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.

If nuns begin getting more empowered, where does that leave us?

There are other ways of benefiting than by being a recognized tulku and sitting on a throne.

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.

We're normally caught up in the current of our thinking, feelings and emotions. With awareness, we can observe it all without being swept away. This gives us access to something much vaster and deeper than our usual compressed minds. All of us can access this. It's not so difficult. With some instruction and practice, anybody can do it.

One thing in the Buddhadharma is that we are not our body, we are not our gender.

When I heard that our bodies change when we get a bit older, I thought, oh good, now I'll go back to being a boy again. But it didn't happen like that.