Tag Archives: Buddhist nun education

Building Academic Excellence at Shugsep Nunnery

Traditionally, Buddhist nuns have not had the same access to education as monks, but your generosity is changing that. We would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who sponsors a nun.

Here are photos showing recent academic competitions at Shugsep Nunnery and Institute, a nunnery built and fully supported by donors to the Tibetan Nuns Project.

Shugsep Annual Tibetan Grammar Competition Day

The nuns at Shugsep Nunnery held their annual Tibetan grammar competition in November. The preservation of Tibet’s unique language and culture remains one of the most critical areas of focus for Tibetans, both inside Tibet and in exile.

Events like this enhance the nuns’ knowledge of various subjects, boost their confidence, encourage creativity, strengthen their communication skills, and provide the nuns with valuable practice in expressing their ideas clearly.

Quiz time Tibetan grammar Shugsep Nunnery

The annual Tibetan grammar competition at Shugsep Nunnery. Tibet has its own language, including a unique alphabet and various written forms. Tibetan calligraphy is beautiful, and there are numerous Tibetan writing styles.

These types of competitions are held in various subjects and topics, depending on the class level. They help the nuns become more comfortable speaking and writing in front of others, and they build a healthy sense of discipline and motivation.

The idea for this competition originated at a staff meeting, when some teachers suggested holding regular activities to enhance the nuns’ overall knowledge and, most importantly, to help build their confidence.

On November 8th, the nunnnery held a Tibetan Language Skills competition that included poem writing and application for the higher grades. The competition had questions such as “Write down five different proverbs,” “What are the elements needed to complete a composition?” and other Tibetan grammar questions.

Tibetan grammar competition Shugsep Nunnery, quiz time

The Tibetan alphabet has 30 characters or letters and four vowels. Like English, it is written from left to right in horizontal lines. Tibetan writing may be broadly divided into two types: “headed”, called Uchen, and “headless”, called Umeh. These two forms of Tibetan script correspond roughly to printed and cursive writing.

For the younger students, the activities included a reading competition and a spelling exam, where students were asked to write specific names or words.

Around 50 nuns participated, except for those who had already completed their Loponma degrees, roughly equivalent to a master’s degree. A panel of teachers scored the competitions and awarded prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

Annual English Competition and The Alchemist

Here are some delightful photos taken by the nuns during the annual English competition held on December 6th at Shugsep. The event took place in the presence of Khenpo-la (the head of the nunnery) and all the teachers. They watched a lovely drama performed by the children and viewed many beautiful drawings created by the junior students.

It’s never easy standing up in front of your classmates, all your teachers, and your principal. It’s even more challenging when you have to speak a foreign language. Congratulations to all the nuns who took part in the annual English competition. The young nuns performed a drama.

The junior students created many beautiful drawings to reflect daily life at the nunnery and also the Year of Compassion, honouring the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Here are some of the drawings by the junior nuns at Shugsep. The nuns had to describe the images in English to the assembled crowd. This builds confidence and skills in English and public speaking. The picture on the left honors His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, and the middle picture is the “Four Harmonious Friends”, one of the Jataka tales of Buddhist mythology.

As part of the competition, the senior nuns wrote English poems and notices.

Shugsep is now home to about 100 nuns. The senior nuns are writing in front of their classmates and teachers as part of the annual English competition.

The nuns also spoke about the famous novel The Alchemist by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. The book’s main theme is about finding one’s destiny.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns explaining The Alchemist

In this photo, two nuns are explaining the introduction of The Alchemist to the audience, highlighting the book’s strong and important vocabulary and philosophical concepts.

The Tibetan Nuns Project aims to elevate the educational standards and the position of women. As TNP’s Founding Director and Special Advisor Rinchen Khando Choegyal has said, “Educating women is powerful… 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.”

Thank you for helping the nuns on their path!

Looking Back at Dolma Ling Nuns Over 30 Years Ago

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This special blog post by Julie Brittain has news and archival photos of Dolma Ling Nunnery in 1993 when the nunnery was being built. Julie, now a long-time supporter of the Tibetan Nuns Project, wrote it in 1993 as part of a series of short reports for CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This is a report she wrote about her time at Dolma Ling and describes her time with the nuns as the nunnery was being built.

On the left, a nun holds a paper model of Dolma Ling. December 8, 2025 is the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of Dolma Ling by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The nunnery took 12 years to build. Our current project is to build special housing for elder nuns.

Background to Julie’s Letters from Dharamsala 1993

In 1993, when I was in Dharamsala, I was writing 3-minute “letters” to be read out on a CBC Radio Show from St. John’s Newfoundland called “On The Go”.

I first visited Dharamsala in 1988, arriving directly from Lhasa, where I’d worked for a year at Tibet University. I’d been a couple times more to Dharamsala between 1988 and 1993, but this was the longest stay.

Julie Brittain at Dolma Ling Nunnery near Dharamsala in 1993.

I wrote 20 letters for “On The Go”. CBC Radio didn’t air them all and I was told they didn’t air the two I wrote about Dolma Ling. I guess some were just a bit outside of the listeners’ experience.

Letter from Dolma Ling Nunnery

There’s an understanding in Dharamsala that western visitors should make a contribution to the refugee community while they are part of it. There’s no shortage of worthwhile projects which can use some extra help. One afternoon I ran into Betsy Napper, whom I’d met briefly in Lhasa in 1987. [Elizabeth (Betsy) Napper, PhD, is the US Founder and Board Chair of the Tibetan Nuns Project.]

