As Pema explains, suffering arises when we resist the law of impermanence—the fact that everything we know, including ourselves, will one day die. Here she provides teachings and practices for fully embracing life’s ephemeral nature, using these three traditional monastic vows, or “commitments.”

• The Pratimoksha vows—how we can find personal liberation through the inner work of letting go
• The Bodhisattva vows—the way of genuine and compassionate service to others
• The Tantric vows—how to accept impermanence with true equanimity and touch the underlying stillness from which all worldly forms arise