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Tenzin Palmo

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Tenzin Palmo, born in 1943, is a renowned Tibetan Buddhist nun and author. She is known for her cave retreat in the Himalayas of India, becoming the first female to receive formal recognition as a cave dweller. Palmo's works primarily focus on the role of women in Buddhism and her personal retreat experiences.

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Famous Tenzin Palmo Quotes

“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.”

Ideas Different Mother House Buddhism Prepared Various Neighbor Mediums Realms Dimensions Tibetan Tibetan Buddhism

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“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.”

Country America Clear Example Buddhism Essence Japan Spokes Indigenous Mold Dharma

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“What I like about Tibetan Buddhism is it was taken to Tibet in the 7th century and then again in the 11th. It has everything that had been collected in India up until that time. And so on all levels, it's so vast.”

Levels Taken Century Buddhism India Tibetan Tibet Tibetan Buddhism

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“Most of the spiritual traditions were very theistic and the idea of an external god pulling the strings didn't resonate with me. I then discovered Buddhism and found the perfect path. I felt so grateful to the Buddha for having given the path, and not just explaining the end result, but showing so clearly how to get there.”

Ideas Ends Spiritual Found Given Felt Perfect Results Path Buddhism Tradition Grateful Strings Pulling Explaining End Results So Grateful

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“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.”

Thinking Needs Book Ends Certain Buddhism Internet Skills Helpful Instruction

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“The point with Buddhism is that it doesn't just tell you to be good, it tells you how. It doesn't just say, "Don't be angry," it shows us the methods to help us not to be angry. It gives techniques for everything that it advises us to cultivate, and all the negative qualities we need to overcome and transform.”

Needs Giving Helping Shows Quality Buddhism Negative Overcoming Method Angry Be Good Technique Advise

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“Buddhism is the most active one! The whole time, we're dealing with the mind and how to tame it, and how to transcend our ordinary conventional mind. This takes an enormous amount of determination and perseverance. It also requires an attitude of being relaxed and spacious, rather than tense and stressed. It's certainly not a matter of lying back and expecting it all to happen. If we don't make it happen, it won't!”

“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.”

Littles Book Hard Waiting Views Roles Written Teaching Buddhism Deeper Innocent Educated Accomplished Feminine Forbidden Monk

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“Buddhism helps us to overcome our endless ego grasping mind to open up to something so much more spacious and genuinely meaningful.”

Mind Helping Buddhism Ego Overcoming Meaningful Endless Grasping

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“When I was 18 I read a book about Buddhism and, before I was halfway through it I said to my mother, "I'm a Buddhist!" She said, "That's great. Finish reading the book and then you can tell me all about it." From that moment on I knew I was a Buddhist.”

Said Book Moments Mother Reading Buddhism Buddhist That Moment Halfway

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“All the other religions I had ever read about dealt with the idea of God, and your relationship with God. Buddhism is the only religion that deals with man himself and the nature of the mind - how to deal with yourself and your condition, here and now, as opposed to having to deal with something outside yourself.”

Men Mind Ideas Deals Conditions Buddhism Our Relationship Here And Now Relationship With God

Author:Tenzin Palmo

“In the early '60s there was very little reliable information on Tibetan Buddhism. I was living in London and I had joined the Buddhist Society. For the most part, people there were either interested in Theravada or Zen Buddhism. There was almost no one into Tibetan Buddhism at that time.”

People Littles Information Buddhism London Buddhist Tibetan Zen Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism

Author:Tenzin Palmo

About the Author

Born: 1943
Known for: Author
Quotes: 240

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