The Tibetan Nuns Project (TNP), a US-registered charity based in Seattle and in the Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh, India, is seeking to provide proper furnishings for the recently completed retreat center at Shugsep Nunnery and Institute in Dharamsala, to enable Shugsep’s senior Buddhist nuns to begin undertaking retreats.*
“Once furnished, for the first time in its history in exile, the nunnery will have a purpose-built facility where senior nuns can enter long-term retreat within their own community,” the TNP noted. “This achievement provides continuity for the nuns’ path of teaching while fortifying the belief that their years of rigorous training culminate in meaningful opportunities for spiritual growth and integration.”
The TNP explained that beds, mattresses, tables, chairs, and kitchen equipment were needed for the retreat center, emphasizing that the completed space would help to elevate the aspirations of the resident nuns, set higher practice standards, and strengthen the confidence of the next generation of nuns. Click here for full details of the retreat center project.
Affiliated with the Nyingma tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism, Shugsep Nunnery and Institute traces its Buddhist heritage and practices directly to Tibet and some of Tibet’s most influential female Vajrayana practitioners. In the 20th century, the original Shugsep Nunnery was home to the celebrated female master Shugsep Jetsun Rinpoche (1852–1953), one of the most illustrious female practitioners in Tibetan history and a recognized incarnation of the revered tantric yogini Machig Labdron (1055–1149).
Although the original Shugsep Nunnery in Tibet was destroyed in 1959 and the resident nuns forced to leave, the nunnery was re-established in India and officially inaugurated in December 2010. Along with Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Shugsep Nunnery and Institute was built and is completely supported by the Tibetan Nuns Project. Shugsep is now home to about 100 nuns, who have the opportunity to participate in a nine-year academic program of Buddhist philosophy, debate, Tibetan language and English
“The most enduring benefit [of the new retreat center] is the strengthening of teaching capacity within the nunnery,” the TNP remarked. “Many of the nuns who will use the retreat center are holders of the loponma degree, the highest degree in their tradition. Following their retreats, they will be fully qualified to guide junior nuns and contribute to the wider community. This creates a sustainable cycle of study, retreat, and teaching that secures Shugsep’s role as a respected Nyingma institution.”
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.
* Tibetan Nuns Project Gives Progress Update on Retreat Center for Buddhist Nuns of Shugsep Nunnery in Dharamsala (BDG) and Tibetan Nuns Project Targets Kora and Retreat Center for Buddhist Nuns of Shugsep Nunnery in Dharamsala (BDG)
See more
Tibetan Nuns Project
Shugsep (Tibetan Nuns Project)
Furnish the Retreat Center (Tibetan Nuns Project)
Related news reports from BDG
Tibetan Nuns Project Announces Results of the 2025 Geshema Exams for Buddhist Nuns
Tibetan Nuns Project Seeks to Improve Accommodation for Elderly Nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery in Dharamsala
Tibetan Nuns Project Opens New Student Housing for Buddhist Nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery in Dharamsala
Tibetan Nuns Project: Shugsep and Dolma Ling Nunneries Hold Annual Graduation Ceremonies
Buddhist Women: Dolma Ling Nunnery in Northern India Welcomes First-Ever Female Leadership
