Cognitive Processes Are Central in Compassion Meditation.

In responding to our recent paper in TiCS [1], Engen and Singer raise important issues related to the constructive family of meditation practice, arguing against the central role of reappraisal and perspective taking and proposing instead that motivational and affective states are the main mechanisms in compassionbased meditations, and more broadly in the constructive family [2]. Although we agree that motivation and affect have an important role in compassion meditation, we disagree with the broader conclusions they draw. We contend that classical and contemporary sources present a developmental model of compassion training that critically involves both reappraisal and perspective taking, and that scientific data support this view. Moreover, we propose that affect and motivation do not typically function as mechanisms in this family of meditation, but rather are best thought of as outcomes of the training process.