Thupten Jinpa, world-renowned speaker, author, and translator, speaks with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho on the topic of emptiness and buddha-nature. This discussion is part of an ongoing series produced by Tsadra Foundation called Conversations on Buddha-Nature.
Thupten Jinpa is a former Tibetan monk and a Geshe Lharampa with B.A. in philosophy and a Ph.D. in religious studies, both from Cambridge University. Since 1985, he has been the principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama and has translated and edited numerous books by the Dalai Lama, including the New York Times Bestsellers Ethics for the New Millennium and The Art of Happiness. Jinpa’s own publications include works in Tibetan, English translations as well as books, the latest being Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows and Illuminating the Intent, a translation of Je Tsongkhapa's commentary on Entering the Middle Way. Jinpa is the general series editor of the 32-volume Bod kyi tsug lag gces btus series, whose translations are published in English as The Library of Tibetan Classics. His current projects include the editing of classical Indian Buddhist texts from Tengyur for a special anthology known as Rgya gzhung gnad che bdam bsgrigs (Selected Indian Buddhist treaties). He is the main author of CCT (Compassion Cultivation Training), an eight-week formal program developed at Stanford University, and co-founder and president of the Compassion Institute. He is the Chair of Mind and Life Institute, founder of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, and an adjunct professor at the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. Jinpa lives in Montreal and is married with two daughters.