Category Archives: Losar

Celebrating Losar at Dolma Ling – Photo Essay

Sit back, relax, and take an armchair journey to Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute in India, home to about 250 Tibetan Buddhist nuns. The wonderful team of Media Nuns at Dolma Ling took dozens of photos showing the nuns preparing for and celebrating Losar, Tibetan New Year.

butter sculptures, Losar, Tibetan butter sculptures

The art of making sculptures out of butter has been practiced for over 400 years in Tibet. This highly revered artistic tradition is now being taught to nuns at Dolma Ling and is being preserved by them.

Losar or Tibetan New Year is a very special time of year. This year, Losar fell on February 10th and, according to the Tibetan calendar, is the start of the year of the Wood Dragon 2151. In the traditional calendar, each year has an animal, an element, and a number.

Losar-related rituals fall into two distinct parts. First, the nuns, like all Tibetans, prepare for the new year and say goodbye to the old year, letting go of all its negative or bad aspects. Part of the preparations involves cleaning the nunnery.

Tibetan butter sculptures

In the weeks leading up to Losar, the nuns make elaborate butter sculptures of flowers and Buddhist sacred symbols to decorate the Losar offering table and offering boxes.

Since 2001, the Dolma Ling nuns have been studying the ancient art of butter sculpture making. In addition to the larger butter sculptures made for the Losar altar, the nuns make smaller displays on individual sticks, called tsepdro, for each person in the nunnery — nuns, staff, and teachers. This means that each Losar, the nuns make around 300 of these, using a wide variety of designs. The nuns display them in their rooms as part of their Losar altars and offerings, as a kind of bundle of auspiciousness.

Besides making butter sculptures, the nuns prepare special Losar foods like the deep-fried biscuits called khapse. Khapse means literally “mouth-eat” and the dough is usually made with flour, eggs, butter, and sugar. It is then rolled out into various shapes and sizes. The most common shape is the small twisted rectangular pieces served to guests.

making khapse for Losar or Tibetan New Year

Each year the nuns make khapse in various shapes and sizes. These deep-fried Tibetan cookies are a staple of Tibetan New Year celebrations everywhere.

On the night of the 29th day of the 12th month, or the eve of Losar, Tibetans eat a special soup called guthuk. Guthuk is eaten only once a year as part of a ritual of dispelling any negativities of the old year and to make way for an auspicious new one.

special food for Losar or Tibetan New Year

The top photos show nuns getting guthuk soup with the dough balls containing hidden messages. The bottom photos show the special tea and sweet rice served in the temple at Losar.

Guthuk has at least nine ingredients and the soup is extra special because each person receives a large dough ball containing a hidden item or symbol in it. Each item is meant as a playful commentary on the character of the person who gets it.

Before the first day of Losar, the nuns create an elaborate altar or offering table using their large butter sculpture flowers and stacks of specially made khapse. The Losar altars serve as prominent, central symbols of a wish to cultivate a generous heart and to invoke beautiful blessings for the New Year for all sentient beings.

The nuns also use their butter sculptures to decorate chemar bo. The chemar bo is an open, ornately carved wooden box divided down the middle. The left side is traditionally filled with roasted barley seeds and the right side is filled with chemar, made of roasted barley flour (tsampa), sugar, and butter. On arriving, Losar guests are invited to take a pinch of the chemar, after which they offer a blessing and good luck wish while throwing the chemar in the air with three waves of their hands and then taking a tiny nibble. The chemar is an auspicious offering to make at the Losar shrine to bring blessings in the new year.

Losar offering tables, Losar altar, Losar at Dolma Ling, Losar 2024, Tibetan New Year

The Losar offering tables are decorated with butter sculptures and large pieces of khapse called bhungue amcho or donkey ears. These big hollow tubes of crispy pastry are stacked on the Losar altar and decorated with strings of dried Tibetan cheese.

On the day of Losar itself, Tibetans get up early in the morning and wish each other “Tashi Delek” or Happy New Year and then go to the prayer hall for prayers. Part of the prayer ceremony includes tsok, the offering of blessed food including khapse and fruit.

At the end of the puja or prayer ceremony, all the nuns line up to pay homage at the throne of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to the nunnery’s leaders. They offer white kataks, ceremonial Tibetan prayer scarves.

Losar at Dolma Ling, throwing tsampa, Losar 2024, Tibetan New Year

Nuns play a Tibetan wind instrument called gyaling somewhat like an oboe as part of their prayers. They also offer kataks to the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Visiting others is a special part of Losar. The nuns and staff at the nunnery visit each other’s rooms to wish each other a happy new year and to drink cups of traditional Tibetan salty butter tea.

It is customary to hang new sets of prayer flags at Losar. Old prayer flags from the previous year are taken down and burned with bunches of fragrant pine and juniper. The nuns also hang new prayer flags with a wish that all beings everywhere will benefit and find happiness.

If you would like to hang Tibetan prayer flags, you can order prayer flags that are made and blessed by the Dolma Ling nuns.

hanging prayer flags at Dolma Ling Nunnery, Tibetan prayer flags, Tibetan prayer flags at Losar, Tibetan New Year

Tibetan prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be spread by the wind and bring goodwill and compassion to benefit all beings.

On the third day of the Tibetan New Year, a special incense-burning offering called sang-sol is held. While many nuns travel home to visit their families at Losar, some nuns remain at the nunnery and take part in this special event.

After the Losar holiday, the new academic year begins and, if space allows, new nuns join the Tibetan nunneries in India. If you would like to sponsor a nun for just $1 a day, we are always looking for more sponsors.

Losar at Dolma Ling, throwing tsampa, Losar 2024, Tibetan New Year

The nuns gather in a line or circle. Each nun takes some tsampa (roasted barley flour) in her right hand as an offering. They raise their arms simultaneously twice and then, on the third time, they throw the tsampa high into the air shouting “Losar Tashi Delek”.

