Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in northern India has transitioned to female leadership for the first time in its 20-year history, the Tibetan Nuns Project (TNP), a US-registered charity based in Seattle and in Himachal Pradesh, India, has announced. The nunnery’s new female leadership officially began their roles on 17 April.

“For the first time since the nunnery was inaugurated 20 years ago, Dolma Ling has transitioned from having a male principal to leadership by the nuns themselves,” the TNP said. “Three Tibetan Buddhist nuns have taken on the leadership of Dolma Ling Nunnery.” (Tibetan Nuns Project)

Inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2005, Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute of Buddhist Dialectics is located in Kangra Valley near Dharamsala in northern India. This non-sectarian nunnery was the first institute dedicated to higher Buddhist education for Tibetan Buddhist nuns from all traditions, and is fully funded by the TNP.

Some 277 nuns are fully engaged in study, practice, and nunnery work at Dolma Ling, as well as organizing self-sufficiency projects, such as tofu-making and producing handicrafts. In 2013, 10 of the Dolma Ling nuns made history when they took part in the first-year geshema examinations.*

“In a change that reflects a shift toward a more collective approach to leadership, responsibilities will be divided between three nuns instead of having one principal,” the TNP explained. “The leadership terms will last three years. After that, the Tibetan Nuns Project and the Nuns’ Committee will decide if they want to keep the nomination process or switch to an election system.” (Tibetan Nuns Project)

Geshema Delek Wangmo, who fled Tibet via Nepal in 2009 and earned her earned her geshema degree in India in 2017,** will take on the role of the nunnery’s academic principal. Venerable Ngawang Palmo and Geshema Tenzin Dolma will share joint responsibility for administration.

Ven. Ngawang Palmo, who escaped Tibet on foot in 1992, has held many administrative positions at Dolma Ling, including librarian and treasurer. Geshema Tenzin Dolma, who was born to an agricultural family in the Indian Himalayas, earned her geshema degree in 2017.

The geshema degree is the highest academic degree in Gelugpa tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism and was only recently made available to Buddhist nuns.*** Like the geshe degree for male monastics, it is roughly equivalent to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhist studies. 

“It is so inspiring to see the nuns taking on the leadership of Dolma Ling and becoming even further role models for their community,” said TNP executive director Lisa Farmer. “We are so grateful to our supporters for their kindness and generosity. Our work would not be possible without their dedication to the nuns.” (Tibetan Nuns Project)

The TNP noted that Dolma Ling had become so crowded that it was not possible to take in new nuns for new academic year, which began in March. 

“In April, we launched a project to help build special housing for elderly nuns,” the TNP said, adding that it had set up a Long-Term Stability Fund to support the project’s main program, which include education, food, shelter, clothing, and basic medical care for the nuns. (Tibetan Nuns Project)

The Tibetan Nuns Project provides education and humanitarian aid to refugee nuns from Tibet and Himalayan regions of India. Established under the auspices of the Tibetan Women’s Association and the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration, the TNP supports hundreds of nuns from all Tibetan Buddhist lineages and seven nunneries. Many of the nuns are refugees from Tibet, but the organization also reaches out to the Himalayan border areas of India, where women and girls have little access to formal education and religious training. Sponsor a nun.

* Dalai Lama Awards Historic Geshema Degrees to 20 Nuns and Twenty Tibetan Nuns Make History by Passing Geshema Degree (BDG) and Tibetan Nuns Project Announces New Record for Buddhist Nuns Taking Geshema Examinations this Year (BDG)

** A Geshema’s Journey: The Remarkable Story of Delek Wangmo (Tibetan Nuns Project)

*** Tibetan Nuns Project Announces Results of the 2024 Geshema Exams for Buddhist Nuns (BDG)

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Tibetan Nuns Project
Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute (Tibetan Nuns Project)
Nuns Take on Leadership of Dolma Ling Nunnery (Tibetan Nuns Project)

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