She told me about an organization called the Tibetan Nuns’ Project. She was co-director. It was set up in 1987 to receive nuns fleeing into exile from Tibet. There were over 100 such nuns in the community now and the Tibetan Nuns’ Project had founded a nunnery, Dolma Ling, to accommodate and care for some of them, eventually, all of them. They could use my help organizing their English teaching programme.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling in 1993 by Julie Brittain

The Tibetan Nuns Project was founded in 1987 in response to wave of nuns escaping from Tibet to India. They had walked over the Himalayas and were ill and exhausted. Many of them had been imprisoned and tortured for taking part in peaceful demonstrations calling for basic human rights. Photo by Julie Brittain, 1993.

I’d heard about the Nuns Project. I knew that some of the nuns had served time in prison in Tibet, for taking part in pro-independence demonstrations, or just for simply being nuns. Many of them had been thrown out of their nunneries by the authorities. They came to India, often on foot as far as Nepal, just so that they could carry on their practice as nuns.

early days at Dolma Ling Nunnery 1993 Julie Brittain

The nuns escaped into exile seeking freedom to practice their religion, culture, and language. The nuns arrived in northern India to a refugee community already struggling to survive. The two existing Tibetan Buddhist nunneries were already overcrowded. Photo by Julie Brittain, 1993.

While I lived in Lhasa, I’d visited many of the nunneries, in the city and further afield. A few in the Lhasa area I’d visit on a regular basis. I heard the nuns’ stories first hand over the year I was there, as we’d talk over the bottomless bowls of butter tea they’d serve me. I admired the courage and conviction that had brought these women on such a dangerous journey, into exile, and I decided this would be my contribution to the refugee community. If I could, I’d return a little of the warm hospitality and friendship they’d shown me in Tibet, where I myself frequently felt alone and confused by life at Tibet University, where I was far from welcome as a foreigner.

Photo from 2025 of Geshema Delek Wangmo, the principal of Dolma Ling, showing Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, the foundations for the housing for elder nuns. Photo tibet.net

The half hour drive down to Dolma Ling Nunnery is spectacular, as is the setting of the nunnery itself. To the north, mountains shoot up dramatically from the valley floor. Clear mountain streams bubble around the big grey glacial boulders.

Julie Brittain photo of nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery 1993

Most refugee nuns escaping to Northern India had no education in their own language, nor had they been allowed education in their religious heritage while in Tibet. Many were illiterate on arrival and could not even write their own names.

Goats, sheep, cows, buffalo, donkeys and horses belonging to neighbouring farms crop the lush grass to a soft green carpet so that the valley looks like a big park.

Right now, Dolma Ling is spread out and make-shift. The nuns live in four rented houses. There are as many bunk beds in each room as will fit.

archival photo of Dolma Ling Nunnery 1993 by Julie Brittain

Their classroom and gompa is a doorless building which has a dirt floor, mud-washed walls and a polythene tent roof.

Only in the visitors’ room is there a little space, a carpet and chairs to sit on. This is also where the nunnery valuables are kept – religious books, two sewing machines and the accounts books.

The nuns take off their shoes when they go into this room. Just across the field what will one day be the real Dolma Ling is underway. This is a large complex which will have dormitories for 200 nuns, classrooms, a small hospital, and a gompa. The nuns work on the site in the mornings and evenings, helping the labourers with tasks like carrying bricks.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns helping to build Dolma Ling Nunnery

Construction of Dolma Ling began in 1990 and the major parts of the nunnery were completed in 2005. The nuns themselves took part in the construction of the nunnery, laboring to carry bricks and mortar, and dig the foundations. Photo by Jessica Tampas.

I’ve taught English in a lot of different countries, but the first time I met the nuns was like starting out all over again. Before me, sitting cross-legged on the floor, three rows of shaven-headed ladies aged between about 16 and 35. They all wore identical yellow silk vests and maroon robes. I had no text books, or rather none that were relevant for a Tibetan nun newly arrived in India.

I asked them to tell me about their daily schedule. They get up at 4:30 and pray until 6:30. Then they have breakfast. After that, the whole day is crammed with classes, religious practices and building work. After their evening meal, they spend five or six hours learning scriptures by heart, often not getting to bed before midnight.

Makeshift buildings at Dolma Ling Nunnery 1993 by Julie Brittain

Dolma Ling Nunnery was successfully completed after 12 years of hard work. Now home to about 300 nuns, it offers a 17-year curriculum of traditional Buddhist philosophy and debate, as well as modern courses in Tibetan language, English, basic mathematics, and computer skills. Photo by Julie Brittain, 1993.

I couldn’t believe anyone could survive such a life. ‘Don’t you get tired? How can you live that way!’ I asked. They laughed at me, part-hiding their faces in a corner of robe or on a friend’s shoulder. This was the life they loved, the life they’d crossed the Himalayas to pursue. For them the question was how to live any other way.

During the week the Dolma Ling nuns have a tight schedule. If you want to see one of them at leisure, you have to do it on a weekend. I dropped in one Saturday after lunch to visit a 26 year old nun I’ll call Pema – it’s not her real name – who arrived in India this summer. I wanted to hear her story because it’s typical of many Tibetan monks and nuns these days. This piece is broadcast with her permission on the understanding I do not use her real name.

One Nun’s Story

Pema was in prison in Lhasa for three years, from 1989 to 1992. She was one of 20 nuns and three monks arrested for taking part in a small pro-independence demonstration outside a cultural event put on by the authorities. This happened while Lhasa was under martial law in the fall of 1989, in the grounds of the Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama’s Summer Palace. They shouted ‘Free Tibet’ and ‘Long live the Dalai Lama’. They were all sentenced without trial.