Thank you for supporting the nuns! You are educating and empowering them and helping to preserve Tibet’s wisdom and culture. We wish you a very happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year.

 

Tibetan Recipes and Comfort Food

Over the years we’ve published Tibetan recipes for typical dishes that the nuns eat. Now we’ve gathered all the recipes in one place for you. Our deepest thanks to Lobsang and Yolanda at YoWangdu Tibetan Culture for sharing some of their recipes and photos with us. They have many more wonderful Tibetan recipes on their website at www.yowangdu.com

Here are 5 recipes in one blog post:
Tibetan Momos
Tibetan Noodle Soup: Thenthuk
Tibetan Hot Sauce, Sepen
Dal Bhat 
Vegetarian Guthuk Soup for Tibetan New Year
Recipes for Tibetan food

Recipe for Tibetan Momos

For 2 people (Makes about 25 momos)
This is a vegetarian recipe for Tibetan momos or 
tsel momos in Tibetan. The nuns make momos for special occasions such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday. This recipe from YoWangdu Tibetan Culture uses tofu, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms to make momos that are light and delicious. If you don’t have time to make your own wrappers, you can buy dumpling, wonton, potsticker, or gyoza wrappers in many grocery stores. These will taste a bit different than the kind Tibetans make, but they will work.

Recipe for Tibetan momos

Tibetan momos. Photo courtesy of YoWangdu.

Dough Ingredients

2 cups white all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water

Filling Ingredients for Vegetarian Momos

1/2 large onion (we use red onion)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup minced cilantro
1 cup baby bok choy (about 2 clusters) or cabbage
5 ounces super-firm tofu
2 stalks green onion
6 largish shiitake mushrooms (you can substitute white mushrooms)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon vegetable bouillon
1/4 cup of cooking oil such as Canola

Prepare the Dough

  1. Mix the flour and water very well by hand; knead for about 5 minutes or until you make a smooth, flexible ball of dough.
  2. Leave your dough in a pot with the lid on or in a plastic bag while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Don’t let the dough dry out or it will be hard to work with.

Prepare the Filling for Vegetarian Momos

  1. Chop the onion, ginger, garlic, cilantro, bok choy, tofu, green onions, and mushrooms into very small pieces.
  2. Heat 1/4 cup of cooking oil in a pan to high and add chopped tofu. Cook on medium high for 2 minutes, until the edges are brown (cooking all water out).
  3. Add chopped mushroom and cook another 3-4 minutes. Cool completely (very important) and add to filling mix.

How to make Tibetan momos recipe copyMaking the Momo Dough Circles

  1. When both your dough and filling are ready, it is time for the tricky part of making the dumpling shapes. To do this, you might want to watch this video  to see how to make the two traditional shapes.
  2. Place the dough on a chopping board and use a rolling pin to roll it out thinly, about 1/8 inch thick. It should not be so thin that you can see through it when you pick it up.
  3. Cutting the dough into circles: Turn a small cup or glass upside down and cut out circles about the size of your palm. Pinch the edges of each circle to thin them.

Shaping a Half-Moon Momo

  1. Prepare (lightly grease) a non-stick surface and get a damp cloth or lid to keep the momos you’ve made from drying out while you finish the others.
  2. Hold a dough circle in your left hand, slightly cupping it. Put about a tablespoon of your veggie filling in the center of the dough. Start with a small amount; try to not overfill.
  3. Starting on one edge and moving to the other, pinch the two sides of the dough together, creating a curved crescent shape. The bottom side of the momo will stay relatively flat, whereas the pinched edge has folds to allow for the bulk of the filling.  Be sure to close all gaps so that you don’t lose juice while cooking.

Recipe for Tibetan momos vegetarian

Cook and Serve Your Momos!

  1. Boil water in a large steamer. (Tibetans often use a double-decker steamer to make many momos at one time.)
  2. Lightly oil the surface of the steamer.
  3. Once the water is boiling, place the momos a little distance apart in the steamer because they will expand a bit when they cook.
  4. Steam the momos for 10-12 minutes, with the water boiling continuously.
  5. Momos are done once the dough is cooked.
  6. Serve the momos right off the stove, with the dipping sauce of your choice. At home, we mix together soy sauce and Patak’s Lime Relish, which we get in Indian stores, or the Asian section of supermarkets. Tibetan hot sauce is also very good. See below for recipe!
  7. Be careful when you take the first bite of the hot momos since the juice is very, very hot, and can burn you easily. Enjoy!steamed Tibetan momos

 

Recipe for Thenthuk, Tibetan Noodle Soup

For 2 people
Here is a recipe for Tibetan noodle soup, called thenthuk (འཐེན་ཐུག་). This comfort food is a common noodle soup in Tibetan cuisine, especially in Amdo, Tibet. Traditionally it would be made with mutton or yak meat. Tibetan noodle soups are generally calledthukpa. Thenthuk (pronounced ten-took) is one kind of thukpa. It is easy and fun to make your own noodles.

Recipe for Tibetan noodle soup, Tibetan recipes, Tibetan soup, thenthuk,

Traditionally, thenthuk is made with meat, but the nuns follow a vegetarian diet. Thenthuk is one kind of Tibetan noodle soup and its name means “pull-noodle” soup.

Dough Ingredients

1 heaping cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water, room temperature
1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp oil

Soup Ingredients

2 or 3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger, finely minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped into thin strips
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
4 to 5 cups vegetable or other stock
2 green/spring onions, chopped
cilantro, a few sprigs, roughly chopped
handful of spinach
soy sauce or salt to taste

Recipe for Tibetan noodle soup, Tibetan recipes, Tibetan soup, thenthuk, ingredients for Tibetan noodle soup

Ingredients for Tibetan noodle soup, thenthuk.

Dough Instructions

  1. Dough: In a bowl, combine the dough ingredients, mix well and then knead for 4 minutes.
  2. Cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
  3. Roll or flatten out the dough and cut into long strips and then make the broth.

