Rev. Danny Fisher

Today’s quote comes to us from Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, a Tibetan Buddhist nun in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Born in London, Ani-la converted to Buddhism as a teenager, feeling a natural affinity toward Tibetan culture.  In 1964, when she was just twenty, she went to India to explore Buddhism more deeply.  There she met her teacher, His Eminence the 8th Khamtrul Rinpoche, and became one of the first Western women to ordain as a Tibetan Buddhist nun.  (She later received the full bhikshuni ordination at a special ceremony in Hong Kong in 1973.)

After studying with Khamtrul Rinpoche for six years, he instructed her to undertake intensive retreat practice at a monastery in the Himalayan valley of Lahaul.  After several years of study there, Ani-la sought more solitude and began practicing in a tiny cave near the monastery.  She practiced there for twelve years–the last three “in strict retreat.”  

In 1988, she left India for Italy, where she spent a few years teaching at Dharma centers around the country.  In 1993, at the request of her deceased teacher and the lamas of the Khampagar monastery in Himachal Pradesh, India, she began work on the creation of a nunnery.  Constuction of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery began in 2001 and is almost complete.

In 2008, Ani-la was given the title of “Jetsunma,” which means “Venerable Master,” by His Holiness the 12th Gualwang Drukpa, Head of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage.

She is the author of Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism, and the subject of Vicki Mackenzie’s extraordinarily popular book Cave in the Snow:  Tenzin Palmo’s Quest for Enlightenment.

Here’s the quote, from Ani-la’s Reflections on a Mountain Lake:

There is a film called Groundhog Day, which is really a Buddhist movie because this is exactly what the plot is about. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s about somebody who had to relive the same day again and again until he got it right. He started out with an extremely negative attitude, and so throughout the first day he created a lot of negative causes.

People related back to him from his own level of negativity, and so he had a very bad day. Then the next day he had to experience the same day all over again. Then again, and again. He became desperate to find a way out. He attempted suicide many times, but the next morning, there he was again in the same room and the same bed. The date hadn’t changed, and the same song was playing on the radio. His attitude underwent many, many changes, until in the end he spent most of his time trying to help people. He forestalled tragedies he knew were going to happen because he had lived the day over so many times, and his whole attitude gradually turned around into working out ways to help others. As his inner attitude transformed, the day gradually got better and better. Finally, he was able to break through to a new day.

The important thing is how we respond to our situation. We can transform anything if we respond in a skillful way. This is precisely what karma is about. If we greet situations with a positive attitude, we will eventually create positive returns.

If we respond with a negative attitude, negative things will eventually come our way. Unlike the scenario in the movie, it doesn’t always happen right away. We can be very nice people but still have lots of problems. On the other hand, we can be awful people and have a wonderful time. But from a Buddhist perspective, it’s just a matter of time before we receive the results of our conduct. And usually it is true that people with a positive attitude encounter positive circumstances. Even if the circumstances do not appear positive, they be transformed through a positive view. On the other hand people with negative minds complain even when things are going well. They also transform circumstances, but they transform positive ones into negative ones!

Both our present and our future depend on us. From moment to moment, we are creating our future. We are not a ball of dust tossed about by the winds of fate. We have full responsibility for our lives. The more aware we become, the more capable we are of making skillful choices.