As we’re still in the early days of 2022, finding our rhythms and charting our course for the year ahead, the practice of intention-setting feels very appropriate. That’s why I’m delighted to share this guided practice from Thupten Jinpa, who many of you know as the founder of the Compassion Institute and the principle English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

During this 10 minute session, Thupten Jinpa leads us in feeling deeply into our hearts to discover what it is we truly wish for — for ourselves, our loved ones, and the world. Beyond this, he asks us to reflect on how our most basic wishes are common to all people, and how this may inspire compassion.

For those who may be inspired to explore more practices like this, and study deeply with Thupten Jinpa, we’d like to give a quick heads up that the next session for the two week training he created called Building Compassion from the Inside Out begins on January 31st, and there are still a few spots left! If you can’t make this one, there will be another cohort beginning in February. Learn more and register here.

About Thupten Jinpa

Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D. was trained as a monk at the Shartse College of Ganden Monastic University, South India, where he received the Geshe Lharam degree. Jinpa also holds a B.A. in philosophy and a Ph.D. in religious studies, both from Cambridge University.

Jinpa has been the principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama since 1985, and has translated and collaborated on numerous books by the Dalai Lama including the New York Times Bestsellers Ethics for the New Millennium and The Art of Happiness, as well as Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World. His own publications include A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives and translations of major Tibetan works featured in The Library of Tibetan Classics series. Jinpa is the principal author of Compassion Cultivation Training™ (CCT©) developed while at Stanford University in 2009.

A frequent speaker at various international conferences on mindfulness, compassion, and contemplative practice, Jinpa serves as an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University, Montreal and is the founder and president of the Institute of Tibetan Classics. He has been a core member of the Mind and Life Institute and its Chairman of the Board since January 2012.