Soup Instructions

  1. In a large pot on medium heat, sauté garlic, ginger, and onion in oil for 1 minute.
  2. Add carrots and tomato and gently sauté for one minute.
  3. Add most of the stock and bring to a boil. Adjust the amount of stock later depending on the soup to noodle ratio you prefer.
  4. Put the noodle in the soup by draping the strips over your hand and tearing off pieces of about an inch in size, throwing them into the boiling soup.
  5. Cook for 2 minutes until the noodles are cooked and the stock is boiling.
  6. Add the chopped green onions, cilantro, and spinach and cook for about 30 seconds.
  7. Season with soy sauce or salt. Serve immediately.

Recipe for Tibetan Hot Sauce

Tibetan hot sauce, called sepen in Tibetan, is a popular accompaniment to Tibetan momos and other dishes. While the nuns hand chop all their ingredients, you can make this recipe with a food processor or blender. Add this spicy sauce to anything you like, but be careful, this sepen is extremely hot! You can adjust the heat of the sauce by reducing the amount of red pepper.

recipe for Tibetan hot sauce, sepen

Our thanks to Lobsang and Yolanda at YoWangdu Experience Tibet (www.yowangdu.com) for sharing their recipe for Tibetan Hot Sauce or tsepen.

Ingredients for Tibetan Hot Sauce

1 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes (Roma tomatoes work well)
2 tablespoons cilantro
chopped 2 stalks of green onion
2 stalks of celery
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried red peppers (see the note below)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil for cooking

NOTE: You can adjust the spiciness of this recipe by using less red pepper and/or more of the other ingredients.

Instructions

  1. Roughly chop the celery, tomatoes, green onion, and cilantro.
  2. Peel and roughly chop garlic.
  3. Peel and cut onion in half lengthwise, then slice fairly thin.
  4. Slice tomato in thinnish circles.
  5. Heat oil in pan on high.
  6. On high heat, cook garlic a few seconds, then add onion slices and stir fry about 1 minute.
  7. Add celery and whole red peppers, stir fry another minute.
  8. Add tomato slices, and stir fry for a minute or so.
  9. Stir in cilantro, chopped spring onion, and salt.
  10. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes.

At this point, everything should be cooked down a bit. Put everything in a blender or food processor until you have a sauce. Stop at the thickness you like.

Recipe for Dal Bhat

Serves 2 people
Traditionally Tibetans in Tibet don’t cook dal, but it is a very common dish among Tibetans in exile, especially those in India and Nepal. Dal bhat is a traditional Nepali or Indian food consisting of lentil soup (dal) served with rice (bhat). Here’s a recipe from Yowangdu Tibetan Culture for how to cook Tibetan-style dal (or dal bhat). This recipe has been slightly edited for length.

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils (masoor dal) (other types of dal can take much longer to cook)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small red onion, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric*
½ teaspoon cumin seeds*
½ teaspoon coriander powder*
1 medium tomato, diced
½ tablespoon butter or ghee (optional, but it gives a nice flavor)
2 tablespoons cilantro and/or green onion, chopped, for garnish
water, to make soup
basmati rice (or any kind you wish)
Indian chutney or pickle (achar) of your choice. Patak’s lime pickle and other pickles can be found at many large grocery stores.
Optional: add pepper of your choice, or red pepper flakes.

*If you prefer, you can use Shan Dal Curry Mix or garam masala instead of the turmeric, cumin and coriander.

Instructions

  1. Wash the lentils and rinse a couple of times. Be careful to remove any stones. If you have time, soak the lentils in water as long as you can, up to overnight, before you cook. They get very soft and can cook faster.
  2. Begin preparing the rice any way you like so it will be ready when you’re done cooking the dal.
  3. Chop your onion, and mince the garlic and ginger and set aside.
  4. Chop the tomato and set aside.
  5. Wash your cilantro and or green onion. Chop for garnish and set aside.
  6. Heat oil on high for a minute or two.
  7. Add ginger, garlic and onion, and stir fry on high until the onion is a little brown on the edges, 1-2 minutes.
  8. Stir in cumin seeds, salt, turmeric, mustard seed and coriander powder. Turn the heat down to medium (6 out of 10 on our stove), and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Keep the stove at medium (6/10) for the rest of the cooking process and stir occasionally.
  9. Add tomatoes and butter. Stir, cover with lid and cook for 4 minutes.
  10. After 4 minutes, stir in the lentils, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
  11. After cooking for 5 minutes, add one cup of water, cover with lid and cook for 5 more minutes.
  12. When the 5 minutes are up, stir in 2 more cups of water, as the water will begin to decrease as you cook.
  13. Continue cooking on medium for 10 minutes.
  14. Now your dal is ready. Turn off the stove and sprinkle the chopped cilantro and/or green onion on top.
  15. Serve with rice.

NOTE: Many Tibetans like to serve the dal in a small soup bowl, beside a plate of rice. Some people like to ladle the dal over the rice and mix it up to eat. Indians and Nepalis often eat dal baht with their hands, as do some Tibetans, but many of us also use a spoon.

Add some Indian chutney or pickle (achar) or hot sauce such as Patak’s Lime Pickle or relish, which is goes very well with this dal bhat.

Recipe for Tibetan Guthuk

Serves 2 or 3 people depending on your appetite.
Double or triple this for a guthuk party.
This is a recipe for Losar or Tibetan New Year. Guthuk is a special soup is eaten on the night of the 29th day of the 12th month, or the eve of Losar. Guthuk is the only Tibetan food that is eaten only once a year as part of a ritual of dispelling any negativities of the old year and to make way for an auspicious new one. 

Tibetan guthuk soup

Vegetarian guthuk soup. Photo and recipe courtesy of YoWangdu.com

Guthuk gets its name from the Tibetan word gu meaning nine and thuk which refers generally to noodle soups, so guthuk is the soup eaten on the 29th day. The gu part of the name also comes from the fact that the soup traditionally has at least nine ingredients. In this vegetarian version of guthuk, the nine main ingredients are mushrooms, celery, labu (daikon radish), peas, tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, and spinach. A traditional guthuk would include meat (yak or beef) and dried cheese.

