A group of Tibetan nuns have passed the halfway mark toward a historic milestone: winning the equivalent of a Buddhist doctorate degree, until recently almost exclusively reserved only for men.
In May, 22 nuns passed through the second stage of examinations for a “Geshema” degree, the female equivalent of a Geshe degree. The examination process began in May, 2013.
Three senior nuns awaiting their turns to debate during the 2014 Geshema examinations
September is always an exciting time of year at the Tibetan Nuns Project office in Seattle because it’s the month when our annual wall calendar comes from the printer.
The Tibetan Nuns Project has been selling beautiful charity calendars for many years to raise funds to support over 700 Tibetan Buddhist nuns living in India at 7 nunneries.
Proceeds from the sale of the 2015 calendar will help provide food, shelter, health care and education to the nuns.
The 2015 calendar is filled with stunning images of Tibetan life and culture all taken by the nuns. It also includes:
All the photos were taken by the nuns in India. Dimension 6.5″ x 7″. Price $11.00
The calendar is available for purchase through our online store or by check from our Seattle office at:
Tibetan Nuns Project
815 Seattle Boulevard South #216
Seattle, WA 98134
Phone: (206) 652-8901
info@tnp.org
Please help us sell all 2,000 calendars by purchasing them as gifts for friends, family and teachers. We would be very grateful if you could also spread the word to your networks.
These calendars give back each and every day and bring happiness to you and the nuns.
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.
Here’s the latest news from Dharamsala:
The second round of the Geshema Examinations was held at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute from May 1-16, 2014. 23 nuns sat the 2nd year exam, while 6 sat the 1st year exam. The results were released on July 6, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Birthday. We are very happy to announce that most of the nuns did very well in their exams; only three nuns failed, one from the 2nd year group and two from 1st year group.
Sagadawa, which is considered a holy month, fell this year from June 13 – July 12. Three events in the life of Lord Buddha took place within this holy month, his birth, enlightenment, and demise. If we practice good deeds during this time period, we consider we will earn more merit than usual, so everybody puts their effort into doing some wholesome activities. In the nunneries, they do special Nyungne (fasting retreat) and in some they read the full 108 volumes of the Kangyur (teachings of Lord Buddha) over a number of days. Most observe the specific practice for ordained people of not eating dinner during that month. Continue reading
Olivier Adam is a French photographer who has been documenting the rich and luminous world of Buddhist nuns since 2008. His photographs focus on the spiritual path and the strength of Tibetan nuns.
On August 14 2014, a moving exhibition of photographs by Olivier Adam will open at the Museum für Völkerkunde in Hamburg, Germany.
The opening of the exhibition will coincide His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings in Hamburg and is being held in conjunction with a series of events about Tibetan culture and Buddhism, including a second exhibition at the museum about Tibetan nomads.
Olivier Adam has been an active supporter of the Tibetan Nuns Project since 2008. He is working tirelessly to spread the word about the Tibetan Nuns Project and donates a portion of proceeds from sales of his high-quality prints to help the nuns.
Here’s an interview with Olivier Adam about his work and why he finds the nuns so inspiring.
Q: When and how did you first start photographing Tibetan Buddhist nuns?
A: I started photographing Tibetan Buddhist nuns in February 2008 at various nunneries in and around Dharamsala, India – at the old Shugsep Nunnery, at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute and at Geden Choeling Nunnery – after a meeting with Rinchen Khando Choegyal, Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project. She gave me the authorization to start this work with the Tibetan nuns. It was just a few days before the dramatic events in Lhasa in 2008, when demonstrations erupted during the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics and Lhasa was completely locked down for a time.
Q: What is it about the nuns that inspires you?
A: I have always worked on feminine photography projects, for instance, the Royal Ballet of Cambodia or the women who were removing landmines in Cambodia. At the beginning I was inspired (and I am still inspired) by the devotion of these nuns. I’m very impressed at how hard they study, from 5 am until sometimes to 10 pm. They have a mix of laughter and serious discipline. I was very interested in documenting the daily life of these nuns, such as their morning prayers, their time in the classroom and all the moments the nuns are sharing together. I am trying to produce inspiring pictures.
Then journey after journey, I started to collect the stories of these nuns, especially those nuns who had escaped Tibet. These are such difficult stories, full of emotion, and some of the nuns wept when referring to these moments. Some of them had spent years in prison because they took part in peaceful demonstrations in Tibet. At the same time, I never felt in their words, in their eyes, in their acts, any loss of compassion, even towards the people who had tortured them.
