This summer the nuns at Dolma Ling requested help to purchase a new truck that would allow them to manage their many transportation tasks.

Thanks to a special anonymous donor and to Alicia, Margaret, Karen, Swetlana, and Robert, we were able to purchase the small, multi-purpose truck. This blog post shows the nuns, through video and photos taken by the nuns themselves, on some of their many recent expeditions.

The nuns leave for shopping

With 240 nuns at the nunnery, the nuns must travel often to buy vegetables and other food, as well as supplies for the their small shop, the nunnery’s tailoring section, for the tofu-making facility, and for the paper-recycling section.

Loading rations

Hiring or renting private cars or taxis for these regular shopping errands is both expensive and not practical. This kind of vehicle with a spacious carriage at the back is more useful and much safer than a normal rented car. Without a proper pickup truck with ample space and weight in the back, it is dangerous and difficult for the nuns to travel on the steep hills of the surrounding area.

Truck loaded with heavy rations such as flour and rice

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute is located in the Kangra Valley near Dharamsala, in northern India. The nuns follow a vegetarian diet.

Loading the truck with vegetables such as cabbages and cauliflower

Nuns loading mattresses for the participating Dolma Ling nuns during the annual inter-nunnery debate called the Jang Gonchoe

About Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute is a ground-breaking, non-sectarian monastic Institute for women. Construction of Dolma Ling Nunnery began in 1993 on a plot of land in the Kangra Valley below Dharamsala and His Holiness the Dalai Lama inaugurated Dolma Ling on December 8, 2005 after 12 long years of construction.

Loading vegetables

Dolma Ling was established with the aim of providing nuns with a well-planned education system covering both monastic and the essential elements of a modern education. The nuns are dedicated to the 17-year curriculum, which draws from a vast range of Buddhist philosophical texts from all the four major lineages along with English, mathematics and computer classes.

Back to the nunnery, loaded with supplies

December 8 2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the inauguration the nunnery by His Holiness. It is fully funded by the Tibetan Nuns Project and was the first institute dedicated specifically to higher Buddhist education for Tibetan Buddhist nuns from all traditions.

Nuns carrying the vegetables to the storeroom

There are currently nuns awaiting sponsorship so that they can pursue their studies at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute. To sponsor a nun visit https://tnp.org/youcanhelp/sponsor/.