Teachings and Workshops for Nuns and Laywomen 

Vinaya Seminars and Religious Instruction 

Sponsorship for Nuns' Education 

Traditional Medicine Training and Consultation 

Supporting Existing Nunneries and Construction of New Nunneries 

Public Events 

International Exposure Trips and Advocacy 

Future Plans 

Teachings and Workshops for Nuns and Laywomen

Recognizing and honouring the many vital roles of women in Ladakhi society, LNA not only prioritizes Buddhist education, but also works to create opportunities for trainings and education in valuable life skills for nuns and laywomen. Usually organized as participatory workshops which encourage women to share and learn from one another, these trainings provide time and space for nuns and laywomen to build community and mutual understanding with one another.

The first course, leadership and community-building, was organized for nuns and women from local NGOs in 1999. Since then, LNA has organized several other leadership and community buildings trainings to encourage more understanding and support in the nunneries and nun's hostel. Short courses have also been offered on conflict transformation and team and trust building. Two nuns who attended a Buddhism and Peacebuilding course in Thailand in 2005 offered a short course in mindfulness practices to nuns and hostel students in summer 2006.

To build organizational capacity within LNA, a 30 day training course was held in December 2002 for LNA staff and nuns from various nunneries covering computer skills, office management, accounting, public relations, conflict resolution and leadership skills. On the completion of the course, a study tour was organized for nuns to visit remote nunneries in order to more deeply understand the hardships experienced by many nuns.

Many of the workshops are facilitated by volunteer resource people who come to Ladakh and donate their time and skills to the nuns. Volunteers have led workshops in art and participatory games for teaching young children which the LNA staff have used with the young nuns at the hostel during holidays and school breaks. Many volunteers have supported the nunneries and LNA office and hostel as English teachers, focusing on conversation skills.

Responding to the requests of laywomen, in 2004 LNA initiated a women’s literacy program. Each year, LNA sends two nun teachers to several villages throughout Ladakh for one month courses in literacy. The nuns teach the school children (on winter holidays) in the mornings and women in the evenings. Since 2005, nuns at the LNA center in Leh also offer literacy classes for laywomen in the area.

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Vinaya Seminars and Religious Instruction

The first activity of LNA, in August 1996, was a seminar attended by 28 nuns from nine nunneries around Ladakh. For the first time in their lives, these nuns had no physical work to do for a whole week. The days were divided between prayers and meditation; Vinaya Teachings were given by the resident Geshes and by visiting High Lamas.

Building on the excitement and dedication to the teachings generated in the first Vinaya seminar, LNA held its second Vinaya training in October 1997. Sixty nuns from 13 nunneries were able to attend in the second year. This was the first time in the history of Ladakh that only nuns had received teachings on Vinaya. At the end of each day there were group discussions, where they were able to share their thoughts and feelings and discuss how to follow the precepts. It was an extremely moving experience when the nuns, many of whom were unable to read or write, shared their gratitude for such an opportunity to receive these teachings. Many shared the feeling that the time had come to practice the teachings whole-heartedly, and that the life of a nun did not lie in domestic work but in the service of the Dharma.

The Vinaya seminars, usually held once a year for five days have continued, and in 1999, LNA extended further developed its teaching program to include other religious instruction. LNA organizes the gatherings in various nunneries around Ladakh in order to provide access to teachings to as many nuns as possible. In September 1999, LNA organized a 17-day Dharma discourse at Deachan Choling Nunnery at Skidmang Village, conducted by Venerable Khanpo Thokdol, an eminent Yogi and scholar of Drikung Kargyud sect. In 2001, a seminar entitled ‘Responsibility of Being a Nun’ brought nuns from around Ladakh to learn and share with one another, and a 10 day teaching was organized at Thiksey nunnery attended by 22 elderly nuns who had never before had the opportunity to attend teachings as a community.

Beginning in 2000, LNA also started offering trainings on Buddhist instruction to Ladakhi laywomen. The first seminar, held in December 2000, was particularly meaningful as it was the first time in Ladakh that a Dharma teaching was offered exclusively to laywomen and over 60 women attended. In the years since, the Dharma teachings for lay people have also included teachings on death and dying, the Buddhist approach to the prevention of disease, and meditation.

In each of LNA’s surveys, access to teachings, and the hope of a resident teacher in the nunnery, is always a top priority for the nuns. For the nuns who have committed their lives to the service of their families and have the first opportunity for teachings in their old age, as well as for the younger nuns who are growing up steeped in religious education, understanding of the Buddha’s teachings is the foundation of a deep spiritual life and practice.

