Tenzin Palmo
My mother was a spiritualist. We had weekly séances at our house with a neighbor who was a medium and various friends, and so I was brought up with the idea that there are many realms of being all around us. So that prepared me for Buddhism, and especially Tibetan Buddhism with all its talk of different realms and dimensions of being.Collection: Mother
The Tibetans have many teachings on how to die, consciously, and how to remain in the clear light, and it works. You can see it working, and they can stay in that state for hours, days, or weeks.Collection: Teaching
Traditionally, women didn't have much a role in Buddhism. The books were all written by monks, for other monks. So the general view of the feminine was rather misogynistic, with women playing the role of the forbidden other, waiting to pounce on innocent little monks! In that society, it was hard for women to become educated and get the deeper teachings and really become accomplished.Collection: Book
If you're meeting with the dharma, you have probably been a human being before.Collection: Dharma
The Tibetans are good at learning many skillful ways to show that everything we do becomes dharma practice, depending on which kind of approach we use.Collection: Practice
For some people, every door opens, and they meet just who they need to meet when they need to meet them, all the conditions come together. For other people, there is one problem after the other, even though they are so sincere. And from a Tibetan point of view, this is because of a lack of merit.Collection: Doors
This is a time that calls for extreme restraint. In a world of outright aggression and violence there can be no winners. To respond to violence with counter-violence only throws oil on the fire.Collection: Time
For so many centuries women have been suppressed and regarded as inferior. And that of course is not right at all, that we all have buddha-nature - so what's the difference?Collection: Differences
If you become a monk because it's an easy life, because you're going to be fed, and sheltered and people will respect you, then that is not a very meritorious motivation.Collection: Motivation
I think it's a meritorious action to become a monk, provided that your motivation is pure.Collection: Motivation
Women are fully capable of doing everything.Collection: Capable
There is a tremendous rise now in feminine awareness and wishing for equality, equal opportunities.Collection: Opportunity
There are wars, there's pestilence, there are plagues, there is corruption in religious circles, corruption in the government, when was it not?Collection: Religious
There are other ways of benefiting than by being a recognized tulku and sitting on a throne.Collection: Thrones
Of course, now as a woman you can do so much, without being necessarily a rinpoche.Collection: Courses
Many people are benefiting beings, but from a dharma point of view, if you are a dharma practitioner, then the first priority is to get yourself together.Collection: Views
Western Tibetan Buddhists are always looking out there at the distant snow peaks and they lose the flowers along the path.Collection: Buddhist
A dog, however nice he is, and sweet-tempered, doesn't have much of a range of options. A human being does.Collection: Dog
At the age of 21 I was so sensible and became a nun. I am very grateful to myself for that.Collection: Grateful
Learn not to be too ambitious; not to expect if you have a 9-to-5 job and three kids, that you're likely to get buddhahood in one lifetime.Collection: Jobs
People should find what approach really speaks to them, and then do it. Obviously, better with a good teacher, who can help you on the path. But in any case, basic principles.Collection: Teacher
If you lose interest in the dharma, then you might be reborn in a place where you are unlikely to meet with the dharma. And then you're completely off the path.Collection: Might
Our relative being is what rules our relative world.Collection: World
In our endless past lives, we've all done everything, you name it, we've done it. Good, bad, intermediate.Collection: Past
You have to recharge your batteries.Collection: Batteries
We have met with the dharma. Many of us have met with teachers. We do have some idea of what to do and how to practice. And we should not be lazy.Collection: Teacher
I know many Catholic priests and nuns who use the Buddhist teachings to become better Catholics, and Jews who use them to become better Jews. Why not?! It just takes us towards more deeply recognizing our original nature, which is what we all share after all.Collection: Buddhist
I don't think I've changed anything, but I hope that by my talks I have encouraged people in their practice. That's as much as any of us can do.Collection: Thinking
I've often said that the seventh paramita should be a sense of humor, so we don't take ourselves too seriously.Collection: Sense Of Humor
The internet can be enormously helpful, just like books can, but I don't think it's the be all and end all for really practicing Buddhism. At a certain point, as with learning any skill, we need personal instruction from someone who is more advanced than us.Collection: Book
In the texts, and as His Holiness the Dalai Lama reminds us, we should check the person's behavior not when they're sitting on a big throne, but behind the scenes. How do they treat ordinary people - not the big sponsors - but just ordinary people who are of no particular importance to them.Collection: People
I never really wondered about getting from London to Lahaul. It all seemed such a natural progression. In London I felt I was in the wrong place and wanted to leave. I'd thought about going to Australia or New Zealand. It's nothing against England, but I knew I wasn't meant to be there.Collection: Australia
We do have the precious opportunity of this human life.Collection: Opportunity
We are educated. We can think. We have the freedom to think.Collection: Thinking
A realized being would not be making any fresh karma because karma is very much connected to the ego but would still be receiving the results of past karma.Collection: Karma
If you've made a lot of negative seeds, and not a lot of positive seeds, even though you meet with the dharma, you're going to have problems.Collection: Negative
We've been human countless times and done everything you can imagine. So we've been planting all these negative seeds, and they're going to come up.Collection: Negative
From the point of view of the relative world, merit is very important.Collection: Views
Tibetans are great with meritorious practices.Collection: Practice
There are certain teachers who shouldn't be teachers.Collection: Teacher
If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It will take time. But the difference between the first girls from Ladakh who became nuns, to the girls we have now, is very encouraging.Collection: Girl
Every country that meets Buddhism molds it into their own indigenous religion, as America will. A very clear example of this is Japan, which threw out almost all the dharma, and just kept that essence, which spoke to them.Collection: Country
I'd say look at the teacher's students. Do you want to be like them? If you see a good and harmonious sangha, and if they're practicing well and are good people with good hearts, then you have a cause for trust.Collection: Teacher
When I look back I can think that of course I've been lazy and haven't practiced as much as I could have and have wasted time. Still though, I look back on my life and I think that really, I am very happy that I lived my life the way I have and I would never ever have wished it any other way - especially, the six years with my lama and then the 18 in Lahul.Collection: Thinking
At one time I thought that if I could really understand renunciation and bodhichitta from the depths of my heart, then, for this lifetime that would be enough.Collection: Heart
The nature of the mind is completely incredible.Collection: Mind
Yes, times are not good, but when were times good? This is samsara.Collection: Samsara
Since I was a small child, I'd believed we were inherently perfect, and that we had to keep coming back again and again until we recognized our innate perfection.Collection: Children
We try to be present when we are drinking our tea, which isn't as easy as it sounds. It's very easy to think, right now I'm going to be really present while I'm drinking my tea, here I am drinking my tea, and I'm so present, look this is easy, I am here drinking my tea and I know I'm drinking my tea blah blah blah blah... right? And the one place where the mind is not, is here. It's just thinking about being here.Collection: Drinking