The character arc of Pema Chodron
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown on 14 July 1936 in New York City, raised Catholic on a New Jersey farm with an older brother and sister. Between then and now sit a degree in English literature, a master's in elementary education, years of study with Tibetan teachers on trips to London and in San Francisco, novice ordination in 1974, full ordination in Hong Kong in 1981 as the first American woman in her tradition, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in North America for Western men and women, a first book at fifty five, chronic fatigue syndrome in 1994, and a retirement in 2020. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Pema Chodron?
She got ill, and wrote the book everybody keeps.
She was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in New York, grew up Catholic on a farm in New Jersey with an older brother and sister, went to a Connecticut boarding school, took a degree in English literature at Sarah Lawrence and a master's in elementary education at Berkeley. On paper, a well brought up American woman heading for a teaching job, which is exactly what she did first.
She began studying with a Tibetan lama on frequent trips to London over several years, and with another teacher in San Francisco. In 1974, at thirty eight, she became a novice Buddhist nun. In 1981, in Hong Kong, she became the first American in the Vajrayana tradition to be fully ordained. She was forty five, and there was no precedent for what she had just done.
She was appointed director of a centre in Colorado in the early 1980s, moved in 1984 to Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in North America built for Western men and women, and became its first director in 1986. Her first book came out in 1991, when she was fifty five.
In 1994 she became ill with chronic fatigue syndrome. Her health improved gradually. During that period she met the teacher she went on to study under, published a second book, and in 1996 published When Things Fall Apart, which is the one people press into each other's hands. She has written several dozen books since. In 2016 she received an award from an association of fully ordained Buddhist women in Taiwan. In 2020 she resigned her senior teaching title, in part over how her organisation had handled misconduct allegations, and retired.
The moments
Pema Chodron's timeline.
The 1950s
A Catholic girl on a farm
Everyday. A boarding school, a farm, and a Catholic upbringing.
The 1960s
Two degrees, then teaching
Milestone. English literature, then primary school teaching. The conventional path.
The 1970s
Trips to London
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Years of flying to another country to sit with a teacher.
Take the robes, or keep the life
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: become a nun, taken, or stay a lay student. She was fully ordained in 1981 and became the first director of the first monastery of its kind in North America.
Novice at thirty eight
Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty eight years old, and she took the robes.
The 1980s
The first American woman
Milestone, and it changed everything. There was no American woman ahead of her in that tradition. She went first.
Gampo Abbey
Milestone, and it changed her direction. The first monastery of its kind on the continent, and she ran it.
The 1990s
A first book at fifty five
Milestone, and it changed everything. Fifty five years old, and the first book she ever published.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Setback, and it changed everything. Ill, for years, and she took a new teacher and wrote through it.
When Things Fall Apart
Milestone, and it changed everything. Written while she was ill, for people whose lives had come apart.
The 2000s
A commentary, and a committee
Milestone. Still translating the difficult texts at sixty nine.
The 2010s
Honoured in Taiwan
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Honoured by the fully ordained women whose path she had opened.
The 2020s
She resigns the title
Milestone, and it changed everything. Eighty three years old, and she handed back the title on principle.
The books are still on the bedside tables of people having the worst week of their lives, which is who they were written for. What she set moving is a whole tradition's door held open for Western women, walked through first by a schoolteacher from a New Jersey farm who did not begin any of this until she was nearly forty.
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Pema Chodron: frequently asked questions
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Where does this timeline of Pema Chodron's life come from?
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Sources
- Pema Chodron, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Gampo Abbey records for her arrival in 1984 and directorship from 1986.
- Publishing records for her books from 1991 onwards.