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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.

Tenzin Palmo

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Tenzin Palmo
Age: 81
Born: 1943
Born: January 1
Author
Bhikkhuni
Nun
Writer
Herts
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
First
Confidence
Obstacle
Take
Became
Encouraging
Always
Difference
Obstacles
Time
Differences
Esteem
Asks
Main
Girl
Lows
Firsts
Lack
Nuns
Self
Girls
Nun

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As a human being, we have everything we need. It's enough suffering to give us incentive to go on, but not so much that we don't know where to turn.
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To become effortless takes a lot of effort. It's good to compare it to learning an instrument or learning a sport.
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The new nuns don't know that they're 'supposed' to be meek and submissive, and so in many ways they believe they can do anything, because they've seen the earlier ones do it. In this way, there's nothing for them to doubt.
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I think the difference is that when we drink tea, we just drink tea. But if you're in the presence of a genuine master, they don't have to do anything but drink their tea, and yet it affects you at an incredibly profound level.
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We only think about the difficult people and the horrible things that happen. That's what gets all the media attention.
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We do look for inspiration amongst our own sex. Why not? You go into temples and they're full of all the lineage lamas who are male. What message does that give to a young girl, except that somehow she got trapped in the wrong body because of bad things she did in a past life?
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The dharma is the most precious thing in the world and we should put it at the center of our hearts and transform our whole lives into dharma practice. Otherwise, at the time of death, we will look back and say, now what was all that about? If we truly want to benefit others and ourselves, we have to do it. No excuses.
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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.
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I think, for East and West, the first thing we need is a good grounding in basic Buddhadharma.
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Doing retreats, getting personal teachings from time to time from inspiring teachers, all of this helps to recharge our batteries. Then we get inspired and can carry what we've gained into our daily life, which is very important.
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Look at your own potential. Don't overestimate your capabilities and push too hard, or underestimate them and use that as an excuse to be lazy.
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You think you're enlightened. But as my lama said, when you realize the intrinsic nature of the mind, then you start to meditate. It's not the end, it's the beginning.
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When I was in retreat I just did my meditation sessions and, in-between, reading and things I had to do.
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People get very deep experiences and they think they're enlightened. That's not enlightenment, that's just some realization.
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There are certain people who people think are enlightened. The problem with the word enlightenment is what you mean by it.
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Basically, I feel to spend the rest of my life doing retreat.
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Even if one isn't a committed Buddhist, it just helps us become better human beings.
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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.
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I don't know why I got reborn as a female. Maybe in my past life I had some sympathy or something for women, but I certainly wasn't a female last time.
Tenzin Palmo