During her time in prison Pema was tortured and beaten. Beatings to the head have left her blind in her left eye and suffering from headaches. She was in pain the day I met her. As she spoke to me through an interpreter, she held the palm of her hand against the left side of her face, which seemed swollen.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns study outdoors at Dolma Ling Nunnery 1993 by Julie Brittain

Early classroom. “The nuns, when they first came via Nepal to India, were in very poor physical shape and of course they had nothing – from 1987 onwards. They were traumatised and physically battered,” said Rinchen Rinchen Khando Choegyal, Founding Director of TNP. Photo by Julie Brittain, 1993.

Pema comes from a village west of Lhasa. Her family are farmers. She has two older siblings, both of whom are also farmers. At the age of 21 she decided to become a nun. As she put it, by doing this she would ‘bring benefit to all sentient beings’. In 1987 she joined a nunnery not far from Lhasa. I’d visited two or three times in 1987 on horseback – during martial law, travelling by horse was one of the few ways to get around and not have someone from the Public Security Bureau follow to see who you were talking to.

I asked her how she’d got out of Tibet. She told me that she’d walked from Lhasa, south to the Nepali border, in a party of 16 Tibetans. To avoid being spotted by the Chinese troops who patrol all the main roads across Tibet, they walked at night and hid in caves during the day. They were leaving Tibet illegally and would have been arrested if they’d been caught. Their journey lasted 19 days and took them around Mount Everest.

Why, I asked, had she taken part in demonstrations. She knew how dangerous it was. She knew she would be arrested, and most likely tortured and imprisoned. She replied, ‘To obtain freedom for the Tibetan people.’ I wanted to know if she felt it was her duty as a nun to demonstrate. No, she said, it wasn’t her duty. Conviction had made her do it. Monks and nuns in general have a lot of conviction, she told me.

Building Dolma Ling Nunnery. Photo by Julie Brittain 1993.

While she was in prison she worked six days a week, from nine to five, digging fields. The food was poor and there was never enough of it. There was no meat. Vegetables, served once a day, were often full of maggots. Otherwise, they lived on black tea and steamed bread. She said that even when relatives brought prisoners nutritious food, it was often confiscated by the guards.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns sewing in 1993. Today, there is a tailoring section at the nunnery that makes robes and also many items for sale in our online store such as prayer flags, Tibetan door hangings, bags, and dolls.

Why had she come to India, I asked. She told me she wanted to continue her studies, something she couldn’t do in Tibet. Everyone at her nunnery had been refused a renewal of the papers they needed to be there officially. A condition of her release from prison, in any case, had been that she wasn’t allowed to rejoin her nunnery. The only way for her to continue being a nun was to go into exile. If she tries to return, she said, she’ll be arrested again.

An anonymous Tibetan poet has paid tribute to Pema and the others who were arrested at the Norbulingka that day, in a resistance song that circulated in Lhasa in 1989. In translation the song goes like this:

In the Norbulingka
Many different flowers have bloomed
Neither hailstorm nor winter frost
Will untie our unity

We stand up to leave. Pema places the palms of her hands together and bows to us in the traditional Tibetan way. We wish her happiness in India.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns in 1993 at Dolma Ling Nunnery

One of our goals now is to put our core programs on more solid ground with our Long-Term Stability Fund launched about 30 years after this photo was taken. Photo by Julie Brittain, 1993.

Current Needs

It is now over 30 years since Julie wrote this letter for CBC Radio. The Tibetan Nuns Project is now working on two major projects to help the nuns. The first is our Long-Term Stability Fund to put more of our core programs on solid ground. The second is to build Housing for Elder Nuns at Dolma Ling.

Ani Rigzen, aged 74, is one of the elder nuns at Dolma Ling. She said, “I escaped Tibet after torture took everything from me, my family, my home, my culture. Even now, with failing eyesight and constant pain, I carry those scars. Dolma Ling is my only family, the only home I have left. With your support, a senior home here would mean I could spend my last years with dignity and peace, surrounded by my sisters. This would be the greatest gift of my life.”

Dolma Ling Now

December 8, 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of Dolma Ling by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

In April 2025, the nuns celebrated big changes in the leadership at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute. For the first time since the nunnery was inaugurated 20 years ago, Dolma Ling transitioned from having a male principal to leadership by the nuns themselves.

You can learn more about life at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute with these slideshows and this blog post about daily life and the nuns’ curriculum.

Thank you so much for your support!

Annual Graduation Ceremonies Held at Shugsep and Dolma Ling Nunneries

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In April, the two Tibetan Buddhist nunneries built and fully supported by Tibetan Nuns Project donors held their annual graduation ceremonies. We are delighted to share this news and the nuns’ photos. We send deepest thanks to all those who sponsor a nun at the nunneries.

Shugsep Nunnery Graduation Ceremony on April 5, 2025

Shugsep Nunnery and Institute, now home to about 100 nuns, is a Nyingma nunnery re-established in northern India and inaugurated 15 years ago in 2010. On April 5, the nunnery held its annual graduation ceremony. The chief guest was Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, alongside our Founding Director and Special Advisor Kasur Rinchen Khandro, Secretary Dudrul Dorjee from the Department of Religion and Culture, and Nangsa Choedon, Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project in India.

Rinchen Khando Choegyal, the Tibetan Nuns Project Founding Director and Special Advisor, at the annual Shugsep graduation ceremony on April 5, 2025.

The ceremony recognized the nuns’ various achievements. The Speaker presented certificates to 4th, 7th, and 9th-year students. Other dignitaries awarded certificates to first-year philosophical college students, as well as to first-year and 4th-year students, primary school students, and those who received special recognition for root text memorization.

Shugsep Nunnery annual graduation ceremony April 2025

Chief guest, Venerable Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Speaker of the of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, presented certificates and the Shugsep graduation ceremony.

