The Tibetan Nuns Project (TNP), a US-registered charity based in Seattle and in Himachal Pradesh, India, is seeking to provide purpose-built accommodation for elderly nuns residing at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, proposing to construct a two-story building of 20 double rooms to house 40 older nuns.

The TNP said it aimed to create a comfortable housing for the elder monastics as the nunnery’s population continued to grow. Earlier this year, the TNP reported that Dolma Ling had become so crowded that it was not possible to admit new nuns for new academic year, which began in March. 

“Dolma Ling was built to accommodate 200 refugee nuns in double-bed rooms, but is now home to about 297 nuns, so the nuns are very cramped,” the TNP explained. “While some senior nuns who hold administrative and teaching positions in the nunnery can live in staff quarters, the majority of nuns continue to share two per room, while the 55 junior nuns live three to a room, giving them very little space. There is now no more space to take in new nuns in 2025. It is necessary to maintain a regular annual intake of young nuns to keep Dolma Ling’s highly regarded and ground-breaking study program alive.” (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.

Almost 300 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.*

“The nuns have dedicated their lives to preserving and sharing the Buddhadharma and Tibet’s rich culture and religion,” the TNP observed. “They have endured trauma and great suffering in escaping from Tibet and losing their homeland. Their lives as refugees leave them very vulnerable. As they age, the elder nuns have a number of special needs and mobility issues, but they remain an important source of inspiration and guidance.” (Tibetan Nuns Project)

The proposed accommodation for elderly nuns at Dolma Ling will feature slightly larger rooms than the nunnery’s regular dormitories, each with a private bathroom with mobility handrails and Western-style toilets, and a small kitchenette. The building will include low-rise stairs for those with mobility issues, an alarm bell system for vulnerable nuns, and will be wheel-chair accessible. 

“The Tibetan Nuns Project was founded almost 40 years ago in 1987,” the TNP noted. “The nuns are aging, some are ill, and they need suitable accommodation. . . . The aim is to create a comfortable living space for older nuns while fostering their sense of community and caring for each other.” (Tibetan Nuns Project)

“The nunnery is their permanent home,” the TNP added. “The nunnery is not like a university or college from which graduates pass out and leave. Around 10 of Dolma Ling’s geshemas are now working as teachers in schools and other institutions. However, Dolma Ling is their only home and they will return when their term of service is concluded or they retire.” (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)

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Tibetan Nuns Project
Housing for Elder Nuns (Tibetan Nuns Project)
Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute (Tibetan Nuns Project)

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