Book Launch: "A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives”

Tibet House presents monk Thupten Jinpa speaking about his book, "A FEARLESS HEART: How the Courage to be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives".

“If we, as individuals and together as a global society, can take the compassionate part of our nature seriously, we have a real chance of making a more humane world.”

In A FEARLESS HEART: How the Courage to be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives (Avery, $25.95; Hardcover), Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., highly acclaimed thought leader and the longtime English translator for the Dalai Lama, explores how powerful compassion can be, not just for others, but for our own wellbeing.

As the creator of the revolutionary course in compassion at Stanford, Jinpa draws upon his childhood as a Tibetan, his many years in monasteries in India, and the time he has spent alongside His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself. Acknowledging the importance (and popularity) of the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, A Fearless Heart teaches us to take the next step towards compassion; it turns out that mindfulness will only get you out the door – it’s compassion practice that will take you where you want to go!

But did you know many people actually fear compassion? Worried that we may be taken advantage of, or that we may become a slacker if we show too much self-compassion, it seems we resist a powerful instinct that correlates strongly with happiness, stress reduction, and a true sense of purpose. In fact, extensive research shows that being compassionate can lead to better health and a longer life.

Using new science and psychology sourced from both contemporary Western and classical Buddhist sources, Jinpa shows us how to train not only our compassion muscle, but also our self-compassion muscle.

A Fearless Heart teaches, argues, and inspires, filled with remarkable stories of transformations that have resulted from the practice of compassion, including the author’s extraordinary personal experience as well; from a monastery in India, to fatherhood in Montreal, and all the lessons learned in between.

RSVP by Wednesday, April 15; 2PM

About the Author:
Thupten Jinpa, PhD, is a former monk and holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he also worked as a research fellow. Jinpa has been the principal English translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for nearly three decades and has translated and edited numerous books for the Dalai Lama, including the New York Times Bestseller Ethics for the New Millennium, Beyond Religion, and Transforming the Mind. Jinpa is an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University, Montreal and Chairman of the Mind and Life Institute, which is dedicated to promoting dialogues and collaborations between the sciences and contemplative knowledge, especially Buddhism.

About Avery Books:
Avery, an imprint focusing on health, wellness, fitness, psychology, and popular science, is best known for publishing cutting-edge, but accessible books from the top experts in their fields. Founded in 1976, Avery quickly established itself as the most successful independent publisher of health books in the market. Penguin Group (USA) acquired it as an imprint in 1999 with a strong commitment to continue publishing respected, up-to-the-minute books with a clear focus on helping people make the most of their lives. The Penguin Group (www.penguin.com) is A Penguin Random House Company.