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Sponsorship for Nuns' Education

Since 1999 Ladakh Nuns Association has sponsored nuns to receive Buddhist and general education in Institutions in Ladakh and throughout India and Nepal. In 1999, LNA sponsored 16 nuns for further study in Dharamsala and Dehradun, India, and the numbers have risen steadily each year. LNA currently sponsors 40 nuns in Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist studies and another 40 young nuns (ages 6-24) who live communally in a hostel near Leh and study Buddhist studies and general education.

The sponsorship program is supported by generous individuals from around the world who donate $30 USD per month ($360 per year) for the education and living expenses of one nun. Because not all of the nuns whose study is supported by LNA have sponsors, the money is used collectively to benefit all the nuns. Many of our sponsors have come to visit the nun they support and their community, and the nuns write letters with periodic updates about their studies and progress.

The sponsorship program for nuns education greatly contributes to an increase in young nuns in Ladakh and helps to improve literacy and Buddhist knowledge among the nuns. More and more young women, who have seen the suffering of their elders, are choosing the life as a nun, in order to liberate themselves and their elders from the suffering they have experienced. With access to Buddhist education and a spiritual community for practice, educated nuns play an essential role as leaders and Dharma teachers in their communities. Many of the nuns now receiving education have a long term vision of becoming teachers themselves for younger nuns, which will help the revival of the Ladakhi nuns thrive in the future.

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Traditional Medicine Training and Consultation

One major objective is for nuns to develop skills in Tibetan medicine so that nuns can take more responsibility for their own health care and that of others. LNA initiated the Amchi Training Program in July 2003, funded by Bioligo in Switzerland. The students came from the most remote nunneries of Ladakh and Zangskar. Nine students trained for 3 years at a medical institute in Darjarling, India, and in 2006 returned to Ladakh to complete the final 2 years of their studies. The medical studies are rigorous, and the nuns also continue with Dharma and Tibetan language classes. During school breaks, Ven. Dr. Palmo works with the students to learn about local medicinal herb cultivation and the production of herbal medicines. The Amchi students will finish their studies in May 2008 and plan to open a clinic and pharmacy at the LNA center in Leh as well as offer mobile clinics to nunneries and villages throughout Ladakh.

To improve the health care of nuns in Ladakh, in 2004 and again in 2005, LNA distributed herbal medicines to 4 nunneries and to students in the hostel in Leh. Ven. Dr. Palmo and the medical students also offered consultations. Overall, the health of the nuns is visibly improving, with many elderly nuns proudly reporting to LNA staff that they no longer need to use walking sticks and many have gained weight and feel much stronger.

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Supporting Existing Nunneries and Construction of New Nunneries

In September 2006 The Most Venerable Jangtse Chosje Redzong Rinpoche inaugurated the Thubten Choslor Ling Nunnery in Leh, which is being situated and run by LNA. There are already more than 21 nuns, of whom nine are learning Tibetan Medicine and the rest are learning Buddhist Philosophy.

Thriving nunneries that support monastic life and spiritual living are essential to the future of nuns in Ladakh. The majority of the nunneries in Ladakh are in very poor condition, and many are not viable for accommodation. Ladakh Nuns Association has worked with 10 of the existing 27 nunneries to make them safe and hospitable centers for spiritual living and learning.

Self-reliance among the nunneries is a priority. In 2002 LNA started a project for the plantation of apple and apricot trees in Thardot Choling Nunnery at Redzong, and the plantation of willow and poplar trees at Deachen Choling Nunnery, Skidmang. The Dharmagaya Trust, who further supported tree planting at the site of the new Nyerma Nunnery, Thiksey, in 2006, funded these projects.

LNA has initiated several building projects to improve the living conditions of Ladakhi nuns. The first building project, from 1996 to 1998, was renovations to the Redzong nunnery, funded by private donors from Switzerland, the United States, and Germany. Construction included classrooms, an assembly hall, kitchen and accommodation for 14 new nuns. The Dutch Chomo Foundation helped to build the Temisgang nunnery from 1996 to 1999. The nunnery houses 43 nuns and includes accomodation, a prayer hall, kitchen, and classroom.

The LNA student hostel in Choglamsar is a loving environment for 40 young nuns studying Buddhist studies and general education. However, it is a temporary solution and LNA seeks funding for a larger, more permanent home for the students.

Since 2003, the Dutch Foundation for Ladakhi Nuns has supported the construction of a new nunnery in Thiksey. The temple is considered to be the first in Ladakh to have a nunnery, over 1200 years ago. Members of DFLN have also come several times to help with the construction, offer trainings and workshops to the nuns, and support the work of LNA. In 2005, 10 nuns moved into five completed rooms; the project is expected to be finished in 2008.