In his address, the Parliamentary Speaker emphasized the special responsibilities inherent in monastic life, stressing the importance of continuous mindfulness beyond routine practices. Drawing from the teachings of Acharya Vasubandhu, the Speaker outlined the core monastic educational path, which includes maintaining discipline, engaging in comprehensive study and contemplation, and dedicating oneself to diligent meditation. He noted that this approach has formed the foundation for accomplished scholars across all Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Nangsa Choedon at the Shugsep Graduation ceremony

Nangsa Choedon, Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project in India, at the Shugsep Graduation ceremony.

The Speaker provided detailed explanations of these educational pillars, including maintaining discipline through adherence to monastic vows; learning through study by pursuing education with focused attention; contemplation, which involves repeatedly examining teachings through scriptural authority and reasoning; and meditation, which focuses on internalizing knowledge to transform one’s life.

He emphasized that true education should lead to visible personal transformation, stating, “If you remain unchanged year after year, your study, contemplation, and meditation are inadequate.” The Speaker urged students not only to change themselves but also to positively influence those around them.

The Tibetan Nuns Project’s Founding Director and Special Advisor, Kasur Rinchen Khandro, and Nangsa Choedon, Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project in India, both spoke at the event.

Quoting from Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara, he said, “There is nothing that does not become easier through familiarization,” and added the Tibetan proverb, “All activities are practice; who is skilled among practitioners?” to underline the idea that consistent effort inevitably yields results.

The Speaker further highlighted the importance of diligence and comprehensive education, quoting The Words of My Perfect Teacher to discuss the relationship between wisdom and diligence. He noted that moderate wisdom, paired with excellent diligence, can yield superior results compared to excellent wisdom coupled with poor diligence.

Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile at the Shugsep graduation ceremony April 2025

Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, said that, in addition to traditional knowledge, students should also pursue modern sciences and languages to maximize their contributions to Tibetan religion, culture, and society.

The Speaker warned of the irreparable damage that educational deficiencies can cause, particularly concerning cultural and linguistic preservation. He concluded by calling for harmony among all present, quoting Bodhicharyavatara: “May the Sangha always be in harmony, and may the purposes of the Sangha be fulfilled.”

Annual Award Ceremony at Dolma Ling Nunnery

On April 9, 2025, the Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute held an award ceremony to honor the top achievers of the 2024 final examinations.

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute of Buddhist Dialectics is a non-sectarian nunnery near Dharamsala and is home to about 277 nuns. It was inaugurated in 2005 and was the first institute dedicated to higher Buddhist education for Tibetan Buddhist nuns from all traditions.

Dolma Ling academic award ceremony April 2025

The Dolma Ling academic award ceremony on April 9, 2025. Photo by the Dolma Ling Media Nuns.

Kabjye Yongzin Ling Choktrul Rinpoche was the Chief Guest at the award ceremony. Secretary Dhondul Dorjee from the Department of Religion and Culture and Secretary Jigme Namgyal from the Department of Education attended the event as special guests.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling receive awards from Kabjye Yongzin Ling Choktrul Rinpoche April 9 2025

Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling receive academic awards from special guest Kabjye Yongzin Ling Choktrul Rinpoche at a ceremony on April 9, 2025.

It was also attended by the Tibetan Nuns Project’s founding director and special advisor Kasur Rinchen Khando, and Nangsa Choedon, the Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project in India.

Academic award ceremony at Dolma Ling Nunnery April 9 2025

Over 270 Tibetan Buddhist nuns gathered in the debate courtyard at Dolma Ling on April 9th for the annual ceremony honoring academic achievements. Photo by the Dolma Ling Media Nuns.

The ceremony began with the principal’s report on the history and educational activities of the Dolma Ling. Then the distinguished guests gave the awards of academic excellence to the top-performing students.

How You Can Support Nuns’ Education

Tibetan Buddhist nuns in India rely on outside support. There are many ways that you can help educate and empower the nuns including:

Sponsor a nun for $1 a day.
Become a monthly donor at any amount you choose.
Support teachers by helping to fund teachers’ salaries at various nunneries
Donate to our Long-Term Stability Fund to put our core programs on solid ground.
Leave a legacy gift to the Tibetan Nuns Project.

Blog credit: With reporting from tibet.net

A Paradigm Shift for Tibetan Buddhist Nuns

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A Paradigm Shift

Less than ten years ago, the first Tibetan Buddhist nuns made history when they graduated with the Geshema degree, equivalent to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhism.

Until 2012, the highest degree was only open to men. The 2016 Geshema graduation ceremony, presided over by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, marked a new chapter in the education of ordained Buddhist women.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama blesses the Geshema nuns who have completed their further studies in Tantric Buddhism.

This winter, His Holiness the Dalai Lama blessed the Geshema nuns who completed a one-year program in Tantric Buddhism. The laywomen are Nangsa Choedon, Director (top) and Tenzin Palkyi, Project Coordinator at the Tibetan Nuns Project in India.

Their success fulfilled a longstanding wish of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the patron of the Tibetan Nuns Project. It was even more remarkable because some of the nuns were illiterate when they escaped from Tibet.

Since those first 20 nuns stepped across the stage to make history, many nuns have followed in their footsteps. Last year, a record 144 nuns sat various levels of the four-year Geshemas exams and 13 graduated as Geshemas, bringing the total number of Geshemas to 73.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the 20 Geshema graduates in 2016. Photo courtesy of OHHDL.

This change in the status and education of Tibetan Buddhist nuns would not have been possible without the steadfast generosity of our supporters. Thank you! The Geshemas are now assuming leadership and teaching roles previously closed to women.

Fifth Set of Graduates from the Tantric Studies Program

Last month, on February 19th, 2025, nine Geshemas graduated from the year-long Tantric Studies program at Gyuto Tantric University near Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute.

