Category Archives: Buddhist Nunneries

Shugsep Jetsun, the Story of a Tibetan Yogini

The great female master Shugsep Jetsun Rinpoche (1852–1953) was revered as one of the last century’s best known woman teachers. She was the Abbess of Shugsep Nunnery in Tibet and passed away in 1953 at the age of 101. Tibetan yogini Shugsep Jetsun

Jetsun means “reverend” or “venerable”. She was also known as Lochen Chönyi Sangmo, as Ani Lochen (Ani means “nun”), and as Jetsun Rigdzin Chönyi Sangmo. Many consider her one of the most influential women in Tibetan spiritual history.

This great yogini was a recognized incarnation of Machig Labdrön, a renowned Tibetan Tantric yogini born in 1055. She was also an exemplary practitioner of Chöd, also known as “The Beggars Offering” or “Cutting Through the Ego.”

Many extraordinary stories are told of her remarkable abilities, such as the time on retreat when she left her body and “died” for a period of three weeks and visited the Copper Coloured Mountain Paradise of Guru Padmasambhava.

The late Tibetan scholar, Lobsang Lhalungpa, visited Shugsep Jetsun in the early 1940s at Shugsep Nunnery in Tibet and he wrote of her great spiritual beauty, even into old age. He said, “During my first two-week visit, I met with Jetsun Lochen for several hours a day, sometimes in the company of her main disciples. She was an extraordinary woman, small in stature, with a serene face radiating compassion and sensitivity. Only her white hair betrayed her age… In her presence we felt an awesome power that permeated our whole stream of being… Her teachings and blessings have given me inner strength and inspiration ever since. To me she was the personification of the great woman teachers of Tibet.” Continue reading →

Tibetan New Year Cookies or Khapse

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A special part of any Tibetan New Year or Losar celebration is the eating of khapse, deep fried Tibetan cookies. This blog post will give you a glimpse of Dolma Ling Nunnery in India and the some of the preparations by the nuns for Losar. In the days leading up to Losar, the Tibetan nuns, like Tibetan lay people all over the world, will be working hard to prepare large batches of these crispy cookies.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery in northern India making khapse for Tibetan New Year. Photo from the Tibetan Nuns Project 2014.

Khapse (or khapsay) means literally “mouth-eat” and they are a staple of Tibetan New Year’s celebrations everywhere. While these biscuits are made for other celebrations as well, such as weddings and religious events such as the enthronement of a lama, it’s at Tibetan New Year that they are ubiquitous.

Nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery making khapse for Tibetan New Year 2014

The dough for the khapse is usually made with flour, eggs, butter and sugar. It is then rolled out and made into different shapes and sizes. The most common shape is the small twisted rectangular pieces which are served to guests.

Tibetan khapse ready for frying. This shape is made by cutting the dough into a narrow rectangle and then making a slit in the middle. Then one side of the khapse is pulled through.

Larger and more elaborate shapes are made as well, including the so-called Donkey Ears or bhungue amcho (also known as khugo). These are large elongated hollow tubes of crispy pastry that are stacked up on the Losar altar as both a food offering and as a decoration. Strings of dried Tibetan cheese are draped over the top.

Stacks of a special type of khapse made by the nuns decorate the Losar altar at Dolma Ling Nunnery in northern India. Photo from the Tibetan Nuns Project 2014.

Traditionally, khapse would be deep fried in butter or mustard oil, but in exile the nuns use corn oil. The deep frying give the cookies their distinctive light brown or yellow color.

Inside the nunnery kitchen at Dolma Ling, the nuns fry large batches of khapse in big vats of hot oil.

You can make khapse at home. For a recipe for Tibetan khapse, visit our friends at YoWangdu Tibetan Culture. Happy Losar!

