Tenzin (བསྟན་འཛིན་) is from the Tibetan bstan 'dzin — "holder of the (Buddhist) teachings" — a name traditionally bestowed by senior lamas. **It is the personal name of His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama (born 1935)** — though this entry covers the feminine usage. **Tenzin Palmo (born Diane Perry, 1943)** — **British-born Buddhist nun who became the second Western woman ordained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition; lived alone for 12 years in a remote Himalayan cave from 1976 to 1988, three months of each year in complete isolation in winter at 13,200 feet altitude**. **Founded the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in 2000 in Himachal Pradesh, India — providing rigorous Buddhist education to women that had been denied to them for centuries**. **The 12th Gyalwang Drukpa enthroned her as a Jetsunma — "Venerable Master" — in 2008, only the second Western Buddhist woman ever given this title**. **Subject of Vicki Mackenzie's *Cave in the Snow* (1998)**.
Featured throughout modern Buddhist scholarship.
Tenzin reduces to nine — the number of dharma holder.