Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo presents meditation as a disciplined training of the mind grounded in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, especially the Drukpa Kagyu lineage, yet articulated in a way that is psychologically clear and accessible. At the heart of her approach stands the classical union of śamatha and vipaśyanā: calm-abiding to stabilize attention and insight to investigate the nature of mind and phenomena. Meditation, in this view, is not pursued merely for a sense of peace, but as a means to cultivate wisdom, understand impermanence and non-self, and gradually uproot ignorance and entrenched habits. Knowing the mind becomes the central task, and this knowing is developed by observing thoughts, emotions, and impulses as transient appearances rather than solid identities. Such observation is accompanied by a deliberate cultivation of compassion and bodhicitta, so that inner clarity and altruistic intention develop together.

Mindfulness, for Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, cannot remain confined to the meditation cushion. She consistently emphasizes continuous awareness throughout daily activities—walking, speaking, working, and relating to others—so that every circumstance becomes part of the path. This entails watching habitual reactions without judgment, softening reactivity, and aligning conduct with ethical sensitivity and compassion. Renunciation is framed not as rejection of the world but as loosening the grip of egoic clinging to “I, me, mine,” allowing more space for kindness and freedom in ordinary interactions. In this way, the authenticity of meditative realization is measured by how one behaves, especially under stress and in relationship with others.

Her own long solitary retreat in a Himalayan cave exemplifies the value she places on sustained, intensive practice, yet she also stresses that meditation is fully accessible to lay practitioners if approached with consistency and sincerity. Regular daily sessions, supported when possible by periodic retreats, are presented as more transformative than sporadic bursts of enthusiasm. She teaches in a clear, direct style suited to Western students while remaining faithful to traditional rigor, including devotion to authentic teachers and lineage-based methods as supports for practice. A distinctive feature of her teaching is the affirmation of women’s equal capacity for realization and the encouragement of women’s spiritual development, including awareness of internalized limitations. Overall, her approach weaves together calm, insight, compassion, and disciplined continuity, inviting practitioners to transform both their inner landscape and their way of living in the world.