Life at Sherab Choeling Nunnery in Spiti

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In the remote Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, lies Sherab Choeling Nunnery, currently home to 42 Tibetan Buddhist nuns, many of whom are sponsored by Tibetan Nuns Project supporters.

group of nuns at Sherab Choeling Nunnery in Spiti

Sherab Choeling nuns in 2006

The nunnery is very secluded and lies in the village of Morang (between Manali and Tabor) at 4,000 meters altitude. It was built in 1995 by 20 nuns and their teacher with the intent of addressing the problem of the inadequate education of women in the region. The nunnery was consecrated in 1995 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama who encouraged the nuns to study. There is a main building, a prayer hall, a classroom, an office, a kitchen and a storeroom. In 2006, Sherab Choeling Nunnery approached the Tibetan Nuns Project to help develop their institution and we accepted them into our sponsorship program.

Earlier this year we received lots of photos of daily life at the nunnery that we wanted to share with sponsors of the nuns and with all the Tibetan Nuns Project donors worldwide.

Although the area of Lahaul-Spiti is part of India, ethnically, the people are descended from Tibetans and the majority are devout Buddhists. They have preserved an ancient Tibetan culture, speaking an old dialect of the Tibetan language, as written in Tibetan scriptures.

Sherab Choeling nun teaching a woman in Spiti

Sherab Choeling Nunnery was the first religious educational project for Spiti women. Traditionally women in this region have suffered from many social and educational disadvantages. Many have been deprived of any kind of education, and this institute is the first in Spiti to provide women with the opportunity to overcome these disadvantages.

Sherab Choeling is a non-sectarian nunnery that recognizes the beauty and value in all Buddhist traditions. The nuns at follow a 17-year study program. The curriculum is designed to educate the nuns in Buddhist philosophy, meditation, Tibetan language and literature, in addition to a basic education in English, Hindi and math. The broad education is intended to provide the nuns with necessary skills to educate future generations of nuns and the communities from which they come. Buddhist nuns studying outdoors Sherab Choeling 2014

Many young girls seek admission to Sherab Choeling, but due to lack of facilities and sponsors, it is not possible for all to gain entrance. The Tibetan Nuns Project helps by raising awareness, finding sponsors for the nuns, and helping them to fundraise for the further development of the institute.
Young Tibetan Buddhist nuns in class

This year started with 14 new nuns in the nunnery including three 5-year-olds. Along with Tibetan classes, the younger nuns are also taught mathematics and Hindi up to 5th standard, after which the nuns are introduced to English language classes.

The nuns have difficult living conditions. They often face long harsh winters and heavy snowfalls. During winter the region is cut off from neighboring villages so the nuns must stock up their daily supplies well before the onset of cold weather. Tibetan Buddhist nun working in kitchen

During the coldest months, the nuns hold their classes, prayers and meetings in the kitchen because it is warmer and helps to save wood.

This year, the nuns were able to do more work to complete the new prayer hall. Construction of the prayer hall began several years ago but was suspended in 2012 for lack of funds. The new prayer hall is nearly finished with plans to turn the old nunnery block into a small 3-room retreat center for the nuns. Tibetan Buddhist nun working in greenhouse Sherab Choeling 2014

Several years ago, people from the nearby village donated a piece of land to the nuns where the nuns can grow spinach, beans and potatoes. With help of volunteers, the nuns have been able to set up three greenhouses where they mostly grow spinach. The head nun has also donated her share of a field to the nunnery so the nuns have been able to grow peas and wheat.

The nuns take a one-month annual holiday, during which most return to their families in nearby villages.

We’d like to thank all our sponsors of nuns at Sherab Choeling for their support. We still need more sponsors. To sponsor a nun please visit https://tnp.org/youcanhelp/sponsor/

Tibetan Nuns in India Close to Earning Highest Buddhist Degrees

A Day in the Life of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns

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Here’s your ticket to India…

With these two videos you can sit back, relax and explore the sights and sounds of life at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute, located near Dharamsala in northern India.

The photos of Tibetan Buddhist nuns in the video and the soundscape below are courtesy of Brian Harris. We hope you enjoy this bit of armchair travelling.

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