Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo was born on June 30, 1943 to fishmongers in London, England. While Jetsunma was a child she always felt like she didn't belong with the religious beliefs she was raised with. Consistently throughout her childhood she would read books and study other religious beliefs, in an attempt to find her true spiritual path. It wasn't until Jetsunma was 18 and finally read a book about Buddhism while stuck at the airport with her mother. After reading the book Jetsunma proclaimed to her mother that she was in fact a Buddhist. Jetsunma decided early on that she would not mind renouncing worldly pleasures like clothing, tv, and food. She was convinced the Buddhist nun life was the spiritual path for her. Jetsunma moved to India at …show more content…
Jetsunma’s view on the 8 worldly concerns is that you must do everything in moderation, just like the middle way of the Buddha. Jetsunma incorporates this into her life when she went on her retreat, she doesn't spend the full 12 years alone, only 3, hence moderation. Jetsunma also believes that mental suffering is controllable, it is all about attitude. Jetsunma incorporates this into her life by never taking the darker sides of issues, alway the brighter side, just like she did when the snow covered her cave. Jetsunma took her beliefs and put them into 2 books: Into The Heart of Life, and Reflections on a Mountain Lake. These novels are physical representations of everything Jetsunma has been through and wished to pass on. She writes in her book Reflections on a Mountain Lake a collection of Dharma teachings, addressing the issues of common concern to Buddhist practitioners from all traditions. In her novel Into the Heart of Life Jetsunma writes about a well-grounded understanding of how the timeless Buddhist teachings apply to the demands and challenges of modern life. These novels show a deeper insight into how Tenzin views Buddhism. They also allow what she has accomplished as well as what she hopes to accomplish to be passed