Robert Thurman discusses "Compassion". The Buddha taught that to realize enlightenment, a person must have both wisdom and loving kindness. That is to say, one must understand the nature of the suffering from which we wish to free others, and experience deep intimacy and empathy with other beings. It is the foundation of human life in Buddha's view.

Robert A.F. Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University, President of the Tibet House U.S., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan civilization, and President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. Thurman is known as a talented popularizer of the Buddha's teachings. He is a riveting speaker and an author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture