Elaine Yuen was Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Master of Divinity Program at Naropa University, a Buddhist based university in Boulder, Colorado founded by Tibetan teacher Chogyam Trungpa. She continues to present programs exploring the interfaces between Buddhism, meditation, creativity, contemplative care-giving, and Buddhist chaplaincy.
May 20, 2022
Prof. Yuen presented about Maitri Space Awareness, a practice evolved from the Tibetan yoga tradition by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Developed in the early 1970s, Maitri Space Awareness practice is built around the mandala of the five buddha families, illustrating how the ordinary world of mind and emotions is full of wakefulness as well as confusion. The word Maitri is a Sanskrit word that translates as “loving kindness” or “unlimited friendliness toward self and others”. The practice of Maitri Space Awareness is intended to evoke inherent compassion and offers the opportunity to be with experience from a ground of non-aggression. Maitri Space Awareness has been taught as workshops, and is also a core element of the MA Counseling degrees at Naropa University.