This guthuk recipe from YoWangdu is a fusion of traditional and contemporary Tibetan cooking. It has a traditional Tibetan noodle soup called thukpa bhatuk as its base, but is vegetarian and includes celery and mushrooms for a flavorful vegetarian broth.

What makes the soup extra special is that each person eating the soup receives one large dough ball with a hidden surprise inside it. Tucked inside the dough ball is a item or symbol of that item which is meant to be a playful commentary on the character of the person who gets it.

Guthuk dough ball with the Tibetan word for salt inside it.

Guthuk dough ball with the Tibetan word for salt inside it. Photo © YoWangdu

In the dough ball above, for example, is a slip of paper with the Tibetan word for salt (tsal). This is supposed to symbolize a lazy person. Traditionally, there would be an actual piece of rock salt inside the dough ball. In any case you don’t want to draw the dough ball with salt!

The objects or words placed into each large dough ball are jokingly meant to refer to the character of the person who gets it. Here’s a list of four positive and six negative objects and their Tibetan words and symbols:

Wool (bay) means you’re kind hearted
A thread rolled inwards (kuba nandrim) symbolizes a person who draws luck and money
Sun (nyima) means the goodness related to light
Moon (dawa) also means the goodness related to light
Chili (sepen) means a sharp tongue
Salt (tsa) means you’re lazy
Glass (karyul) symbolizes someone who is happy when there’s fun, but disappears when there is work to do
Coal (sola) means you’re black hearted
A thread rolled outward (kuba chidrim) represents someone who spends or dissipates luck or money
A small prickly ball (semarango) symbolizes a prickly person

A nice Tibetan custom is that, if any family member is absent, he or she still gets a bowl of guthuk served up, with the extra dough ball, and someone will call them to tell them what object they got.

Guthuk ingredients from YoWangdu

Vegetarian Losar Guthuk Ingredients. Photo © YoWangdu.

Dough Ingredients for Guthuk

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

Soup Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1/3 medium onion
5 medium shiitake mushrooms
1 tomato, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce (if using regular soy sauce, leave out the salt)
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water (first cooking) + 3 cups of water (second cooking)
1/3 cup raw sugar snap peas, without shells
2/3 of a large labu, cut into strips, see instructions below. (labu = daikon = Japanese radish)
5 cups spinach (measure before chopping), roughly chopped. (As long as they are clean, no need to remove the stems.)
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions for Guthuk

  1. Prepare the soup Ingredients. First mince the garlic and ginger.
  2. Chop the onion.
  3. Roughly chop the celery, mushrooms, and tomato.
  4. Prepare the labu (daikon radish) by peeling it with a potato peeler, removing the two ends, and chopping it into thin, narrow strips about as long as your finger. Soak the chopped labu in water with about 1 tsp of salt; swish around and leave for several minutes before draining and rinsing well several times to remove the saltiness and bitterness. Tibetans say that rinsing like this gets rid of the strong radish smell.
  5. Chop the garnishes.
  6. Finely chop the cilantro.
  7. Chop the green onion.
  8. Roughly chop the spinach (or don’t chop if you like large pieces)
  9. Set all these aside until the soup is almost done.
  10. Prepare the dough by slowly adding the water to the flour.
  11. Mix the flour and water to form a ball and then knead for a couple of minutes. The dough will be a bit dryish and stiff. If you can’t form a ball, you can a little more water. If dough is sticky, add a tiny bit more flour. This dough does not have to rest after kneading so you can prepare it any time during the cooking process.
  12. Shape the dough. From this dough, you will make two different types of things – first are the  bhatsa, which are the normal little gnocchi-like scoops of noodle in an everyday thukpa bhathuk, and second are the large round dough balls (one for each person eating the soup) that contain hidden items or messages which is what makes this soup a guthuk.
making the dough rope for guthuk YoWangdu

Making the dough rope for the bhatsa in guthuk. Photo © YoWangdu

Making the Normal Bhatsa Noodles

dough for guthuk noodle soup YoWangdu

Pinching off dough and pressing the bhatsa for guthuk. Photo © YoWangdu.

  1. First, rub the ball of dough between your hands to make it into a thick tube of dough, and then pinch off pieces of that tube to make 4-5 chunks of dough.
  2. Then rub each piece of dough between your hands to form long, thin ropes of dough.
  3. Pinch off a piece as big as the end of your fingernail, or smaller.
  4. Rub the dough with one finger in the palm of your hand to cause the little piece of dough to curl up (the better to scoop up the juices in the soup). These little scooped pieces of dough are your bhatsa.
  5. Repeat until you’ve used up all but 1 of your ropes of dough.
  6. You can sprinkle a little flour around the pile of bhatsa, to keep them from sticking together.

Making the Special Dough Balls with the Hidden Items or Messages

  1. Pinch off a piece of dough 4-5 times as big as one of the normal bhatsa. Basically, the dough balls need to be easily distinguishable in the soup, so that we can pick out our dough ball from among the bhatsa.
  2. Roll it roughly into a circle between your hands, but before you finish rolling it, fold one of the pieces of papers with the special messages, and stuff it into the center of the dough ball, then re-roll it to make the ball as smooth as you can. It’s best if there are no cracks so that paper stays dry inside the dough ball when we cook it. Of course if you wish, you can add the actual items, like some salt, or coal, inside the dough ball. But these days most people outside Tibet just put a paper with a word or symbol written on it to signify the item.
  3. Make one dough ball for each person eating your guthuk.

