Naljorma Rin’dzin Pamo

Naljorma Rin’dzin Pamo became an apprentice to Lamas Ngala Nor’dzin and Ngala ’ö-Dzin in 1996 and was ordained in 2002 by Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen in West Wales. She first practised Buddhist meditation in India in 1990 and practised with other Buddhist groups in Britain prior to taking apprenticeship with the Aro Lamas.

Rin’dzin was the first disciple of Ngala Nor’dzin and Ngala ’ö-Dzin to take ordination and has supported the growth of their Sangha through retreat organisation, teaching on open retreats and mentoring new apprentices. She organised publicity for the UK Aro charity, Sang-ngak-chö-dzong and held teaching and empowerment events for members of the public. She enjoys using media skills gained through her working life to represent Aro in TV programmes and on the radio.

Naljorma Rin’dzin is a physically active pamo. She regards Sangha projects, such as the construction of a retreat hut in 2005, as a practice of integration through physical activity. Inspired by the history of the Aro Gar encampment in Tibet, she has accompanied her Lamas on many pilgrimages into the Welsh mountains and swam in a freezing mountain lake to sink an Aro gTérbum (treasure vase).

She says:
“In the film Seven years in Tibet, Heinrich Harrer, played by Brad Pitt, says that the clarity and freshness he has high up on a mountainside is the same quality of experience that he feels in the presence of his teacher. The teaching he receives is experiential, down-to-earth and practical, but helps him make profound changes in the way that he relates to others. This has been my experience with the Aro lamas and sangha. I would like to provide a doorway for those new to Buddhism and to Aro, into a colourful, rich and exciting tradition so they too can experience practice changing their lives.”

A combination of training in gestalt psychotherapy and public representation for Amnesty International influence her pragmatic approach to answering questions based in practice. She has written for Vajra Rainbow and has explored the possibilities of practising the Aro teachings on vajra romance in same sex and heterosexual relationship. Rin'dzin has worked for fifteen years in the International Development and mental health sectors. She holds a double Masters degree in International Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies and China in Comparative Perspective from the London School of Economics. Rin'dzin runs the Aro meditation group in London.