2014 Message

Dear friends,

Thank you for helping the nuns on their path.

Your gifts to the Tibetan Nuns Project have helped to transform the lives of nuns like Venerable Jangchub Dolma.

Jangchub Dolma grew up in a family of nomads in Kham. She knew from the time she was little that she wanted to be a nun. There were no nunneries or opportunities for education in her region, so she decided to escape to India along with 60 others.

She describes her escape from Tibet. “We walked on foot one and a half months. We walked at night, and sometimes there was no moon, it was very dark. Our tsampa (roasted barley flour) ran out and we had to beg for food in a small village.” Close to the Nepal border, the group was attacked by Chinese guards; one monk was killed and seven other people were injured.

Jangchub reached Dharamsala, India in 1992. There was no space at Dolma Ling Nunnery, so she and eight other nuns stayed in a rented house in the village. For three years, they attended classes in Tibetan, English, Buddhist philosophy, general science and other subjects at the nunnery as day students. “We had quite a difficult time staying on our own, but we never lost our courage to study. Our hard work was rewarded when in 1996 the Tibetan Nuns Project admitted us into Dolma Ling Nunnery.”

“I have never been so happy in my life,” says Jangchub. “We have a very good study program and Dolma Ling is a beautiful place to live. It’s been many years since I came here and I have finished the highest level of studies. I am now ready to take on any responsibility.”

This year Jangchub Dolma witnessed these achievements that donors like you have helped bring about:

  • In May, 23 nuns made history when they sat Part 2 of 4 of the Geshema exam, similar to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhism;
  • In October, almost 300 nuns from 3 nunneries in India took part in the annual inter-nunnery debate called the Jang Gonchoe, an opportunity once open only to monks;
  • Over 700 nuns living in exile have been provided with food, shelter, education and health care.

You are part of a community of compassionate people who care deeply about providing equal access to education for ordained Buddhist women, about the Dharma, and about preserving Tibet’s unique culture.

Thank you for contributing generously.

Elizabeth Napper, Co-Director

P.S. We are extremely grateful to those supporters who have chosen to include a gift in their wills to the Tibetan Nuns Project. These legacies of compassion will have a ripple effect for generations to come. If you would like more information about leaving a bequest, please indicate this on the donor-reply form.

timeline from the Tibetan Nuns Project