Day after day I discovered that the nuns and, more Tibetan women in general, are deeply involved in resistance in Tibet and in exile, as I saw them demonstrating on March 10th, the anniversary of the Tibetan uprising in 1959.
Q: You’ve worked very hard to spread the word about the Tibetan Nuns Project. What do you want people to know about our work?
A: Education. Education is the main goal for me. The Tibetan Nuns Project is doing a wonderful job in educating nuns, not only in Buddhist studies but in all aspects of education that a woman will need in this life. I can recognize in this the influence of Rinchen Khando la who was President of Tibetan Women’s Association and also the first woman to become a minister in the Tibetan government in exile.
The work is so broad, from taking care of elderly nuns who escaped Tibet and giving them assistance to, at the same time, building the future of young nuns. Tsewang Zangmo, for example, a young novice at Shugsep Nunnery, arrived few years ago from the border between Nepal and Tibet with eleven other nuns. As a school without tuition fees, the nunnery welcomes young girls from very poor families or who are orphans and provides them with a good education. The Tibetan Nuns Project is trying at the same time to help some remote nunneries to survive, such as Dorje Dzong Nunnery in Zanskar.
I’m also so happy that now nuns have the opportunity to take the Geshema exams – exams equivalent to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhism that, until recently, were only open to monks.
Q: You travel widely to remote locations? Can you tell us about one of your favorite adventures?
A: Discovering Zanskar, one of the highest-altitude inhabited valleys in the Himalayas and the nunneries there two years ago was such an adventure. The nunneries in Zanskar are desperately short of schools and teachers. This is why the Tibetan Nuns Project is helping Dorje Dzong with their education projects. In addition to taking pictures, we helped as much as we could to start building some new houses and we helped the nuns to wash barley to prepare tsampa (roasted barley flour) for the coming winter. All this happened at an altitude of 4000 meters, with two nuns who are 80 years old and full of energy. It was such an adventure. Next month I will be back there at Dorje Dzong to give them some prints and to continue my report there.
Q: This August 14 your exhibition “Tibetan Nuns: Resistance and Compassion” is opening in Hamburg. Tell us about it.
A: It’s such a precious occasion to show this work about Tibetan nuns to a very large public and for a long time because the exhibition will run from August 14th to the end of November at least and maybe even to February.
This exhibition has already been shown in different places in France, but never in such an institution where around 100,000 visitors are expected to see it.
Dominique Butet who is working with me, collecting interviews of the nuns and writing regular articles about these nuns, and Heide Koch who initiated this exhibition in Hamburg and organized it with me, both put real effort into writing the most meaningful texts to accompany the pictures to create an “educational” exhibition.
We are also expecting a visit to the museum by His Holiness Dalai Lama who will be in Hamburg for teachings in August. His Holiness is a strong supporter of the nuns’ education and for women in general.
The opening event will also include a lecture on “Tibetan Buddhist Nuns in Exile: Heading to a New Self-Confidence” by Dr. Rotraut Jampa Wurst and also the movie In the Shadow of the Buddha about nuns’ daily life.
It’s also an occasion to sell some prints and postcards in the museum’s shop and 25% of the benefits will go directly to the Tibetan Nuns Project.
Q: Do you have any favorite photos of the nuns?
A: Difficult question… because each picture is a meeting.
I will first choose one inspiring picture of a ritual I did at Shugsep Nunnery. The 25th day of each lunar month is dedicated to the ritual of Dakini which celebrates the female wisdom. They are considered emanations of the Buddhas as well as guardians of secret knowledge. I hope this picture may inspire all practicioners.
Then, I would definitely choose this picture of Gyaltsen Drölkar that I took when she was demonstrating in Belgium on March 10th.
When Gyaltsen Drölkar was only 19 years old and already a nun she was arrested in Lhasa, during a non-violent demonstration. In 1993, she and 13 other imprisoned nuns secretly recorded cassettes with songs praising the beauty of the Land of Snow and expressing their yearning for freedom. This cost her another eight years of ill treatment and imprisonment. In 2002 Gyaltsen Drölkar was finally freed but she suffers from the severe physical consequences of her 12 years in prison. She now lives in Belgium where she was granted political refugee status.
Finally, I love this picture of a senior nun taking care of her community by teaching a young one the mudra (gesture) used in a mandala offering, taken during the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Zanskar.
