How Is Compassion Relevant Today? by Dr. Julia Stenzel

Dr. Julia Stenzel on Compassion: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Challenges.

In a recent interview with *Eastern Horizon* magazine, Dr. Julia Stenzel — Director of Studies and Associate Professor at Kathmandu University Centre for Buddhist Studies at Rangjung Yeshe Institute — reflects on compassion as a lived practice rather than a philosophical abstraction, drawing on nearly a decade spent in three consecutive three-year retreats in the Karma Kagyü tradition as well as her doctoral research on Mahāyāna Buddhist literature. Speaking with interviewer Benny Liow, Dr. Stenzel traces how formative encounters with the late Lama Gendun Rinpoche in France shaped her conviction that compassion is fundamentally a way of knowing and being in the world, one inseparable from wisdom and rooted in the recognition of interdependence. Engaging questions ranging from the relevance of Nālandā scholars like Śāntideva and Asaṅga to the role of compassion in contemporary governance and leadership, she argues persuasively that compassion is neither sentimentality nor weakness, but a trainable human capacity with measurable benefits for individuals, institutions, and societies — accessible to people of any faith or none. The interview concludes with practical advice for beginners and a warm tribute to the compassion-centered academic culture at RYI in Kathmandu.

The interview appears in the latest print issue of Eastern Horizon magazine. The issue is not yet available on the website; however, access is available via the Eastern Horizon Digital Subscription (YBAM): https://share.google/UGKNYVhnIA0A49Ney