Cook the Soup

  1. Lightly brown the ginger, garlic and onion on medium high, about 3 minutes.
  2. Add celery, mushrooms, tomato, soy sauce and salt and cook on high for about 7 minutes.
  3. Add 3 cups of water, keeping heat on high, and bring to a boil.
  4. When the broth starts to boil, turn down to low and simmer for 10 minutes
  5. After the broth has simmered for 10 minutes, add 3 more cups of water, turn heat on high and bring broth to a boil.
  6. After the broth begins to boil, add the prepared labu and green peas. Heat remains on high.
  7. After 5 minutes, add the bhatsa and the large guthuk dough balls with the special messages inside them. Heat remains on high.
  8. When cooked the bhatsa noodles and the large dough balls will pop up to the surface of the soup. This will take about 5 minutes. When most of them are popped up to the surface, turn off the heat but leave on the burner.
  9. Stir in spinach, cilantro, and green onion and serve right away. (These final ingredients do not really need to cook, and look nicer if they are fresh looking.)
  10. Put one big dough ball in each bowl of soup.
  11. Serve right away – it is best to eat hot!
  12. After you have enjoyed the soup for a while, each person can fish out his or her dough ball and dig out the message inside for some fun!

It is traditional that everyone saves a bit of their soup and then dumps it into a communal dish with a little dough effigy. Place a candle in the dish and carry whole thing out of the house being careful not to look back at the house. Take it to the nearest intersection so that the bad spirits now attached to it will get confused and not return to the home.

Losar in Photos: Tibetan New Year 2022

Losar or Tibetan New Year is a joyful holiday celebrated by Tibetans and people in the Himalayan region with festivities traditionally lasting for several days.

Here are photos and slideshows from two Tibetan Buddhist nunneries showing how the nuns prepare for and celebrate Losar.

This year, Losar began on March 3rd, 2022. According to the Tibetan lunar calendar, it is the start of year of the Water Tiger, 2149.

Losar, Tibetan New Year, Dolma Ling,

Nuns at Dolma Ling hold a chemar box for Tibetan New Year. This ornately carved box contains roasted barley and tsampa (roasted barley flour). It is decorated with butter sculptures made by the nuns. The chemar is an auspicious offering to make at the Losar shrine to bring prosperity in the new year.

Goodbye to All Negativities of the Old Year

Losar-related rituals fall into two distinct parts. First, Tibetans say goodbye to the old year and let go of all its negative or bad aspects. Part of this involves cleaning one’s home from top to bottom. After that, the “new year” Losar (ལོ་གསར་) is welcomed with prayers and by inviting all good, auspicious things into our homes and our lives.

Before Losar, there are many preparations at the nunneries, including making khapse, the deep-fried biscuits that are a staple of Tibetan New Year’s celebrations everywhere. The dough is usually made with flour, eggs, butter, and sugar and is then rolled out and twisted into a variety shapes and sizes. Some are served to guests and some decorate the Losar altar.

Here’s a slideshow of the nuns at Geden Choeling Nunnery preparing for Losar and making khapse. Geden Choeling is the oldest nunnery in Dharamsala, India and is home to about 200 nuns.

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Losar at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute is the largest of the seven nunneries we support in India. Home to about 250 nuns, the nunnery is a busy place at Losar. The nuns at Dolma Ling make butter sculptures to help decorate the Losar altar. They also roll, shape, and fry thousands of khapse biscuits.

Here’s a slideshow showing Losar at Dolma Ling.

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We are grateful to the Media Nuns at Dolma Ling for the photos.

Losar or Tibetan New Year 2022

Losar or Tibetan New Year is a very special time of year. In 2022, Tibetan New Year or Losar falls on March 3rd. According to the Tibetan lunar calendar it is the start of year of the Water Tiger, 2149.

Tibetan New Year Losar butter sculpture decorations

Each year the Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling make butter sculptures for Losar.

In the traditional Tibetan calendar, each year is associated with an animal, an element, and a number. The year of the Water Tiger ends on February 20, 2023 and the year of  the Water Hare, 2150, begins the following day.

Tibetan New Year Activities

Losar-related rituals fall into two distinct parts. First, Tibetans say goodbye to the old year and let go of all its negative or bad aspects. Part of this involves cleaning one’s home from top to bottom. After that, the “new year” Losar (ལོ་གསར་) is welcomed with prayers and by inviting all good, auspicious things into our homes and our lives.

Here is a snapshot of Losar activities at a large Tibetan Buddhist nunnery in India, Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute. The video was made several years ago, prior to the pandemic. All the  photos were taken by the nuns themselves. If you can’t see the video, click here.

Before Losar

On the 29th day of the outgoing year, called nyi-shu-gu in Tibetan, Tibetans do something like a big spring clean. By cleaning, Tibetans purify their homes and bodies of obstacles, negativity, sickness, and anything unclean.

cleaning before Losar Tibetan New Year

In the days leading up to Losar, cleaning is an important part of New Year’s preparations. The nuns clean their room as well as the nunnery complex. Photo from our archives by the Nuns’ Media Team.

Losar Food

On the night of the 29th, Tibetans eat a special kind of noodle soup called guthuk. This dish, eaten once a year two days before Losar, is part of a ritual to dispel any misfortunes of the past year and to clear the way for a peaceful and auspicious new year. If you want to make it at home, here’s a vegetarian recipe for guthuk.

Vegetarian guthuk from YoWangdu copy

Guthuk is a special noodle soup eaten once a year on the 29th day of the last month of the Tibetan calendar. For a recipe for guthuk and other Tibetan food, visit YoWangdu.com. Photo courtesy of YoWangdu.

Guthuk has at least nine ingredients and contains large dough balls, one for each person eating the soup. Hidden inside each dough ball is an object (or its symbol) such as chilies, salt, wool, rice, and coal. These objects are supposed to represent the nature of the person who receives that particular dough ball. For instance, if one gets a lump of rock salt in a dough ball (or a piece of paper with the Tibetan word for salt on it) this implies that one is a lazy person. If a person finds chilies in their dough, it means they are talkative.

