On this page we present guided meditations, short talks, teachings and written resources to help support the cultivation of compassion in your life.
‘We can live without religion and meditation but we can’t survive without human affection.’
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Venerable Sangye Khadro
Venerable Sangye Khadro became ordained as a nun in the 1970’s at Kopan with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. She has offered service at many FPMT centres and has supported Venerable Thubten Chodron at Sravasti Abbey, a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery for Western nuns. She wrote the best-selling book ‘How to Meditate’. Here she skilfully guides us through a half hour compassion meditation.
Thubten Jinpa, PhD
Thubten Jinpa, PhD, scholar and long-time translator for His Holiness discusses the idea of self compassion in this fascinating 10 minute clip, and how the Tibetan Buddhist concept differs from the Western. Excerpted from a talk given at the Sacred Stream Center in Berkeley, CA. Thupten Jinpa is the author of A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives.
Geshe Tenzin Zopa
Geshe Tenzin Zopa gave this teaching on Love and Compassion, as part of a series of teachings for Hayagriva Buddhist centre, Perth, in 2021. The Four Immeasurables are so called as they are directed towards an immeasurable number of beings. These qualities help transform the way we look at ourselves and others by breaking down the barriers we create in our interactions.
Venerable Lozang Yonten
Venerable Yonten gave this talk on compassion at Kunsang Yeshe Retreat Centre in the Blue Mountains, where she was resident teacher for several years. She analyses the subject of compassion, self compassion and renunciation in this one hour talk.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives a 20 minute teaching on developing awareness and compassion for all sentient beings, not just those in the human realm, but those in other realms. He provides the examples of the stories of Buddha’s disciples, such as Sharipu, and how the Buddha Maitreya manifested as a maggot infested dog, to illustrate how compassion can be cultivated.
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Thubten Chodron leads a short meditation and then gives a talk on how to cultivate compassion, through recognising our attitudes that need to be transformed and undertaking contemplative practices. This talk is based on one of her books, Open-Hearted Life: Transformative Methods for Compassionate Living from a Clinical Psychologist and a Buddhist Nun.
Lama Thubten Yeshe
Lama Thubten Yeshe discusses the embodiment of compassion in this short teaching excerpt taken from the longer Introduction to Tantra teachings. He offers a commentary on the Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig) yoga method and a wonderful explanation of the fundamentals of tantric practice.
Venerable Matthieu Ricard
Venerable Matthieu is a Buddhist monk, humanitarian and photographer. Here he leads us through a guided compassion and altruistic love meditation, which is relevant for both beginner meditators or those with some experience.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s one and a half hour talk on Compassion and Non-Violence followed by a question and answer session online from his residence in Dharamsala, was held on August 18, 2021 and organised by Labsum Shedrup Ling Korea.