Hello, Everyone!
We are delighted to introduce MSC Japan and our new website! (https://www.mscjapan.org/)
We are delighted to introduce MSC Japan and our new website! (https://www.mscjapan.org/)
MSC in Japan is still in its beginning stages. Japan has had a long history and strong tradition of Buddhism, which promotes the virtue of compassion. However, the emphasis is on having compassion for others rather than for ourselves. For example, the lack of self-compassion is reflected in high suicide rates in Japan.
Self-Compassion is becoming popular as part of the mindfulness boom in Japan but there is still a lack of information and knowledge about Self-Compassion and how it can be cultivated. To address this situation nine MSC teachers came together to start MSC Japan (MSCJ), a community intent to share information about MSC programs in Japanese.
Who Are We?
In 2015 a few Japanese MSC teachers began introducing the work of mindfulness and self-compassion to the Japanese community. In November of 2018 Chris Germer led a five-day MSC Intensive in the ancient capital of Kyoto. By January of 2020 there were ten Japanese MSC teachers, a year later the number continues to grow. Our members consist of professionals from diverse fields including clinical psychology, business, social work and academia.
Our Website
Our website launched in the beginning of June 2021. This new website reflects our development and growth as a community. We continue the process of dialog, of exploring our voice as MSC teachers, of finding our place as a group and community. The result of our deliberations is reflected in the definition of who we are on the website:
MSC Japan is a community of voluntary MSC teachers collaborating to introduce Mindfulness and Self-Compassion to the Japanese community through personal and group practices, to contribute to the development of a compassionate society.
We are grateful to Kristin Neff and Chris Germer for providing their personal video message for our website. Their message emphasizes the efficacy of mindfulness and self-compassion, motivating us to bring authentic MSC practice into our daily life.
The journey of MSC Japan has just begun and we do not know where the road will lead us. We know that we want to be “slow learners”, confirming our compassionate presence and gratitude to worldwide MSC family members for their past and future support.
