Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo presents social and environmental concern as a natural flowering of authentic Buddhist practice rather than as a separate, secular agenda. For her, the principles of compassion and interdependence demand that inner cultivation be reflected in how communities treat one another and the natural world. She speaks of social justice and environmental care as expressions of the bodhisattva ideal, insisting that meditation and retreat are meant to deepen the capacity to respond wisely to suffering, not to turn away from it. In this sense, spiritual life and engagement with the world are seen as mutually reinforcing rather than opposed.

On the social level, she is especially known for her unwavering advocacy of gender equality within Buddhism. She has argued that women should have full access to education, ordination, and leadership, and has worked concretely toward this by founding Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in India to provide rigorous training for nuns. Her stance is that discrimination based on gender has no place in genuine Dharma, and that empowering women through education and full ordination is both a matter of justice and a fulfillment of Buddhist ethical commitments. Social engagement, in her view, is not a distraction from practice but one of its most authentic expressions.

Regarding the environment, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo grounds ecological concern in the Buddhist understanding of interdependence and non-harm. She emphasizes that harming the natural world ultimately harms all beings, and therefore environmental protection becomes a moral responsibility for practitioners. Mindful consumption, simplicity of lifestyle, and sustainable living are presented as both spiritual disciplines and practical responses to ecological degradation. By encouraging reduced material desire and greater reverence for nature, she links environmental stewardship directly to the cultivation of wisdom and compassion.

Across these domains, her teaching suggests that a contemplative life must be accompanied by a willingness to act for the welfare of others and the planet. Social and environmental issues are thus framed as fields of practice where insight into emptiness and interdependence is tested and embodied. In advocating for gender equality, education, and ecological responsibility, she offers a vision of Buddhism that is at once deeply traditional in its principles and fully engaged with the ethical challenges of the wider world.