Q: Any further thoughts?
A: I would like to share these few words from His Holiness Dalai Lama who is here teaching in Ladakh, from where I’m answering these questions:
“We must insist on education for all. Women must be much more involved in our societies and take part in the building of a more peaceful, less violent world in which people help one another.” Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Olivier Adam was born in Laval, France in 1969. He is a physicist, and graduated from the “ Ecole Normale Supérieure” in Paris, but through the years he has turned to being a photographer. He is now a freelance photographer and a teacher at the photography school Auguste Renoir in Paris. In 2001, his work on the Khmer dance and silk was exhibited at the Palais de l’Unesco in Paris. For several years now he has been studying the Tibetan culture and Buddhism, specially attending the Kalachakra classes, taught by His Holiness the Dalai Lama all over the world.
Olivier belongs to a humanist tradition and works on personal subjects, mixing both Man and the Sacred. Rituals, women and their universe hold an important place in his photos. He has worked together with Sofia Stril-Rever, Matthieu Ricard and Manuel Bauer on a book called Kalachakra : un mandala pour la paix, published in April 2008 by Editions de la Martinière and also the book Dalai Lama- Appel au monde published in May 2011 by Le Seuil.
Since 2008, Olivier has been closely interested in the lives of the Tibetan nuns in exile. He started this work in five nunneries near Dharamsala and he has continued to expand this work by meeting nuns who were former political prisoners and who have been granted shelter in the West. Dakinis, this series on the Buddhist female universe, supplemented by sounds and interviews collected by Dominique Butet, Oliviers’s wife, now extends to nuns from across the Himalayas.
Olivier Adam is a regular photographer for the French magazine Regard Bouddiste and is one of the founders of Dharma Eye, a collective of practicing Buddhist photographers and visual artists who use their art in support of beneficial Dharma causes.
You can see more of Olivier Adams work and purchase his prints at these two websites:
www.olivieradam.fr
www.dharmaeye.com
Exam results are in for 29 Tibetan Buddhist nuns who made history this year as they work towards their 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.
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.
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.
We are happy to share this 1-minute video showing snapshots of this year’s Geshema exams that were held at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute near Dharamsala from May 1st to 15th, 2014.
In the past, the Geshe degree, equivalent to a Continue reading
“Last year the Jang Gonchoe was an excellent one. We debated till midnight each day. We were overjoyed to share our ideas and thoughts. There were about 400 nuns and all were full with enthusiasm and eager to debate with one another.”
Tenzin Nyidon, Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute
For centuries, Tibetan monks have held an annual month-long debating session called Jang Gonchoe. The event was so named for Jang, the region in Tibet west of Lhasa where the month long inter-monastery debate originated, and Gonchoe, which is Tibetan for winter debate.
The nuns of Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute practicing debate in 2013 prior to the completion of the new debate courtyard. Photo courtesy of Brian Harris.
The practice of debate takes many years to fully master and is critical to fostering the nuns’ ability to assume roles as fully qualified teachers of their tradition. In 2015, it will be 20 years since the nuns started taking part in the Jang Gonchoe and building their own strong tradition of debate. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the Tibetan Nuns Project has so far been able to support the Jang Gonchoe for 17 years through major gifts and $100 scholarships to the nuns.
It is our wish to create an endowment for the Jang Gonchoe so it may continue for years to come. The amount needed for full endowment at current exchange and interest rates in India is $300,000.
We have received an initial gift of $35,000 from a nun living in France. By donating to the endowment you are not only helping to preserve the Tibetan culture, but you are opening up a centuries-old tradition to the nuns and enabling and empowering them to become great teachers in their own right. The benefit of this is inestimable and will be an enduring legacy for generations to come.
This is a unique opportunity to build capacity and equality for the nuns, to help ensure that a centuries-old tradition continues and expands to include the nuns, and to foster the dharma for future generations.
Nuns of Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute debating in the spring of 2013. Photo courtesy of Brian Harris
The practice of debate combines logical thinking with a deeper understanding of Buddhist philosophy and is an essential part of monastic education in the Tibetan tradition.
Until the 1990s, Tibetan Buddhist nuns we excluded from this form and level of education and the Tibetan Nuns Project has worked hard to open up this opportunity for the nuns and make debate a core part of their education. Establishing a comparable debate session for nuns has been an integral part of the nuns reaching the level of excellence in their studies that they have.
