Category Archives: Geshema

Interview with a Geshema nun: Tenzin Kunsel

The following is an interview from May 2014 with Venerable Tenzin Kunsel who, at the time, had just completed her second round of examinations for the Geshema Degree, a degree equivalent to a doctorate in Tibetan Buddhism. Since this interview was made, Venerable Tenzin Kunsel has successfully completed all four rounds of her examinations. In July 2016 it was announced that she and 19 other nuns will formally receive their Geshema degrees from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a special ceremony at Drepung Monastery in South India on December 22nd 2016. Venerable Tenzin Kunsel is one of the first Geshemas (female Geshes) in the history of Tibet.

portrait of Tibetan Buddhist nun Tenzin Kunsel

Venerable Tenzin Kunsel who will become one of the first Geshemas in the history of Tibet

Background

I was born to a simple family near Lhasa and I came to exile in 1991. When I was in Tibet, we were not given a Buddhist education; instead we had to do prayers for the people who made offerings at the nunnery. It was really disappointing as well as sad that we were not given the education we needed. I strongly felt that the best way to become educated in Buddhist studies was to come to India. Along with 75 other newly arrived nuns, I came to Dolma Ling Nunnery. Today I am here for the 2nd round of the historic Geshema examinations.

Q: How has being at the nunnery made a difference in your life?
A: When I first reached Dolma Ling Nunnery, its facilities weren’t as good as now. But I never lost hope. Many times, my family pressured me to go to school rather than the nunnery. But I never wanted to go to school because I thought I would not get a proper Buddhist education.

After being admitted to the nunnery, I started my studies from the basic education. It gave me special comfort and peace of mind, making me strongly feel that I had not made the wrong decision to join the nunnery in India.

Q: If you could speak directly to the sponsor who is helping you get education, food and health care at the nunnery, what would you say to that person?
A: I always feel grateful and fortunate to have sponsors who are truly kind. We are from totally different worlds with no blood relation, yet they still extend financial as well as moral support. It is partly because of the sponsor that I am one of those lucky nuns able to grab the rare opportunity to obtain the Geshema qualification.

I also feel that the sponsors are much more generous than my own parents. Parents are bound with the universal responsibility for looking after their own child, but our sponsors are never bound with the responsibility to look after me and take care of me like their own child. I always pray for their happiness and success in their lives. Continue reading →

Tibetan Buddhist Nuns Make History: Congratulations Geshema Nuns!

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Twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns have just made history, becoming the first Tibetan women to successfully pass all the exams for the Geshema degree, equivalent to a Doctorate in Buddhist philosophy. Exam results were announced by the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration. All 20 candidates for the degree passed.

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A Geshema candidate on Day 1 of the Geshema examinations held this year at Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala, India. Photo courtesy of Venerable Delek Yangdron.

Their success fulfills a longstanding wish of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and marks a new chapter in the development of education for ordained Buddhist women and is a major accomplishment for Tibetan women.

The Geshema degree (a Geshe degree when awarded to men) is the highest level of training in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. These women pioneers have accomplished a level of scholarship and Buddhist training that, until recently, was only open to men.

The Geshema examination process is an extremely rigorous one that takes four years in total, with one round per year each May. During the 12-day exam period, the nuns must take both oral (debate) and written exams. They are examined on the entirety of their 17-year course of study of the Five Great Canonical Texts. In 2011, a German nun, Kelsang Wangmo, who spent 21 years training in India, became the first female to receive the Geshema title.

The new Geshema nuns will formally receive their degrees from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a special ceremony at Drepung Monastery in Mundgod in southern India.

Good luck! Nuns departing from Dolma Ling Nunnery to take their Geshema exams in the spring of 2016 receive wishes of good luck from the other nuns. Photo courtesy of Venerable Delek Yangdon

This occasion is also a milestone for the Tibetan Nuns Project, which was founded in 1987 to provide education and humanitarian aid to Tibetan Buddhist nuns living in India. A number of the Geshema candidates were illiterate when they escaped from Tibet. To reach this historic milestone, the Tibetan Nuns Project had to build an educational system from the ground up.

“Educating women is powerful,” says Rinchen Khando Choegyal, Founder and Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project. “It’s not just about books. It is also about helping nuns acquire the skills they need to run their own institutions and create models for future success and expansion. It’s about enabling the nuns to be teachers in their own right and to take on leadership roles at a critical time in our nation’s history.”

