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.

If you don't find that people find you're easier to live with than you were before, if you don't find that your heart is feeling warmer toward others and if your negative emotions are not getting any better, then there's something wrong. That is always the touchstone of the Dharma practice.

I've often said that the seventh paramita should be a sense of humor, so we don't take ourselves too seriously.

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

Of course, now as a woman you can do so much, without being necessarily a rinpoche.

Just because someone is very charismatic, it doesn't mean that they're genuinely qualified.

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.