Please help keep over 400 Tibetan Buddhist nuns healthy through exercise!
At the nuns’ request, we are fundraising for exercise equipment for the over 400 nuns at Dolma Ling and Shugsep nunneries. Both nunneries in northern India were built and are fully supported by the Tibetan Nuns Project.
The nuns at both nunneries have asked for help to create open-air gyms with safe, durable, and user-friendly exercise equipment specifically designed for outdoor use. The over 300 nuns at Dolma Ling also wish to install badminton and basketball courts alongside the open gym. The proposed fitness equipment includes:
- Fixed exercise bicycle
- Up and down twister
- Leg press
- Air walker
- Double shoulder wheel
- Double-seat swing
- Double seesaw
“Regular fitness training is essential for maintaining optimal health, preventing chronic diseases, and enhancing mental well-being,” Geshe Lhakdor stated in his address to the nuns in the spring of 2026. Too often, by the end of 23 years of rigorous study, and approaching the age of 40 the nuns find themselves to be not as fit as they might be to lead a long and useful life giving back to others.
A makeshift badminton court at Dolma Ling Nunnery. The nuns would love to be able to play badminton and basketball regularly.
Exercise is key for women’s health. It keeps the heart strong, prevents bone loss, and reduces cancer risk. Women, many of them at menopausal age, need weight-bearing exercise to maintain their bone density and prevent osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercises and games like basketball and badminton build strong bones. By maintaining health, balance, and strong bones, one can avoid falls and bone fractures which can cause hospital stays, long-term disability, or even death.
Exercise is essential for the nuns’ physical and mental health. The nunnery’s leadership have recommended that dedicated periods for physical activities be incorporated into the school timetable to encourage regular exercise and promote a healthy lifestyle.
Although the nuns have a very busy schedule of prayers, classes, study, and chores, there is still time and need for regular physical exercise to keep them strong and healthy.
Total cost for both nunneries: $26,500
Please help provide fitness equipment to keep the nuns healthy and strong!
To help you can:
- Make a gift online
- Call our office in Seattle, U.S. at 1-206-652-8901
- Mail a check to The Tibetan Nuns Project, 815 Seattle Boulevard South #418, Seattle, WA 98134 U.S. (note that it is for the Fitness Equipment)
- Donate securities
- Leave a gift in your will to the Tibetan Nuns Project
Daily Life and Long Hours of Study
New nuns enter the nunnery and begin the 23-year-long study program at the age of 12 to 14 years. Their day starts at 5:30 or 6 in the morning with prayers in the temple. Classes begin at 8 am with a formal assembly, normally held outside in the courtyard. The nuns then attend a full schedule of classes until lunchtime. They have classes are in philosophy, Tibetan language, history, English, math, and science.
Tibetan Buddhist nuns have a fairly sedentary life with long hours each day spent in prayer, meditation, and seated in classrooms. Exercise equipment would help them stay healthy and strong.
After lunch, from 3-5 pm, the nuns practice debate in the open-air courtyard, reviewing what they have learned in class that day. This century’s old important study method used in the Tibetan tradition enhances and enriches the students’ reasoning skills, mental agility, and understanding. In the evening, they have to prepare for the following day’s lessons by memorizing the texts and completing their assignments.
Chores, such as lifting rocks at the river to help with the water flow, are one way that the nuns stay fit, but having access to fitness equipment at both nunneries would be a huge benefit to their long-term health and well-being.
The nuns themselves work hard to maintain the facility and they do regular chores. Every day, one class works to keep the grounds clean and, every second Saturday, they all work to thoroughly clean the whole campus both inside and out. Keeping the water channels clear and managing the water system is a great deal of work, which the nuns undertake energetically. The nuns work in the kitchen in groups of 4, turn by turn. Those on duty have to get up very early to prepare the early morning breakfast for the other nuns.
Preparing the Ground
Shugsep Nunnery does not require any ground preparation work, but Dolma Ling does. Dolma Ling nuns have already undertaken the considerable task of clearing and levelling a piece of land below the cow house area. This land was unused and it is where they would like to have their open-air gym, badminton court, and basketball court. The work involves ground preparation and drainage work.