Thupten Jinpa

Dr. Thubten Jinpa is one of the world’s leading scholars, translators, and voices in compassion, ethics, and contemplative science. For nearly four decades, he has served as the principal English translator to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, helping bring Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and teachings to a global audience with extraordinary clarity, depth, and integrity.

Trained as a monk, Dr. Jinpa received the Geshe Lharam degree—the highest scholastic distinction in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition—from Ganden Shartse Monastic University in South India. He later pursued Western academic study at the University of Cambridge, earning a B.A. in Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, with a focus on Tibetan thought.

Dr. Jinpa is the Founder and Chairman of the Compassion Institute, where he developed Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT™), an evidence-based program created during his time at Stanford University. Integrating contemplative wisdom with modern science, CCT has been taught globally across healthcare, education, and leadership settings.

He is also the Founder and President of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, a landmark initiative dedicated to preserving and translating Tibet’s great literary and philosophical heritage. A central figure in the dialogue between science and spirituality, Dr. Jinpa has long been a core member of the Mind & Life Institute and previously served as Chairman of its Board, helping guide its mission to connect leading scientists with contemplative practitioners.

As a translator and collaborator, Dr. Jinpa has worked closely with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on numerous influential works, including New York Times bestsellers The Art of Happiness and Ethics for the New Millennium, as well as Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World. His own book, A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives, has become a seminal text in the modern compassion movement.

A widely sought-after speaker, Dr. Jinpa presents at leading international institutions and conferences on compassion, ethics, mindfulness, and the intersection of contemplative practice and modern science. He also serves as an adjunct professor at McGill University.

Across his work—as a scholar, translator, teacher, and institutional leader—Dr. Jinpa has helped shape the global understanding of compassion as a powerful force for personal transformation, ethical leadership, and collective well-being.