Also on the 29th day, special tormas (ritual figures of flour and butter) are made. After supper, the tormas and the guthuk offered by the nuns are taken outside and and away from the nunnery. The nuns say “dhong sho ma” to mean “Go away. Leave the house” to get rid of all bad omens.

Losar Preparations

Other Losar preparations include making special Tibetan New Year foods such as momos and khapse, Tibetan cookies or biscuits. The khapse are made a few days before Losar and are distributed among the nuns and staff.

making khapse for Losar Tibetan New Year

A Tibetan nun fries khapse at Dolma Ling. Khapse are deep fried biscuits that are a staple of Tibetan New Year’s celebrations. The most common shape is the small twisted rectangular pieces which are served to guests. Photo by the Dolma Ling Media Nuns.

The next day is called Namkhang which is the day when houses are decorated. Special ritual offerings are also prepared for the day and these are said in the prayer hall.

Tibetan New Year Losar Chemar box barley and tsampa Tibetan Nuns Project

A chemar box for Tibetan New Year made by the nuns. This ornately carved box contains roasted barley and tsampa (roasted barley flour). It is decorated with butter sculptures made by the nuns. The chemar is an auspicious offering to make at the Losar shrine to bring prosperity in the new year.

Also, as part of the Losar or Tibetan New Year preparations, the nuns make butter sculptures to help decorate the Losar altar.

Tibetan butter sculptures for Losar Tibetan New Year

Elaborate and colorful butter sculptures of flowers and Buddhist sacred symbols decorate the offering table for Losar or Tibetan New Year. These sculptures were made by the nuns at Dolma Ling.

Losar Day

On the day of Losar itself, Tibetans get up early in the morning and wish each other “Tashi Delek” or Happy New Year and then go to the prayer hall for prayers. Part of the prayer ceremony includes tsok, the offering of blessed food including khapse biscuits and fruit.

Here’s an audio recording of the nuns’ Losar prayers courtesy of Olivier Adam.

At the end of the puja or prayer ceremony, all the nuns line up to pay hommage at the throne of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to the nunnery’s leaders. They offer white kataks, ceremonial Tibetan prayers scarves.

Young Tibetan Buddhist nuns holding Losar khapse

Young nuns hold large deep-fried Losar pastries called bhungue amcho or khugo. This particular type of khapse are known as Donkey Ears because of their shape and size. These large, elongated, hollow tubes of crispy pastry are stacked up on the Losar altar and are given as food offerings. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

Visiting others is a special part of Losar. Normally, people visit each to wish each other a happy new year and to drink cups of traditional Tibetan salty butter tea. However, due to the pandemic, all Tibetans living in India have been advised to take special care this year and moderate their Losar activities to keep people safe from COVID.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns offering at Losar Tibetan New Year

Two nuns carry a chemar bo, an open, decorated box with one half filled with chemar, made of roasted barley flour or tsampa and the other half filled with roasted barley. People are invited to take a pinch of the chemar and then offer a blessing with three waves of the hand in the air, then taking a nibble. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

Hanging Prayer Flags at Losar

It is customary to hang new sets of prayer flags at Losar. Old prayer flags from the previous year are taken down and burned with bunches of fragrant pine and juniper. New prayer flags are hung. If you need new prayer flags you can order them from the Tibetan Nuns Project online store. The prayer flags are made and blessed by the nuns at Dolma Ling.

burning old Tibetan prayer flags

At Losar, old prayer flags are removed and burned and new ones are hung at the nunnery. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

On the third day of Tibetan New Year, a special incense burning offering called sang-sol is held. Prior to the pandemic, many nuns would travel to visit their family members at Losar, while some nuns would remain at the nunnery and take part in this special event.

The nuns gather in a line or circle and each nun takes some tsampa (roasted barley flour) in her right hand as an offering. The nuns raise their arms simultaneously twice and then, on the third time, they throw the tsampa high into the air shouting “Losar Tashi Delek”.

Happy Losar Tibetan New Year 2022

 

P.S. It’s not too late to purchase the 2022 Tibetan Nuns Project calendar with stunning images of the lives of the Tibetan nuns, ritual dates, and the Tibetan lunar calendar.

Prepping for Losar, Tibetan New Year

We’ve just received a wonderful batch of photos of the nuns preparing for Losar, Tibetan New Year, and we wanted to share them with you.

This year, Tibetan New Year or Losar falls on February 12th, 2021. The year of the Iron Ox, 2148, begins on this day.

Losar-related rituals fall into two distinct parts. As part of the preparations for Losar, the nuns, like all Tibetans, say goodbye to the old year and let go of all its negative or bad aspects.

Here’s a slideshow for you. If you can’t see it, click here.

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You’ll see photos of the nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute being taught by Gen. Karma, the ritual arts master. Usually, in the past, the nuns were not tested on the ritual arts such as making butter sculptures, making tormas, and drawing, but this year their teacher wanted to test the nuns to see how seriously they have taken their classes over the years. It takes great practice, precision, and patience to keep up these sacred arts.

You’ll also see photos of the nuns making khapse for Losar. These deep-fried Tibetan cookies or biscuits are are a staple of Tibetan New Year’s celebrations everywhere. The nuns make them in a variety of shapes and sizes.

All the photos were taken by the Media Nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute.

This year, because of the pandemic, Losar will be different from previous years. The Tibetan Health Department and the COVID-19 Task Force of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala have called for extreme precautions ahead of Tibetan New Year. They have urged Tibetans around the world to keep the gatherings small and safe.

The vaccine rollout began in India on December 16, 2020. As of the end of January, 152 Tibetan health workers and front line workers had received the first shot of the vaccine.

Tibetan Buddhist Holidays 2021

This is an illustrated list of some of the major Tibetan Buddhist holidays in 2021, as well as some other important dates in the Tibetan calendar.

