Compassionate Integrity Training CIT-Faciltator-Guide-2.1-Final | Page 100

C OMPASSIONATE I NTEGRITY T RAINING
A S ECULAR E THICS A PPROACH TO C ULTIVATING P ERSONAL , S OCIAL AND E NVIRONMENTAL F LOURISHING
B RIEF N AIKAN *
Goal: To give participants a taste of the Naikan practice and a sense of what they have received from others
physically and emotionally.
Materials: Paper, writing instrument
Time: 10 to 15 Minutes
Instructions:
1.
Explain what Naikan is: “Naikan is a secularized contemplative practice that originated in Japan. It
is practiced by asking oneself three questions from the perspective of another person in your life.
One generally starts with his or her primary caregiver, such as one’s mother. The three Naikan
questions are, ‘What have I received from this person?’ ‘What have I given back to this person?’ and
‘What trouble have I caused this person?’ In formal Naikan, one would spend one week straight
asking these questions and going through one’s life stage by stage and through one’s significant
others. Today, we are going to do just a taste of Naikan.”
2.
Ask each participant to choose someone who raised them or helped to raise them to serve as the
basis for their Naikan practice. Have the three Naikan questions written on the board or on a slide
where everyone can see them.
3.
Explain, “ We’re going to now spend a few minutes in silence reflecting on the Naikan questions
and journaling about them. We’ll spend three to four minutes on each question. Choose an
appropriate age range of about 3 to 5 years for the caregiver you chose, such as when you were
between the ages of 0 and 5, or between the ages of 5 and 10. Now let’s begin by reflecting on the
first question, “What did I receive from this person during those years? We’ll reflect in silence, and
feel free to write down anything you recollect.”
4.
After a pause of 3-4 minutes, say, “Now we’ll move to the second question. ‘What did I give back to
this person during those years?’ Let’s reflect on that and write what we recollect. It may be hard to
remember at first, but be patient.”
5.
After a pause of 3-4 minutes, say, “ Now we’ll do the last question. ‘What trouble did I cause for this
person during those years?’ Let’s reflect and write in silence.”
C ENTER FOR C OMPASSION , I NTEGRITY AND S ECULAR E THICS | L IFE U NIVERSITY | M ARIETTA , G EORGIA
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