On September 20, 1995, an historic event took place in the development of the nuns. The first inter-nunnery debate, modeled on the Jang Gonchoe debate of the great monastic institutions of Tibet, was held in Dharamsala. It was organized by the Department of Religion and Culture and was attended by nuns from 4 nunneries in India–Jangchup Choeling, Jamyang Choeling, Geden Choeling, and Dolma Ling.
For the first time in the history of Tibet, nuns debated in front of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for almost two hours. His Holiness was very happy to see their debate because for many years He had been asking nuns to study the higher topics of Buddhism.
Venerable Jampa Tsedroen from Germany donated funding for the first year, but during the second year, 1996, there was no specific funding so the participating nunneries from Dharamsala could only afford half a month debate session while Jangchup Choeling nuns from South India were unable to attend the session altogether.
In the third year, 1997, the nunneries approached the Tibetan Nuns Project for assistance. The Tibetan Nuns Project felt strongly that this method of learning which helped to produce many famous scholars in the monasteries over many centuries must continue and be open to the nuns and so agreed to accept the responsibility for raising the necessary support each year. The Jang Gonchoe session is a great opportunity for the nuns in sharping their mind and sharing their knowledge and debating skill among themselves.
Nuns gather for the 2013 Jang Gonchoe, the month-long inter-nunnery debate event
The number of nuns wanting to participate in the Jang Gonchoe is increasing steadily. At the Jang Gonchoe at Dolma Ling Nunnery & Institute in 2013, over 400 nuns from 8 nunneries in India and Nepal took part in the event.
An average of 7 nunneries take part each year. All nunneries are welcome to join when they can. The main obstacle to wider participation is funding – for travel, food and accommodation for nuns to attend.
• Dolma Ling Nunnery & Institute – participant since 1995
• Jangchup Choeling Nunnery – participant since 1995
• Jamyang Choeling Nunnery – participant since 1995
• Geden Choeling Nunnery – participant since 1995
• Khacho Ghakil Ling, Nepal – yearly participant
• Thugjee Choeling Nunnery, Nepal – yearly participant
• The Buddhist Education Centre from Kinnaur – yearly participant
• Drikung Nunnery – participant once
• Dongyu Gyatseling Nunnery – occasional participant
• Sherab Choeling Nunnery, Spiti – occasional participant
• Yangchen Choeling Nunnery, Spiti – occasional participant
• Jampa Choeling Nunnery, Spiti – occasional participant
• (The nuns from the latter three nunneries now hold their own inter-nunnery debate session each year in Spiti.)
Under guidance from the Tibetan Nuns Project, the nuns themselves have taken on the organizing role. Since 2011, a nuns’ committee formed with two representatives from each participating nunnery has taken responsibility for making all the plans and arrangements for the session.
The venue of the Jang Gonchoe site is rotated among the participating nunneries. It costs more when the debate session is held in Nepal or in South India because most of the nunneries are situated in North India. The annual cost of the Jang Gonchoe varies from between $13,000 and $20,000 depending on the location, the number of nuns participating, and the year. Rapid inflation in India over the past few years has put great pressure on the nunneries, especially for things like food and fuel costs.
The Tibetan Nuns Project fundraises for $100 scholarships to enable nuns to take part. Each year, the Tibetan Nuns Project ensures that at least 25 nuns and two Buddhist philosophy teachers from each participating nunnery are sponsored to attend. As the number of nuns wanting to participate in the session is increasing steadily, when more than 25 from a particular nunnery wish to attend they have to find the funding individually or through their nunnery. The total number of extra nuns that can attend depends on the availability of accommodation in the host nunnery.
“I would like to thank you so much for supporting our education. It is all because of your support that I’m getting all these opportunities to study dharma in Dolma Ling. It has been 10 years now since I’m studying here. It is only through debate and discussion with teachers and dharma friends that has helped me to improve my knowledge and understanding of the teaching in a much better way.”
Tenzin Chonyi, Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute
To donate to the Endowment for the Jang Gonchoe debates, please visit our online donation page or send a check to:
The Tibetan Nuns Project
815 Seattle Boulevard South #216
Seattle, WA 98134 USA
Phone: (206) 652-8901
info@tnp.org
Venerable Tenzin P. studied at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute from 1990 to 2009 and then trained to become a teacher of Buddhist philosophy. In 2009 she began teaching at the Central School for Tibetans in a Tibetan settlement called Hunsur. She is now fully self-supporting from her teacher’s salary. Venerable Tenzin P. is one of 29 nuns who sat Geshema exams in May 2014.