Front and back of the 2021 Tibetan Nuns Project calendar

Front and back of the 2021 Tibetan Nuns Project calendar

Each year, the Tibetan Nuns Project publishes a calendar with the Tibetan Buddhist holidays and other important ritual dates, plus the phases of the moon, inspirational quotes, and major US and Canadian holidays. This beautiful 2021 calendar is available from our online store, along with prayer flags, incense, malas and much more. By purchasing the calendar, you help provide education, food, shelter, and health care for over 700 Tibetan Buddhist nuns living in northern India. Thank you!

February 12 2021: Losar, Tibetan New Year

Tibetan Buddhist nuns, Tibetan butter sculpture, Losar, Tibetan New Year

Tibetan Buddhist nuns make butter sculptures for Losar Tibetan New Year 2020. Photo by the Dolma Ling Nuns’ Media Team.

Losar, the Tibetan New Year, is a very special time of year.

This year, Tibetan New Year or Losar falls on February 12th, 2021. The year of the Iron Ox, 2148, begins on this day.

In the traditional Tibetan calendar, each year is associated with an animal, an element, and a number. January 1st through February 11th, 2021 are the last weeks of the Tibetan year 2147. Next year, Losar begins on March 3, 2022, and is the year of the Water Tiger, 2149.

Tibetan Buddhist nun, prayer flags, hanging prayer flags

It is customary to hang new prayer flags and to burn incense at Tibetan New Year. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam

The animals in the Tibetan calendar are somewhat similar to those in the Chinese zodiac and are in the following order: Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Bird, Dog, and Boar. The five elements are in this order: Wood, Fire, Earth, Iron, and Water.

Losar-related rituals fall into two distinct parts. First, the nuns, like all Tibetans, say goodbye to the old year and let go of all its negative or bad aspects. Part of this involves cleaning one’s home or room from top to bottom.

Losar, khapse, Tibetan New Year

Nuns at Dolma Ling making khapse biscuits for Losar These deep-fried Tibetan cookies made into different shapes and sizes are a staple of Tibetan New Year’s celebrations everywhere. Photo by the Dolma Ling Nuns’ Media Team, 2020.

After that, the Losar or “new year” is welcomed with prayers and by inviting all good, auspicious things into our homes and our lives. Special food is prepared such as khapse and a  noodle soup called guthuk. See this recipe for vegetarian guthuk. Tibetans hang new prayer flags and also burn incense and juniper bows to welcome the new year.

March 10 and March 12: Tibetan Uprising Day

March 10th, Dharamsala, March 10th, March 10th demonstration, Tibetan nun, Tibetan Nuns Project, Tibetan Uprising Day

Nuns, monks, and lay people hold Tibetan flags and banners as they take part in a demonstration in Dharamsala, India to mark March 10th, Tibetan Uprising Day. Photo courtesy of the Nuns’ Media Team.

While not a Tibetan Buddhist holiday, March 10th is a very important date in the Tibetan calendar. This year marks the 62nd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising. Around the world, Tibetans and their supporters remember and pay tribute to all those who have sacrificed their lives for Tibet’s struggle. An estimated one million Tibetans have perished and 98% of monasteries and nunneries were destroyed under the Chinese occupation.

In 1950, Chinese Communist forces invaded Tibet. On March 10, 1959, Tibetans attempted to take back their country with an uprising in Lhasa. The protests were crushed with brutal force.

March 12th 2019 marks the 62nd anniversary of the Tibetan Women’s Uprising. Following the National Uprising Day on March 10th, thousands of Tibetan women gathered in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa to demonstrate for Tibetan independence.

Read this blog post to learn more about these important dates and why Tibetans are in exile.

May 26 2021: Saga Dawa Düchen

The most important month in the Tibetan calendar is Saga Dawa, the 4th lunar month which runs this year from May 12 to June 10, 2021. The 15th day of this lunar month, the full moon day is called Saga Dawa Düchen. Düchen means “great occasion” and this day is the single most holy day of the year for Tibetan Buddhists.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns, Saga Dawa, reading words of the Buddha

Every year, during the month of Saga Dawa, over a period of several days, the nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery read the entire Tibetan Buddhist canon or Kangyur, the 108 volumes of the spoken words of the Buddha. During 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the nuns had to observe physical distancing while reciting. Photo courtesy of the Nuns’ Media Team.

In 2021, Saga Dawa Düchen falls on May 26th. Saga Dawa Düchen commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni. In other Buddhist traditions, this occasion is known as Vesak or is sometimes called Buddha Day.

Saga Dawa is known as the month of merits. Tibetan Buddhists make extra efforts to practice more generosity, virtue, and compassion in order to accumulate greater merit. Tibetans believe that during this month, the merits of one’s actions are multiplied. On the 15th day of the month, the merits of one’s actions are hugely increased.

Every year, during the month of Saga Dawa, over a period of several days, the nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery read the entire Tibetan Buddhist canon or Kangyur, the 108 volumes of the spoken words of the Buddha.

Last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown in India, the nuns had to adapt their regular celebrations and rituals for Saga Dawa.

June 24, 2021: Universal Prayer Day

Tibetan Buddhist nuns, burning juniper

As on other auspicious occasions, such as Tibetan New Year and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday, nuns burn fragrant juniper boughs. Photo by the Dolma Ling Nuns’ Media Team

Universal Prayer Day or Dzam Ling Chi Sang falls on the 15th day of the 5th month of the Tibetan Lunar calendar, so in June or July. It is a time for spiritual cleansing. Tibetans hang prayer flags and burn juniper twigs.

July 6: His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Birthday

His Holiness the Dalai LamaAround the world, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday on July 6th will be celebrated with happiness and prayers for his good health and long life. This year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama turns 86. The nuns will pray and make special offerings of tsok, khataks (prayer scarves), and sangsol (incense offering) to His Holiness. It’s a day of celebration with special food, such as Tibetan momos, the steamed savory dumplings that are much loved by Tibetans around the world and that are often made on Tibetan Buddhist holidays.