Here’s a charming video of the graduation made by the Dolma Ling Media Nuns. Can’t see the video? Click here.

The Tibetan Nuns Project launched the Tantric Buddhism study program in 2017 thanks to the support of generous donors. Although there have been accomplished female practitioners in Tibet’s history, women have never before been given such an opportunity to formally study Tantric Buddhism.

A Tibetan Buddhist nun receives a blessing from His Holiness the Dalai Lama Dec 2024

A Geshema receives blessings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in December 2024 after completing a one-year program in Tantric Buddhism. These women pioneers have accomplished a level of scholarship and Buddhist training that, until recently, was only open to men.

Another Step Towards Equality

The Tibetan Nuns Project has played a pivotal role in advocating for equality of access to education and higher degrees. The Tantric Buddhism program for nuns helps bring them more in line with monks for learning opportunities and advancement along the spiritual path.

Once monks attain their Geshe degree, if they want to be fully qualified masters capable of teaching their complete tradition, they must add to their knowledge an understanding of the principles of Tantra and the main Tantric practices of their tradition. For these studies, monks usually join one of the two Tantric Colleges where they have access to highly qualified teachers, texts, and a supportive community of practitioners. Until recently, these options weren’t available to nuns.

Tantric studies, Tibetan nuns, Tibetan Buddhism, Dolma Ling

For the first time in the history of Tibet, Buddhist nuns have the opportunity to formally study Tantric Buddhism. The program started in 2017 and now the fifth set of nuns has graduated. Photo courtesy of the Nuns Media Team.

The Tantric studies program for nuns began in 2017 after a committee of representatives from six nunneries approached His Holiness the Dalai Lama for advice about the curriculum and how to proceed.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama kindly gave detailed instructions about the treatises to be used and recommended that the Geshema nuns study as a group at Dolma Ling Nunnery. The first Geshemas graduated in 2019.

Tibetan Buddhist nun graduates from Tantric Buddhism Program Feb 2025

Nangsa Chodon, Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project in India, presents the degree certificate at the graduation ceremony on February 19, 2025, for the fifth group of Geshemas who completed their studies in Tantric Buddhism.

The Tantric Studies program will continue as more nuns obtain the Geshema degree. In January 2025, the Tibetan Nuns Project completed the funding for 16 rooms at Dolma Ling where the Geshemas from India and Nepal can stay while they take the program. This is an exciting development of a safe space for the nuns to stay and focus on their studies.

Building a Solid Future

The Tantric studies program for nuns is funded through our Geshema Endowment which also supports the annual Geshema exams and the Geshema graduation each November. We are extremely grateful to the 159 donors to the Geshema Endowment, including the Pema Chodron Foundation, the Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Frederick Family Foundation, and the Donaldson Charitable Trust.

Feb 2025 Graduation ceremony for Tibetan Buddhist Geshemas who completed their one-year program in Tantric Buddhism

On February 19, 2025, the fifth cohort of Geshemas graduated from their one-year program in Tantric Buddhism. Nine nuns graduated from this special program launched by the Tibetan Nuns Project in 2017.

The Tibetan Nuns Project wants to put more of its core programs on solid ground through our Long-Term Stability Fund and through encouraging supporters to leave a legacy of compassion to help the nuns.

As one supporter said, “A donation to this cause benefits beyond helping just the nuns… it benefits the Tibetan culture, it benefits refugees from Tibet, it benefits education for women, it benefits the Buddhist religion and community and all of this spreads like a ripple of compassion for others beyond that community. This is not charity; it is an investment in humanity.”

Five More Illustrated Stories by the Nuns

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In January, we shared four stories by Tibetan Buddhist nuns created as part of an English assignment. The stories got a wonderful response, so here are five more for you!

Pat said, “Oh, I loved reading those handwritten and illustrated stories! I hope to see more in future blogs.” Suzanne wrote, “I love reading these stories! The words are wise and the illustrations are beautiful.”

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute is dedicated to higher Buddhist education for Tibetan Buddhist nuns from all traditions. These stories are part of a book project assigned by the English teacher at Dolma Ling, Mr. Tenzin Norgyal.

Traditionally Tibetan Buddhist nuns have had few opportunities for education. Most of the Tibetan refugee nuns were illiterate on their arrival in India. Now the nuns are at last able to study for higher degrees such as the Geshema degree, roughly equivalent to a PhD.

Thank you for educating and empowering these dedicated women. We hope you enjoy these stories written by nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute. This nunnery was built and is fully supported by the Tibetan Nuns Project

Five Illustrated Stories by the Nuns

Click here to view.

This first story, The Arrogant Rose, teaches not to judge by appearances.

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In A Group of Clouds

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The third story, Act of Kindness, illustrates how a small act of kindness can make a big difference.

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Here’s a cautionary tale called Naughty Meat with a cliff

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Finally, we have Venerable Sonam’s story The Destiny of Tenzin. We were unable to put this story in a slideshow without cutting off part of the text, but you can download the PDF here.

The Tibetan Nuns Project believes that education is the key to empowerment. We work to give nuns the resources to carve out independent, creative identities for themselves.

Thank you for helping the nuns on their path!

Here’s the link to the other four stories by Tibetan Buddhist nuns.

If you would like to donate to help fund Teachers’ Salaries, click here.

Stories by Tibetan Buddhist Nuns

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In this blog post, we want to share some special stories written and illustrated by Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute.

In the past, Tibetan Buddhist nuns have had few opportunities for education. Most of the nuns who escaped on foot over the Himalayas from Tibet were illiterate on their arrival in India. Until recently, women were not allowed to study for higher degrees such as the Geshema degree, roughly equivalent to a PhD.

