It’s exam time again and we’re excited to share our latest news and photos with you.

For one month, from April 15th to May 15th, 29 nuns from different nunneries will make history as they prepare for and sit their exams for their Geshema degree – the equivalent of a doctorate in Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy.

A nun doing her oral examination as part of the 2 weeks of Geshema exams in May 2014

This year 23 nuns will be sitting Part 2 of the exam while 6 nuns are taking Part 1. The first 2 weeks were an intensive study period, and the actual examinations began on May 1st.

The Geshema exams, which are a 4-year process are the culmination of a rigorous 17-year course of study and are a landmark achievement for Tibetan women.

Geshes, and soon also Geshemas, are the most educated monastics, carrying much of the responsibility for preserving and maintaining the Tibetan religion and culture. This will enable the nuns to take up leadership roles as educators for future generations of Buddhist practitioners.

The nuns who are taking their Geshema exams this May

Some of the nuns sitting the doctoral exams could not even write their own names when they escaped from Tibet. Your kindness and generosity have made possible their immense leap in capacity.

This 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, high lamas and teachers, and the compassion and generosity of Tibetan Nuns Project donors like you.

Nuns reading messages sent from their sister nuns giving best wishes to the Geshema candidates

Today we received photos of the noticeboard at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute where the nuns had been sharing messages of support and good wishes. In addition, the nuns have received about 100 heartfelt messages of support and good luck from around the world via the Tibetan Nuns Project Facebook page.

We hope you will rejoice with us this historic milestone.