Briefly describe the group with whom you led a discussion.

I met with students enrolled in the Citizen Leaders program at my university. This is the third and final tier of a three year leadership development program.

Briefly describe the program you led.

The intent of the discussion was to challenge participants to think about compassion and self-interested service. What is compassion? Where does it come from? How do self-interest and compassion play a part in service? Are they mutually exclusive?

How did it go?

The session did go well, though I had expected students to struggle more with understanding the reading. To my surprise they immediately latched upon Asanga's self-interest and the lesson within the parable. As a good 1/2 of my questions were designed to lead participants to exploring the lesson of the text, it really challenged me to work quickly to adjust the path of the discussion.

What, if anything, would you do differently?

I would use the text again, but develop questions that further explore what "compassion" is. There seemed to be some confusion on the part of participants of what compassion is, as opposed to passion and empathy. Additionally, I would develop questions that challenge participants to further explore how compassion is developed and how it plays a role in service.

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