Finding True Security
Reflections from Tenzin Palmo on permenance and inner security.
Dear Fellow Meditators,
Thank you for joining me for the fourth edition of our newsletter! I’m grateful to share this space with you as we continue exploring the wisdom of meditation together.
Lately, I’ve been listening to some incredible talks by Tenzin Palmo—a remarkable Buddhist nun best known for spending 12 years in a Himalayan cave.
Her insights on impermanence and inner security have deeply resonated with me, and I wanted to share one of her powerful reflections with you:
“We think having big houses, and fancy cars, and lots of money is security, but that’s totally insecure—especially in our present economy. We think having family, and relationships, and children is security, but that’s not security—because people leave, people die. If all our ideas of happiness and security are on the outside, then we are like walking on ice.”
Reflections
Meditation invites us to look deeply into the nature of reality—into impermanence, attachment, and the illusions we cling to for stability. Tenzin Palmo’s truthful words remind us that wealth, relationships, and possessions, while meaningful, are inherently unstable. No matter how much we accumulate or how deeply we connect, everything is subject to change. Houses deteriorate, economies fluctuate, loved ones come and go. If our happiness depends on these fleeting conditions, we are, as she says, “walking on ice”—always at risk of falling through.
Buddhist practice teaches us a different kind of security—one that arises from within. Through meditation, we cultivate a mind that is steady, regardless of circumstances. We observe thoughts and emotions arise and pass, learning to hold life lightly rather than grasping at it. We develop equanimity—a deep, unshakable peace that remains even as the world shifts around us.
This doesn’t mean we must reject relationships or material well-being. Instead, we engage with them with wisdom and non-attachment. We recognize their impermanence and appreciate them without clinging. Like a lotus growing in the mud, we can live fully in the world while remaining untouched by its instability. Pause and reflect
As we sit in meditation, let’s reflect on these questions:
- Where do I seek security in my life?
- Am I placing too much happiness in things that will inevitably change?
- How can I cultivate an inner refuge that remains steady, even when life is uncertain?
By turning inward, we find a peace that cannot be shaken—the stillness of our awareness, the depth of our presence. True security is not in what we have but in how we meet each moment—with wisdom, compassion, and an open heart.
With gratitude,
Marco Angelo,
Founder