Earning the Geshema degrees marks a turning point for the nuns. This degree will make them eligible to assume various leadership roles in the monastic and lay communities, previously reserved for men.

Tibetan nun, Buddhism, Geshema, Geshe, Tibetan Nuns Project, Geden Choeling, Dharamsala, Tibetan Buddhism

Nuns must take both written and oral (debate) exams each year as part of the rigorous 4-year Geshema examination process. Photo courtesy of Venerable Delek Yangdron

The Tibetan Nuns Project supports 7 nunneries in India as well as many nuns living on their own for a total of over 800 nuns. Many are refugees from Tibet, but the organization also reaches out to the Himalayan border areas of India where women and girls have had little access to education and religious training.

First batch of Geshema candidates sit their final round of exams

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This month twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns are making history as they take their fourth and final round of examinations for the Geshema degree. Those who pass will receive their degrees in December 2016 from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a special ceremony in India.

The Geshe degree (Geshema for women) is equivalent to a Doctorate in Buddhist Philosophy and is the highest level of training in the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

A Geshema candidate on day 1 of the Geshema examinations being held this year at Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala, India. Photo courtesy of Venerable Delek Yangdron.

Once only open to men, the opportunity to get the Geshe degree was opened to women in 2012. The Geshema examinations represent a huge milestone for Tibetan Buddhist nuns and this batch of 20 nuns will be the first Tibetan women with this highest degree in the history of Tibet.

This year’s Geshema examinations are being held at Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala, India from May 1 to 12th 2016. Continue reading →

A long journey to an amazing result: one nun’s story

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Born into a simple family in eastern Tibet, Lobsang Dolkar, became a nun in her teens. With no opportunity to study, she spent her days in household chores and tending livestock. Being a nun meant reciting mantras and doing prostrations.

Lobsang Dolkar, Tibetan Nuns Project, Buddhist nun, Tibetan nun, Dolma Ling nun

Venerable Lobsang Dolkar, one of the first Dolma Ling nuns

When her brother married, she became free to make a pilgrimage to Lhasa where she made friends with another nun. They decided to go to India to attend
the 1990 Kalachakra being given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Caught twice crossing into Nepal and handed back to the Chinese, their third attempt was successful.

Lobsang Dolker had not planned to stay in India, but her friend convinced her it was no use returning to Tibet and they should instead enroll in the newly founded nunnery, Dolma Ling.

She is among the first batch of nuns who entered the study program and at the same time helped with its construction. It was a joyous moment in 1994 when they moved into newly constructed rooms and had a home in India. Sadly she did not see her parents again; they passed away two years ago.

When she began her studies, it was hard for her to grasp what was being taught since she had had no previous education. But she never gave up. She feels that the opportunity to earn the Geshema Degree is very special and is grateful to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his continuous support of nuns’ education. Access to this degree encourages nuns to persevere.

Lobsang says that, in the beginning, she was scared to sit the Geshema exams, but she never thought of backing out because she did not want younger nuns to accept failure without trying hard for their degree. In May she successfully passed Year 2 of the four-year exams. All being well, she will be a Geshema in 2017.

Looking back on how far she has come, Lobsang appreciates the importance
of education and is grateful to all the teachers and staff for their dedication to the nuns.

We are looking for more sponsors. You can sponsor a nun for less that $1 a day and help provide food, education, shelter and health care. 100% of your sponsorship gifts go to India. Learn more at https://tnp.org/youcanhelp/sponsor/

Breaking News: Third Round Geshema Exam Results Are In

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The much-anticipated Geshema Exam results have just arrived. The results have been sent to the respective nunneries and have been announced to all the nuns.

The third round of Geshema Examinations took place from May 1-12, 2015 at Jangchub Choeling Nunnery in Mundgod in southern India. 37 Tibetan nuns took part in this round of examinations split as: Continue reading →

Third Round of Geshema Examinations

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The third round of Geshema Examinations is taking place from May 1-12 2015 at Jangchub Choeling Nunnery in Mundgod in southern India.

This year there are 38 Tibetan nuns taking part in this round of examinations and they are split as:

11 in the first year,
6 nuns in the second year of examinations,
and 21 in the third year.

One of the 38 Tibetan nuns taking the Geshema Examinations

The Geshema examination process is a rigorous one that takes four years in total, with one round per year each May. The fourth round of examinations will be held in 2016 at Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, northern India. Continue reading →

One of the first Geshema nuns: The Story of Venerable Delek Wangmo

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Venerable Delek Wangmo’s journey to the Geshema exams has been a long, arduous and sometimes dusty one.

