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.

A lot of people with the purest motivation end up getting completely burned out. And that's because they lack the wisdom and the skill and the inner space.

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.

There is a basic problem that a lot of Western monks and nuns become ordained without really understanding or appreciating what the monastic life is all about.

This precious life is our opportunity. We are not the millions and millions of other things that are not human.

At the age of 21 I was so sensible and became a nun. I am very grateful to myself for that.

There is a tremendous rise now in feminine awareness and wishing for equality, equal opportunities.