Pema Chödrön (; born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown, July 14, 1936) is an American-born

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

. She is an ordained nun, former

acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists. The designation has different meanings i ...

Shambhala Buddhism Shambhala Training is a secular approach to meditation and a new religious movement developed by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his students. It is based on what Trungpa calls Shambhala Vision, which sees enlightened soci ...

and disciple of

Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa (Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987), formally named the 11th Zurmang Trungpa, Chokyi Gyatso, was a Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist master and holder of both Kagyu and Nyingm ...

. Chödrön has written several dozen books and audiobooks, and was principal teacher at Gampo Abbey in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

until recently. She retired in 2020.

Early life and education

Chödrön was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in 1936 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She grew up

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. She grew up on a

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

farm with an older brother and sister, and graduated from

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

.Haas, Michaela (2013). "Dakini Power: Twelve Extraordinary Women Shaping the Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in the West". Snow Lion. , p. 123. She obtained a bachelor's degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

and a master's degree in elementary education from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Career

Chödrön began studying with

Lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

Chime Rinpoche during frequent trips to London over a period of several years. While in the United States she studied with Trungpa Rinpoche in San Francisco. In 1974, she became a novice Buddhist nun under

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje The 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) is the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is of the oldest line of Tulku, reincarnate lamas in Vajrayana ...

, the sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa. In Hong Kong in 1981 she became the first American in the

Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

tradition to become a fully ordained nun or bhikṣuṇī. Trungpa appointed Chödrön director of the Boulder Shambhala Center (Boulder Dharmadhatu) in Colorado in the early 1980s. Chödrön moved to Gampo Abbey in 1984, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in North America for Western men and women, and became its first director in 1986. Chödrön's first book, ''The Wisdom of No Escape'', was published in 1991. Then, in 1993, she was given the title of

when Trungpa's son,

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, Jampal Trinley Dradül, born Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo (November 1962), is a Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist master and holder of the Sakyong Lineage of Mukpodong, his family lineage. The Sakyong was recognized b ...

, assumed leadership of his father's

Shambhala Shambhala (, ),Śambhala m. (also written Sambhala): Name of a town (situated between the Rathaprā and Ganges, and identified by some with Sambhal in Moradabad; the town or district of Śambhala is fabled to be the place where Kalki, the last ...

lineage. In 1994, she became ill with

chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

, but gradually her health improved. During this period, she met Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and took him as her teacher. That year she published her second book, ''Start Where You Are'' and in 1996, ''When Things Fall Apart''. ''No Time to Lose'', a commentary on

Shantideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also li ...

's ''

Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Ex ...

,'' was published in 2005. That year, Chödrön became a member of The Committee of Western Bhikshunis. ''Practicing Peace in Times of War'' came out in 2007. In 2016 she was awarded the Global Bhikkhuni Award, presented by the Chinese Buddhist Bhikkhuni Association of Taiwan. In 2020 she resigned from her acharya role from

Shambhala International Shambhala International (originally named Vajradhatu) is the umbrella organization that encompasses many of the distinct institutions of the Shambhala Training, Shambhala spiritual community, founded by the students of the Tibetan_Buddhism, Tibe ...

, in part due to the group's handling of sexual misconduct allegations, saying, "I do not feel that I can continue any longer as a representative and senior teacher of Shambhala given the unwise direction in which I feel we are going."

Teaching

Chödrön teaches the traditional "Yarne" retreat at Gampo Abbey each winter and the ''Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life'' in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

each summer. A central theme of her teaching is the principle of "shenpa", or " attachment", which she interprets as the moment one is hooked into a cycle of habitual negative or self-destructive thoughts and actions. According to Chödrön, this occurs when something in the present stimulates a reaction to a past experience.Bill Moyers and Pema Chödrön . August 4, 2006
/ref>

Personal life

Chödrön married at age 21 and has two children. She divorced in her mid-twenties. She remarried and then divorced a second time eight years later. She has three grandchildren.

Works

''When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times''

One of Chödrön's most famous books is ''When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times.'' In her work, Chödrön discusses uncertainty and how to find the good in discomfort.

References

External links

Profile at the Pema Chödrön Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chodron, Pema 1936 births Living people 20th-century lamas 20th-century American philosophers American Buddhist nuns 20th-century American nuns American spiritual writers American scholars of Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism writers Converts to Buddhism from Roman Catholicism American former Christians People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome Tibetan Buddhists from the United States Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teachers UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education alumni American women philosophers Writers from New York City Miss Porter's School alumni 20th-century American women writers Buddhist acharyas American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Buddhist nuns 21st-century Buddhist nuns 21st-century American nuns Sarah Lawrence College alumni 21st-century American women 20th-century American Buddhists 21st-century American Buddhists Shambhala vision