She is one of the first batch of Tibetan nuns who are sitting the 4-part exams for the Geshema degree, equivalent to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. The culmination of 17 years of rigorous study, this is a level of scholarship and Buddhist training that was previously almost exclusively available to men.

Here is her story.

Venerable Delek Wangmo in her room at Dolma Ling Nunnery. This photo and the photograph below are both courtesy of Brian Harris.

Continue reading →

Breaking news: Geshema exam results are in

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Geshema Exams Part Two

Exam results are in for 29 Tibetan Buddhist nuns who made history this year as they work towards their Geshema degree.

22 of the 23 nuns who sat Part 2 passed.
4 of the 6 nuns who sat Part 1 passed.
Those who did not pass have the opportunity to re-sit next year.

About the Geshema Degree

The Geshema degree is comparable to a doctorate in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.

Geshes, and soon also Geshemas, are the most educated monastics, carrying much of the responsibility for preserving the Tibetan religion and culture. The Geshema exams take place over 4 years and are the culmination of a rigorous 17-year course of study.

This is historic because the degree was previously only open to men.

The nuns’ achievements are all the more remarkable because some of the women sitting the doctoral exams were totally illiterate when they escaped from Tibet.

Background

The opening up of this opportunity for nuns would not have been possible without the support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Department of Religion and Culture of the Tibetan government in exile, and high lamas and teachers.

In many ways, their immense leap in capacity has been made possible through the programs that you have helped support through the Tibetan Nuns Project.

Your support has also helped us work tirelessly for the opportunity for ordained Buddhist women to get the Geshema degree.

Once they obtain their Geshema degrees, besides being in possession of a treasure of knowledge, the nuns will be eligible to assume various leadership roles in the monastic and lay communities, bringing them one step closer to standing as equals.

Video of Geshema Exams for Tibetan Buddhist Nuns

Global good wishes to the Geshema exam nuns

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People from around the world have sent messages of good luck and support to the 29 nuns sitting their Geshema exams in India. The exams have taken place over the last two weeks and finish today, May 15th. The exams are the culmination of a rigorous 17-year course of study and are a landmark achievement for Tibetan women.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns and their teachers during oral examination Geshema exams 2014

A photograph taken during the oral examinations of the May 2014 Geshema exams for Tibetan Buddhist nuns

Twenty-nine Tibetan Buddhist nuns from various nunneries gathered for 1 month at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute in the Kangra Valley, near Dharamsala, northern India. During the last two weeks of April, the nuns took part in an intensive study session and then on May 1st they began their oral and written exams. This is only the second year that Geshema exams for Tibetan nuns have taken place. This year, 23 of the 29 nuns have been sitting Part 2 of the four-part exam, while 6 nuns have been taking Part 1.

Here are some of the many heartfelt messages that the nuns received via the Tibetan Nuns Project Facebook page:

Andrew from Canada wrote, “Good luck, just don’t be very nervous because you have worked so hard and you are wise and virtuous already.”

Rita from USA wrote, “I am so glad this day has come! No need to send you luck for it is your dedication and self-discipline that will bring you the success you deserve. I know you are all masters at meditation so I am confident that your minds will be clear and focused. I celebrate this day with each of you! The Buddha is smiling! ”

Ugyen, a Tibetan woman from Bhutan, said, “Best of luck !!! Very appreciative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s advocacy to change the landscape of religious education. Hope to see a lot more Geshemas.”

Colleen in Australia wrote, “Sending blessings to all participating in these exams that they may succeed in passing. Blessings also to all teachers involved with passing on their knowledge. May all children receive blessings of education, and may all beings be free from suffering.”

Barbara from New Mexico, sent this message, “Good luck, and though you are studying hard, be sure to take time to eat and sleep! All of us out here are wishing you the best!”

Marci from the USA sent these words, “We know you will all do well. Many blessings and much gratitude for your efforts, each and every one. May you attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.”

If you would like to see all the messages of good luck and support, join the Tibetan Nuns Project Facebook page.

Nuns reading messages of support to the Geshema candidates

Nuns reading messages of support from other nuns to the Geshema candidates

The nuns themselves also wrote and shared letters, poems and messages of support to their sisters writing the exams.

poem of good luck written in Tibetan by a Buddhist nun

A good luck poem written by a fellow nun and posted on the noticeboard of Dolma Ling Nunnery in support of the nuns taking their Geshema exams.