Tibetan Nuns Project

Critical thinking and reasoning are the bedrocks in the pursuit of Buddhist teachings. While the nuns are very familiar with the Tibetan style of debate, this year the Tibetan language teachers at Dolma Ling Nunnery introduced the nuns to the Western style, where students take opposing sides of an argument, and each side presents its view. The question is then put to a vote. Here are photos from an April debate session held in front of the main temple, with the Dolma Ling Principal, members of the nunnery Education Committee, and the nunnery’s leadership team present. Five topics were discussed: the value of studying the Tibetan language, the pros and cons of AI, the Potala Palace, the Four Principal Commitments of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the benefits of learning poems. Photos courtesy of the Dolma Ling Media Nuns.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains that spiritual practice can be part of our everyday life. It does not depend on being in a special room, having sacred objects, or simply sitting quietly. If we do our work honestly and with compassion, that itself can be a spiritual practice. Video originally recorded on February 5, 2017.

The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama | The 14th Dalai Lama The Official Website of The Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Did you know that we always post the nuns' current needs here on our Current Needs page? https://tnp.org/current-needs/ Currently, we have 8 projects including Housing for Elder Nuns, the Higher Studies Fund, the Temple Roof Repair at Shugsep, and Exercise Equipment for the Nuns. Each project has a full description with photos. Thank you so much for your support! 🙏🙏🙏

Current Needs - Tibetan Nuns Project The current needs that the Tibetan Buddhist nuns at 7 nunneries in India need help with. Follow the links for full details of each project.

Today, October 2nd, marks the anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) 🙏🙏🙏 In 2019, on the 150th anniversary of Gandhi's birth, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, "The world needs Mahatma Gandhiji’s teachings and practice of non-violence. Many problems in the world today are of our own creation. Whenever we see a problem, our first reaction is to ask how to tackle this by force. That’s totally wrong. Violence may be a sincere motivation, but the method is wrong. Violence is mutual destruction."

Ten years ago, in December 2016, 20 Tibetan Buddhist nuns made history by graduating with the Geshema degree, the highest level of training in the Gelug tradition and equivalent to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. The degree was only formally opened to women in 2012. The exam process is extremely rigorous and involves four years of written and oral examinations, during which nuns are tested on their entire 17-year study of the Five Great Canonical Texts. Now, a growing number of nuns are following in their footsteps. There are currently 120 Geshemas, and this summer, 33 more nuns took their fourth and final year of exams. All being well, they will graduate as Geshemas later this month. Thank you for supporting nuns on their path! 🙏🙏🙏 Visit tnp.org to learn about our Higher Studies Fund to support the Geshema exam process. Photos courtesy of Olivier Adam

Hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist nuns receive free health screening! 🙏🙏🙏Deepest gratitude to the Department of Health of the Central Tibetan Administration and the team of nurses and lab technicians for the comprehensive basic health screening program for 280 nuns who had gathered at Lower TCV for the month-long inter-nunnery debate. The health screening program on September 28th included Complete Blood Count, Random Blood Sugar test, Hepatitis B screening through a spot test, Body Mass Index (BMI) assessment, and blood pressure checks. The checkup was carried out by a team from the Health Department, supported by nurses and a laboratory technician from Delek Hospital, to assess the general health status of the nuns and to facilitate early detection of potential health concerns. The program was funded by His Holiness the Dalai Lama Charitable Trust (HHDLCT). Photos by tibet.net 🙏🙏🙏

REPOST: The original post is from the Tibetan Nuns Project’s office in India. Deepest gratitude to the Department of Health, CTA and Delek Hospital for the health screening on September 28th for hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist nuns taking part in the annual inter-nunnery debate in Dharamsala. 🙏🙏🙏

"The survival and identity of any people depends fundamentally on the preservation of their language. Religion, culture, history, and collective memory are all preserved and transmitted through language. If a language disappears, the identity of that people gradually fades with it." Tsering Yangkey, the Representative of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) at the Office of Tibet, London. Photo of a nun reading a Tibetan text courtesy of Olivier Adam