In February 2021, the Tibetan Nuns Project asked for help to fund solar lights at Shugsep Nunnery and Institute. You responded magnificently and the project was fully funded by the end of the month.

We’re delighted to report back on the completed solar light project and to share photos with you. The nuns and the head of the nunnery, Khenpo Namgyal, are very grateful to all those who supported this project. We’ll report back on other parts of the Shugsep project such as the dough machine as soon as possible.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Shugsep dig a hole to install some of the new solar lights at the nunnery.

Solar Lights for Safety and Education

Earlier this year, the nuns and staff at Shugsep Nunnery asked for a number of solar-powered lights. They needed this lighting both for security and to enable the nuns to study outside their rooms in the evenings.

The lights arrived at the nunnery this spring. The nuns and staff helped to install them so there was no need to bring outside workers into the nunnery. This was especially important because it helped to keep the nuns safe from COVID-19.

The balconies outside the nuns’ rooms needed two solar lights each. The nuns also installed lights in each of the two garden areas in front of the main temple. The road to the nunnery gate was very dark. Now the the solar lights on the road brighten the path, keeping the nuns safe and allowing them to study at night.

Thank you so much for your support!

About Shugsep Nunnery and Institute

Shugsep Nunnery, home now to 76 nuns, was re-established in India and officially inaugurated in December 2010. It is one of two nunneries built and completely supported by the Tibetan Nuns Project.

A Nyingma nunnery, Shugsep traces its rituals and practice to some of the most illustrious female practitioners in Tibetan history. In the previous century, Shugsep Nunnery was home to one of the most famous teachers of her time, Shugsep Jetsunma.

The majority of the nuns studying in Shugsep Nunnery near Dharamsala came from the original Shugsep Nunnery in Tibet. Their nunnery was destroyed following the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the nuns were forced to leave. Although in the 1980s the nuns partially rebuilt the original Shugsep, they faced frequent harassment by Chinese authorities and many escaped to India.

Now nuns have the opportunity to participate in a nine-year academic program of Buddhist philosophy, debate, Tibetan language, and English.

Take a video tour of the nunnery.