Karma lekshe tsomo biography

Karma Lekshe Tsomo (born 23 September 1944) is a Buddhist nun, scholar and social activist.
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, a specialist in Buddhist Studies, taught at USD from 2000 to 2022 and was designated Professor Emerita in 2023.
I was born in Delaware, during the Second World War. My family name was Zenn.

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Teachers

Ven. Karma Lekshe Tsomo is a Buddhist nun and professor of Buddhist studies at the University of San Diego. She is a founder of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women and director of Jamyang Foundation, which supports educational programs for Buddhist women and girls.

Events with Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course
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This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…

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Bio

Karma Lekshe Tsomo is a professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of San Diego, where she teaches Buddhist Thought and Culture, Women in Buddhism, and Dying, Death, and Social Justice. She holds Ph.D. in Comparative Philosophy from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, with research interests in women in Buddhism, death and dying, Buddhist feminist ethics, Buddhism and bioethics, religion and politics, Buddhist social ethics, and Buddhist transnationalism. She integrates scholarship and social activism through the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women and Jamyang Foundation, an innovative education project for women in developing countries. Her publications include Women in Buddhist Traditions;Buddhist Feminisms and Femininities; Into the Jaws of Yama: Buddhism, Bioethics, and Death; and numerous edited works on women in Buddhism.

Background

Venerable Tsomo is an inspiration to all Buddhists interested in living a socially conscious life and is known around the world for her warmth, knowledge, and clear approach to teaching and speak

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Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Born	Patricia Zenn 23 September 1944
Occupation(s)	Scholar and social activist
Organization(s)	Sakyadhita, Jamyang Foundation

Karma Lekshe Tsomo (born 23 September 1944) is a Buddhist nun, scholar and social activist. She is a professor at the University of San Diego, where she teaches Buddhism, World Religions, and Dying, Death, and Social Justice. She is co-founder of the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women and the founding director of the Jamyang Foundation, which supports the education of women and girls in the Himalayan region, the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, and elsewhere. She took novice precepts as a Buddhist nun in France in 1977 and full ordination in Korea in 1982.^[1]

Early life

Karma Lekshe Tsomo's was born in Delaware in 1944 under her given name, Patricia Zenn.^[2]^[3] She was raised in Malibu California. Her birth surname, Zenn comes from a misspelling on a relative's passport of the German last name Zinn. This error led