A Tibetan nun’s notebook at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute. Photo courtesy of Brian Harris.
Here’s an interview conducted in the spring of 2014:
I came from Tibet in 1990 and got this rare opportunity to study in Dolma Ling Nunnery. In 2009, the Department of Education [of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India] had facilitated a competition for the Religious Teacher’s post from which I was selected. I had to leave the nunnery for three-months training to become a qualified religious teacher at a school. After completing my training successfully, I was sent to Hunsur Tibetan Settlement as a religious teacher where I have been working for over five years. Since last year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has gifted the nuns with the opportunity to acquire Geshema degree. Because of this I got really inspired and applied for this examination. This is the second year of my Geshema examination.
Sashes around the waist of a Tibetan Buddhist nun. Photo courtesy of Brian Harris.
Q: How has being at the nunnery made a difference in your life?
A: Before coming into exile, I was nun just in a namesake. Back in Tibet, we do not have an opportunity to study and go into the depth of Buddhist studies like we do at the nunneries in India. So I escaped from Tibet with the hope that I would get a much better and proper education from all aspects. After reaching India, I was admitted to Dolma Ling Nunnery to study here. Whatever I am today is all because of the opportunity I got here at the nunnery and the support extended by the sponsors.
If you really commit to do something, no one can stop you from achieving your goal. And there is nothing you cant do if you have the will power.
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: They are extremely generous and amazing. I would like to give the example of my own sponsor, Lynda K_____ [surname removed for privacy reasons] from the USA. She sponsored me from the time I escaped to India in 1990 until I left Dolma Ling Nunnery in 2009. I was extremely surprised as well as blessed when she asked me whether I needed her support even after getting a dignified job. She has never seen me, never heard my voice, never seen me growing up, but still she helped me for almost half a decade I should say. I am sure that the case is the same for all sponsors who have helped nuns at the nunneries.
Sometimes I feel sad thinking that I can’t even talk with her sweetly and thank her personally for whatever she has done for me in the past years. I always wished to meet her at least once. If I ever happen to meet her, I will really be fortunate and will welcome her my like my own mother.
Last but not least, I would like to sincerely thank all our sponsors for their continuous and generous support.
Tibetan Buddhist texts at Dolma Ling Nunnery. Photo courtesy of Brian Harris
Q: What do you think is special about this moment in history of Tibetan nuns of your nunnery and why?
A: In the past, we have always thought that pursuing the Geshema qualification is nearly impossible and is not our cup of tea. After sitting and passing the first year of the Geshema exams, I strongly felt that it is our mentality that makes everything seem difficult. If you have the willpower, commitment and dedication, nothing is impossible. We nuns can also make our nunnery feel proud.
Q: How would you like to use the education that you are receiving at the nunnery?
A: With the grace and blessing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, along with Ama Rinchen Khando Choegyal, I have such an incomparable opportunity to study and sit for the second year of the Geshema exams. His Holiness used to bless us with his words about getting enlightened and social service. I feel that doing social service is something I can do wholeheartedly for sure. It has been five years since I started working as a religious teacher and I never faced any problems while teaching my students.
Recently on January 10th, 2014, His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited our school and our students debated in front of him and appreciated what I taught them. His precious words have inspired and motivated me to continue to serve our community in a much better way.
Q: What is one thing you’d like Tibetan Nuns Project supporters to know about your life at the nunnery?
A: I really want the supporters to know that their generous support has and will never be in vain. When I first came to India and got admitted to the nunnery, I was not well versed like I am now. The level of education has become much higher, for which I feel is a huge success in my life.
Q: What has been the happiest day of your life?
A: I do not have a specific happiest day as such, but the day when I get to do everything according my plan, that day turns out to be meaningful and happy day for me.
Q: What are the benefits you get from education and being in the nunnery?
A: I have learned everything from the nunnery and it has given me a new life with a bright future. I learned how to communicate differently with various people in a much better way. I never had to face or struggle for basic needs like common people do. With the help of sponsors, our basic needs are fulfilled without any difficulty.
Q: What are the difficulties you face during your course of study?
A: [Laughs] Yes! We have many different subjects and so many things to learn. That is why we lack time to cover all the educational materials.
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.
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 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.
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.