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute science fair 2019

Tenzin Norgyal, the English teacher organized a nuns’ science fair fin 2019. Now he has created a special book project for his students.

Much progress has been made and the Tibetan Nuns Project is deeply grateful to all our supporters.

Four Illustrated Stories by the Nuns

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute is dedicated to higher Buddhist education for Tibetan Buddhist nuns from all traditions.

Recently the English teacher at Dolma Ling, Mr. Tenzin Norgyal, assigned a special book project for his class. He understands the importance of creativity and inter-disciplinary learning.

Tibetan nuns at Dolma Ling hold a book fair to share stories that they have created.

Here are some of the sweet stories written and illustrated by the nuns.

Click here to view.

This first story teaches the importance of being happy with what you have.

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In “My Chapter” Kalsang tells the moving story of her escape from Tibet and joining Dolma Ling Nunnery.

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This third story talks about combining wisdom and effort in our brief lives.

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Finally, the story of Yak Gapa illustrates the need to help each other.

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The Tibetan Nuns Project believes that education is the key to empowerment. We work to give nuns the resources to carve out independent, creative identities for themselves.

Tibet’s unique religion and culture are under great threat. The nuns from Tibet who were once denied equal access to education and the opportunity to practice their religion freely are the teachers and leaders of the future.

Thank you for helping the nuns on their path!

Taking you inside the nuns’ classrooms

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It’s back to school time! Today, we’re taking you inside classrooms to show how you’re helping provide groundbreaking learning opportunities for Tibetan Buddhist nuns.

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Inside a classroom at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute in May 2022. Traditionally, Buddhist nuns have not had the same access to education as monks. The Tibetan Nuns Project aims to elevate the educational standards and the position of women. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

Educating the nuns is the core of our work. In the 1980s and 1990s, hundreds of nuns escaped from Tibet. The overwhelming majority of the nuns were illiterate. Most of the them had had no education in their own language. While in Tibet they were also denied education in their religious heritage.

Photos taken by Olivier Adam in May 2022 at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute. The top left photo shows Geshema Tenzin Kunsel teaching. The bottom left photo shows nuns leaving one of the Tibetan classes. The nunneries in India are helping to preserve Tibet’s religion, language, and culture.

The Tibetan Nuns Project created an education program for nuns from the ground up. “Today when I see those nuns who didn’t know how to read and write their own names now have Geshema degrees, it is amazing. In a way, 30 years is a long time, but when it’s creating history it is not very long,” said Rinchen Khando Choegyal, Founding Director and Special Advisor to the Tibetan Nuns Project.

The Tibetan Nuns Project also helps women and girls from the remote and impoverished border areas of India such as Ladakh, Zanskar, Spiti, Lahoul, and Arunachal Pradesh. The women and girls from these areas are usually given far less education than men and boys. The nunneries give them a chance for education that they would not have otherwise.

Tibetan Buddhist class, Dorjee Zong Nunnery Zanskar

Dorjee Zong Nunnery in located in the remote, high-altitude area of Zanskar in northern India. Girls and women in the Himalayan regions have traditionally been given far less education than men and boys. All photos courtesy of Olivier Adam.

What the Tibetan Nuns Study

A primary goal of the Tibetan Nuns Project is to assist nuns in reaching the same level of education as the monks. Each of the four traditional schools of Tibetan Buddhism has its own specific curriculum and degrees, but they also share a great deal. All are based on the teachings of the Buddha and the Indian commentaries that developed to explicate them.

Exactly which commentaries the nuns most rely on varies between traditions as do the number of years of study, but there is uniformity as to the basic topics. All the nuns study:

Logic and Epistemology, which provide the basic tools for advanced philosophical study
Perfection of Wisdom for understanding of the Buddhist path
Middle Way for understanding of Buddhist philosophy, and
Tantra for the final level of teachings.

Sherab Choeling Nunnery Spiti Valley by Oliver Adam

Sherab Choeling Nunnery in India’s Spiti Valley is one of seven Tibetan Buddhist nunneries supported by the Tibetan Nuns Project. This year, nuns from this remote nunnery will take part in the inter-nunnery debate which brings together hundreds of nuns for one month of intensive training in monastic debate. All photos by Olivier Adam.

At most of the seven nunneries supported by the Tibetan Nuns Project, courses are also offered in Tibetan language, English, and computer skills, as well as in ritual arts such as sand mandalas and butter sculpture. The smaller nunneries in more remote areas are at earlier stages in the educational process.

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Tibetan Buddhist nuns taking part in a Tibetan calligraphy competition

In addition to providing basic educational requirements, the Tibetan Nuns Project seeks to elevate the educational standards and the position of women within the monastic community. To prepare the nuns for positions of leadership and moral authority in a culture that is going through challenging times, it is essential to combine traditional religious studies with aspects of modern education.

Why Educating Tibetan Nuns Is So Important

It is a historic time for Tibetan Buddhist nuns and Tibetan Buddhism.

Inside Tibet, nuns and monks are under constant surveillance and are unable to freely practice their religion. There’s a very great risk that the priceless wisdom and teachings of Tibetan Buddhism may be lost.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, patron of the Tibetan Nuns Project, has said, “The Tibetan Buddhist philosophy is something precious which we can be proud of and should strive to preserve.”

Shugsep Nunnery letter on classroom wall

An essay in the English classroom at Shugsep Nunnery and Institute. The original Shugsep Nunnery in Tibet was completely destroyed and then partially rebuilt by the nuns themselves. However, the nuns faced frequent harassment by Chinese authorities and many escaped into exile in India. Shugsep was re-established in exile by the Tibetan Nuns Project.