July 14, 2021: Buddha’s First Teaching

Called Chokhor Düchen, this important day falls on the fourth day of the sixth lunar month. This day is the third “great occasion” (düchen) in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar. It celebrates the first teaching by the historical Buddha, named Siddhartha at birth and commonly known as Shakyamuni Buddha.

On this day, over 2,500 years ago, the Buddha gave the teaching of the Four Noble Truths in Sarnath, shortly after attaining enlightenment in Bodhgaya. This event is known as the “turning of the wheel of dharma”. In Theravada traditions, this event is remembered on Dhamma Day, also known as Asalha Puja, and is generally marked on the full moon of the eighth lunar month. To celebrate Chokhor Düchen, Tibetan Buddhists make pilgrimages to holy places, offer incense, and hang prayer flags.​​

October 27, 2021: Buddha’s Descent from Heaven

Tibetan Buddhist nuns, Tibetan Buddhist holidays, praying, Olivier Adam, Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhist nuns praying. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

Another “great occasion” or düchen in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar is Lhabab Düchen. This date commemorates the Buddha’s descent from the heavenly realm following his visit there to teach his deceased mother. Lhabab Düchen occurs on the 22nd day of the ninth lunar month, according to the Tibetan calendar.

On this day, the karmic effects of our actions are multiplied millions of times. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, people engage in virtuous activities and prayer to gain merit and to mark this special occasion.

March 3, 2022: Losar (Tibetan New Year)

butter sculptures, Losar, Tibetan Buddhist holidays, Tibetan New Year, offerings, Tibetan Nuns Project

Butter sculptures and offerings made by the Tibetan nuns for Losar, Tibetan New Year.

Losar in 2022 falls on March 3rd and is the Year of the Water Tiger 2149 according to the Tibetan calendar.

Tibetan Buddhist Holidays in 2021 and the Tibetan Nuns Project Calendar

It is still possible to order copies of our 2021 Tibetan Nuns Project calendar. It’s a great way to keep track of the Tibetan Buddhist holidays and all the special events throughout the year.

The Tibetan Calendar

Each year, the Tibetan Nuns Project sells a wall calendar through our online store. Our 2022 Tibetan Nuns Project calendar is available for order now.

The Tibetan Calendar vs. the Gregorian Calendar

The Tibetan calendar is thousands of years old. It differs from the Gregorian calendar, which is the international standard used almost everywhere in the world for civil purposes. The Gregorian calendar modified the earlier Julian calendar, reducing the average year from 365.25 days to 365.2425 days and spacing leap years.

While the Gregorian calendar is a purely solar calendar, the Tibetan calendar (Tibetan: ལོ་ཐོ, Wylie: lo-tho) is a lunisolar calendar. This means that the Tibetan year has either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.

2022 calendar, Tibetan Nuns Project calendar, Tibetan calendar

Our 2022 calendar is available through our online store and all proceeds help provide education, food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare to Tibetan Buddhist nuns in India.

In the traditional Tibetan calendar, each year is associated with an animal, an element, and a number. The year of the Water Tiger, 2149, begins on March 3, 2022.

The animals in the Tibetan calendar are similar to those in the Chinese zodiac and are in the following order: Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Bird, Dog, and Boar. The five elements are in this order: Wood, Fire, Earth, Iron, and Water.

2022 calendar, Tibetan Nuns Project calendar, charity calendar, 2022 charity calendar

One of the photos from the 2022 calendar from the Tibetan Nuns Project. All photos were taken by the nuns themselves and sales help to support the nunneries and nuns.

Tibetan New Year vs. Chinese New Year

Next year, starting at Tibetan New Year or Losar on March 3, 2022, it will be the year of the Water Tiger, 2149.

The Tibetan calendar follows three systems: solar day for a day, lunar day for a month, and zodiacal day for a year. The Chinese system of calendar follows the solar day system.

The dates for a new year in the Tibetan astrological system are cast according to the lunar calendar system, which has 371 days in a year, By contrast, the solar calendar system has 365 days in a year.

These few extra days in a lunar system accumulate to an extra month in a period of three years and it is thus balanced as a Da-Shol in the Tibetan astrological calendar system.

The Story of the Tibetan Nuns Project Calendar

The Tibetan Nuns Project calendar was started over 20 years ago as a fundraising and friend-raising tool to help support hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist nuns at nunneries in northern India.

selection of old Tibetan Nuns Project charity calendars

A selection of some of the early Tibetan Nuns Project charity calendars from 2002 to 2008. The Tibetan Nuns Project wall calendar is now full color and uses photos taken by the nuns themselves.

The astrologers at the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute in Dharamsala (also known as Men-Tsee-Khang) supply us with the dates for the year’s Tibetan Buddhist holidays and holy days. It should be noted that the timings of the solstices and equinoxes in the calendar are based on north-eastern India where the nuns live so they may be slightly different from where you are.

The Tibetan Nuns Project calendar uses photographs taken by the nuns themselves. These photographs provide an intimate insight into the daily lives and religious and cultural practices of the nuns.

photo of Tibetan Buddhist nuns doing yoga from 2022 charity calendar

Photo of Tibetan Buddhist nuns doing yoga from the 2022 calendar.

Each summer, the nunneries that we support send a selection of photos for possible inclusion in the upcoming calendar. Once all the photos are gathered together, a final selection is made.  We try to balance the images, choosing at least one photograph from each nunnery and selecting photographs that are windows into the nuns’ lives.

Each photo is captioned and paired with inspirational quotations from renowned Tibetan Buddhist teachers, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

“It’s really exciting to open up emails from India and see the photos sent by the nunneries for possible inclusion in the calendar,” says Lisa Farmer, Executive Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project.

The proceeds from the sale of the Tibetan Nuns Project calendar are used to support over 700 Tibetan Buddhist nuns and seven nunneries in India. The calendar cost $12 plus shipping and is 6.5″ x 7″.

Thank you for buying our 2022 Tibetan Nuns Project calendar and helping the nuns!