.
how presence, RAIN practice, and shared belonging can guide us toward healing and peace.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Greetings. We offer these podcasts freely and your support really makes a difference.
0:06.0	To make a donation, please visit tarabrock.com. Namaste, welcome, friends.
0:30.6	I know many of you share my horror and my heartbreak over the masturbation in Gaza and the sheer scale of devastation,
0:41.7	you know, the violent occupation of the West Bank, the ongoing captivity of hostages.
0:47.7	And it's an intrinsic part of the path of compassion to be touched, to care, to respond. So, over the last few years,
0:57.5	I've been asked by both Israeli and Palestinian groups to explore with them how mindfulness
1:03.6	and compassion practices can help them hold and respond to the magnitude of being so close
1:10.3	into this suffering.
1:12.7	And last month I was invited to be a guest by David Ganadi, who's the co-founder of
1:19.3	a group named Satyam, to be a guest speaker.
1:22.5	He and others have been on a hunger strike for Gaza for over 40 days. Today, you'll hear briefly from David,
1:30.8	a clip taken from his 41st day of fasting about Satyam and the urgency of these times. And then
1:39.4	I'll be sharing with you the talk that I shared with them and the questions that I received
1:45.1	a few of them from the participants.
1:48.2	By way of background, Satyam is a Palestinian initiative that's held by Palestinians, Israelis,
1:55.2	and internationals.
1:57.8	And it's a new home still in its growth and it's established to provide a safe, sane
2:03.9	place for peace activists to rest and for the people of the land to come together and create change.
2:10.1	So it's described as a refuge for sanity, a prayer for life, a space to co-create the world
2:17.1	that we envision.
2:18.3	So here is a very brief clip.
2:21.3	That's 90 seconds of David speaking and he's accompanied by his co-founder, My Shaheen.
	...

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