It is also a time of opportunity for Buddhist women. Never before have Tibetan nuns been able to receive the same education and the chance to study and sit for the same degrees as monks.

For the first time in the history of Tibet, nuns can take the Geshema degree, roughly equivalent to a doctorate in Tibetan Buddhism.

Our focus with the Tibetan Nuns Project has been on helping the nuns to gain the top degrees within their Tibetan Buddhist traditions, so that they could reach the same level of academic proficiency in those traditions as the monks. Our further hope is that they will go on to teach other nuns so that teachers do not always have to be monks.

Geshema Delek Wangmo, teaching, Dolma Ling Nunnery

Geshema Delek Wangmo teaching at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute. She and Geshema Tenzin Kunsel made history when they were hired in 2019 to teach the nuns there. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam

Your support has helped bring about these major educational accomplishments:

The creation of groundbreaking education program for nuns
Providing debate training for nuns for the first time in the history of Tibet
Supporting the annual Jang Gonchoe inter-nunnery debate event, which provides one month of intensive training in debate
Enabling nuns to pursue higher degrees such as the Geshema degree and the Khenmo degree
Creating a Tantric Studies program for Geshemas to empower them to become teachers and leaders

Do you want to do more to help the nuns? Learn about our Current Projects here and how you can sponsor a nun. More sponsors are always needed.

The Education of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns

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The following Q&A about the education of Tibetan Buddhist nuns is a special interview with Elizabeth Napper, PhD. Dr. Napper is the US Founder and Board Chair of the Tibetan Nuns Project and is a scholar of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. She is the author of Dependent-Arising and Emptiness, translator and editor of Mind in Tibetan Buddhism, and co-editor of Kindness, Clarity and Insight by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Q: What was education like in Tibet before 1959?
A: Traditionally, Tibet pre-1959 was a pre-industrial age feudal society for the most part. There was no general education and, in pre-1959 Tibet, that was true of the lay people as well. Education was a specialized skill for people who needed it. The children of traders would get an education because they were carrying out a business and the people who were going to be government functionaries, who worked in the government, were well educated. But ordinary people were not literate. So that was the starting point.

Tibetan meditation, Tibetan Buddhist nun meditates

An elderly Tibetan Buddhist nun meditating in Zanskar, northern India. Historically, nuns had little access to education but spent their time in prayer and meditation. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam

Q: In Tibet, how did the lives of monks and nuns differ?
A: In Tibet, a large part of the population, both men and women, chose the monastic lifestyle, but that meant very different things. In some ways, the majority of monasteries and nunneries were not all that different. The bulk of them were relatively small institutions in villages and local communities, and the major function of monks and nuns was to do prayers on behalf of the lay people. Lay people made offerings to monks and nuns who then performed prayers on their behalf. That was the back and forth between these two groups of people.

However, the monasteries had a very rich and active intellectual tradition going back to the 11th century when Buddhism was revived in Tibet. Monks had the opportunity go to larger institutions and engage in the study of the philosophical tradition of Buddhism. By contrast, nuns who were motivated to do more would go into retreat and spend long periods of time in solitary meditation, often showing profound results of that meditation and revered for their internalized level of realization.

However, neither of monks nor nuns were literate much beyond the ability to read and recite the prayers.

After 1959, when many Tibetans fled Tibet, the large monastic institutions were re-established in exile. Far fewer nuns came out. Slowly institutions were established for the nuns, but just as the nuns in Tibet didn’t have education, neither did the new nunneries in India. That was the situation when the Tibetan Nuns Project started out.

A Tibetan Buddhist nun in exile practices calligraphy. Educating the nuns is the core of our work. In the 1980s and 1990s, when hundreds of nuns were escaping from Tibet, the overwhelming majority of the nuns were totally illiterate. Most of the newly arrived nuns had had no education in their own language. Photo courtesy of Tenzin Sangmo

Q: Why is it important that nuns have equal access to education and the same opportunities as monks?
A: The goal of the Tibetan Nuns Project has always been to give the nuns access to education. It is a given, that in a modern world, you need education and a basic understanding to function well in modern society. In addition, it is limiting to push nuns towards the meditative retreat side of things. It is important to give nuns the same access that monks have to the philosophical, the conceptual understanding of their tradition. This means not just studying abstract philosophy; it is understanding the nature of reality so that you can apply that in your meditation to attain levels of realization. Our primary motivation was to open up to the nuns those levels for spiritual progress. But, additionally, they needed education simply to be able to manage their monastic institutions themselves, rather than relying always on male direction.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns getting their Geshema degree

In 2016, twenty nuns made history when they were awarded the Geshema degree. This degree is equivalent to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and was only formally opened up to women in 2012. Detail of photo by Olivier Adam.

Q: What were some of the obstacles to setting up an education program for the nuns?
A: It was tricky because it wasn’t easy to find teachers. Also, the nunneries were dependent upon the financial support they got from the lay community coming for prayers, and those prayers took up the better part of the nuns’ days. They were concerned that if they set up a study program and nuns weren’t doing prayers all day, the nunneries wouldn’t get in enough funding to support them. So that was a big part of the sponsorship program that we started – to provide alternative support so that everyone wouldn’t have to spend all day doing prayers on behalf of the lay community – not that they weren’t willing to do those prayers, but we needed to find a way to make it not be the only thing for them to do. That was the starting point.

