Meeting Khenmo

I was fortunate to attend a morning retreat recently in Des Moines.  It was presented by a Tibetan Buddhist nun, Khenmo Drolma, who is Abbess of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery in Lincoln, Vermont.   

She has trained with both HH Dalai Lama and with Pema Chodron, so I was fairly star-struck, knowing that I’d achieved two degrees of separation from those great teachers!  

I sat in the front row, just a few chairs from her.  Her hair is shaved, and she wears the saffron sleeveless shirt and burgundy robes that are so recognizably Buddhist.  What a pleasure to listen to her, not only for her calm instruction but also for her sense of humor and how she addressed the self as “honey.” She felt like a favorite aunt, calling me honey.

I spoke with her for only a moment as she signed my copy of her essays book that I bought and thanked her for her teachings.  It was a good morning.