Q: What are some of the major accomplishments in education for the nuns so far?
A: The result of educating nuns is that we now have nuns who have been trained up to the point of the highest degree of their tradition, the Geshe degree (Geshema degree for the nuns).
Some of the major educational accomplishments are:

The creation of groundbreaking education program for nuns
Providing debate training for nuns for the first time in the history of Tibet
Supporting the annual Jang Gonchoe inter-nunnery debate event, which provides one month of intensive training in debate
Enabling nuns to take the Geshema exams and pursue other higher degrees
Creating a Tantric Studies program for Geshemas to empower them to become teachers and leaders

educate women and girls collage Tibetan Nuns Project

A collage of photos of education of Tibetan Buddhist nuns. Bottom left photo courtesy of Olivier Adam; other photos courtesy of Brian Harris.

Q: Why is training in debate so important?
A: The system of education teaches rational, logical thought. The nuns (and monks) use a formalized style of debate in which you set out a premise and debate it. In Tibetan Buddhist debate, you have to prove two things about what you’re saying: (1) that whatever it is you’re trying to prove is true, that your reasoning is correct and (2) that the reason applies to what you’re trying to prove.

This is the opposite to advertising. For example, the advertising of beauty products says, “If you use this product, your life will be good.” This is false pervasion. Also, it can say things that are just not true. Conversely, debate teaches you to avoid that kind of illogical thinking.

Q: What can the world learn from the way the nuns debate?
A: Illogical thinking is what a lot of political discourse that we are hearing is based on. Things that are absolutely not true are being said. In addition, things are being said that may be true but don’t at all imply what is being drawn out of them. That is the real world that we live in.

The ability to see clearly and logically is the training that the nuns are doing. This helps them to not just accept things that aren’t true being presented as if they were. You can see through falsities and also see false pervasions such as “If you use this product, if you believe in this person, your life will be good.” That it is not necessarily going to happen. That is the real-world application. We gain by having a population who are educated in that way and have a clear understanding of what they are doing in the world.

It is also very important to the Buddhist philosophical tradition, which is not based on faith alone, but is based on developing a penetrating understanding of the nature of reality. This is the final purpose of the studies they have undertaken, and the years of study and debate are directed towards that.

Along the way, of course, this is a religious tradition, and in the Tibetan tradition, there is a great emphasis of developing universal love and compassion, of wishing the best for each and every living being. All those things are important components of the education that the nuns are receiving.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns practice debate at Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala. Tibetan Buddhist debate teaches many skills including critical thinking, logic, attentional focus, memory, and confidence in one’s reasoning skills. Until the 1990s, Tibetan nuns were not taught how to debate.

Q: How has educating the nuns created leaders, teachers, and role models?
A: We put in place these programs to open those kinds of studies up for nuns. Now, 30 years later, those groups of nuns have been able to pass through this entire course of study that have been followed by the monks for centuries. The nuns are starting to go out and take on roles of leadership in the community – they are teaching in the nunneries, some of them are teaching in the Tibetan schools, and one nun has been added to the election commission of the exile government based in Dharmsala. This is the impact, not just of their philosophical knowledge, but of their training and clear thought motivated by a compassionate wish to help.

Q: Do you see growing confidence in the nuns?
A: The nuns have growing confidence to take on leadership roles. Before, when the nuns didn’t know anything, when they hadn’t studied and they could barely read or write, they had no confidence. There was no way they could serve in these roles or as role models in their community. That has now changed. People see these nuns who are able to debate as well as the monks, who can hold their own in those kinds of contests, who exude this body language of confidence, who are also prepared to take on leadership roles. This has broadened the base out of potential leaders in the community from only one gender to both genders.

What do Tibetan Buddhist nuns study?

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We are often asked what the Tibetan Buddhist nuns study.

In addition to providing basic educational requirements, the Tibetan Nuns Project seeks to elevate the educational standards and the position of women within the monastic community. To prepare the nuns for positions of leadership and moral authority in a culture that is going through a very challenging transition, it is essential to combine traditional religious studies with aspects of a modern education.

Tibetan Nuns, Tibetan Nuns Project, Tibetan education, Tibetan culture, what Tibetan Buddhist nuns learn

Nuns at Shugsep Nunnery learning geography. Photo courtesy of Brian Harris

A primary goal of the Tibetan Nuns Project is to assist nuns in reaching the same level of education as the monks. Each of the four traditions schools of Tibetan Buddhism has its own specific curriculum and degrees attained, but much is shared. All are based on the teachings of the Buddha and the Indian commentaries that developed to explicate them.

Tibetan Nuns, Tibetan Nuns Project, Tibetan education, Tibetan culture, what Tibetan Buddhist nuns learn, Sherab Choeling, Tibetan Buddhist nuns

Nuns at Sherab Choeling Nunnery in the remote Spiti Valley at an outdoor classroom. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam

Exactly which commentaries the nuns most closely rely on varies between traditions as do the number of years of study, but there is uniformity as to the basic topics. Thus, all the nuns study:

Logic and Epistemology, which provide the basic tools for advanced philosophical study;
Perfection of Wisdom for understanding of the Buddhist path;
Middle Way for understanding of Buddhist philosophy; and
Tantra for the final level of teachings.

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Witness history in the making: Geshema Graduation Ceremony

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In one week’s time, twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns will receive their Geshema degrees from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a special Geshema Graduation Ceremony in Mundgod, South India.

Geshema nuns

This historic event will be attended by hundreds of monks and nuns.

Here’s the formal schedule of events:

schedule for Geshema Graduation event

The event will be livestreamed from India and can be viewed on the home page of the Tibetan Nuns Project.

Please note the time difference for your region. The event starts at 8 am on December 22 Indian time which is equivalent to 6:30 pm on December 21st Pacific Standard Time.

livestream of the Geshema Graduation Ceremony

Photo courtesy of Tenzin Choejor, OHHDL

If you are unable to watch the livestream of the event, check back to the Tibetan Nuns Project homepage sometime from December 28th onwards and where we’ll have the video embedded.