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Public Events

Over the years, LNA has organized several large events for nuns and the general public. These events have helped to raise awareness about, and visibility of, the nuns in Ladakh, and the response and support from the public has been extremely positive.

In May 2000 LNA organized a Tara Ceremony for its benefactors from Singapore, Europe and for all sentient beings. A second, much larger Tara ceremony was held in 2002 for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Nuns chanted the Tara puja 100,000 times over the five day ceremony. Laywomen from the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh attended the ceremony and offered their support by making butter lamps for the puja.

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International Exposure Trips and Advocacy

Since its founding, LNA has had support and recognition from individuals and groups abroad. During the last decade, nuns from LNA have made several trips to foreign countries which have served many purposes. At times the trips have been to present at conferences to raise awareness about the situation of Ladakhi nuns. Other trips have been for exposure to different Buddhist traditions and teachings. Each of the nuns who has traveled abroad agree that the trips were enormous learning opportunities, and they felt proud to share about the unique culture and traditions of Ladakh while also learning about others.

Singapore:

LNA remains thankful to all the Singaporean Buddhist individuals who supported the building of the original accomodation for LNA. Additionally, their generous gift of a vehicle is still in operation.

Thailand:

In July 2000, Dr. Palmo attended the Ariya Vinaya (Buddhist monastic disciplinary rules) Seminar in Thailand. This was an educational gathering of monks, nuns and lay people from different countries and Buddhist Schools. In 2003, Dr. Palmo participated in the “Think Sangha”, a bi-annual gathering of Buddhist scholars and activists organized by the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. The theme of the gathering was “Buddhist responses to violence” and Dr. Palmo presented on the situation for women and nuns in Ladakh, highlighting both the challenges and the improvements that have been made. During this visit, Dr. Palmo also spoke to several different groups of Thai lay people about the connections between health care and Dharma practice and the importance of a spiritual life. Dr. Palmo returned to Thailand the following year to lead a training on Buddhism and health care for a groups of exiled women activists from Burma attending a Buddhism and Peacebuilding course organized by International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice (IWP).

Two nuns from the staff of LNA, Venerables Stanzin Youdin and Sonam Chorol, attended a three-month rains retreat course in Thailand in late 2004. On the invitation of Venerable Dhammananda, the first ordained female monk in Thailand, the LNA nuns studied the vinaya of ordained women with other nuns from South and Southeast Asia. All of the nuns participated in the daily activities of Ven. Dhammananda’s temple, which included morning alms rounds, a tradition no longer practiced in Tibetan Buddhism, chanting and meditation. The course also included exposure trips to temples and ancient sites in Thailand.

In 2005, two courses in Thailand were attended by LNA members. Venerables Thupsten Angmo and Sonam Chorol joined a six-week course for Buddhist women in South and Southeast Asia on Engaged Buddhism and Peacebuilding, organized by IWP. The course combined daily mindfulness practices for building peace within oneself with learning about core Buddhist teachings and how to use them for social analysis and community activism. The LNA nuns who participated led their own peacebuilding retreat for 20 nuns in Leh in July 2006, including mindfulness practices, walking meditation, deep listening activities and basic conflict resolution skills. Two other nuns, Venerables Thupsten Lhamo and Tsering Angmo, studying in Varanasi, attended a one month Buddhist Youth Training in Bangkok, organized by International Network of Engaged Buddhists. Completing their Buddhist studies in 2007, Ven. Lhamo and Angmo returned to Ladakh to work with LNA.

The Netherlands:

Dr. Palmo represented LNA in the Ladakh Festival in the Netherlands in November 2006. Organized by the Dutch Foundation for Ladakhi Nuns, the Ladakh Festival is an annual event to raise awareness and funds for the nuns of Ladakh.

Japan:

In December 2006, Dr. Palmo travelled to Japan to meet with sponsors and supporters of LNA. She met with supporters and their communities to explain more about the situation for Ladakhi nuns, and to raise funds for future projects and education sponsorships.

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Future Plans

LNA Education and Community Center:

Currently housing the staff and office of Ladakh Nuns Association, amchi medical students, and nuns studying Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan grammar, the LNA Center is a vibrant and active community of over 20 nuns. In the summer of 2006, LNA began additions to the Center to meet the needs of the growing community. Plans for the expansion include additional accommodation, office space, a pharmacy and clinic space for the amchis, classrooms, and study rooms. In this way, the LNA Center aims to serve as an education and resource center for nuns and community members.

Activities for Self-Reliance:

LNA will continue to support the nunneries in Ladakh to be healthy, self-reliant communities for the spiritual growth of nuns. In addition to the tree planting, and vegetable and medicinal herb cultivation that began in 2002 and have now become regular activities in the nunneries, LNA has plans to initiate more income-generating activities to support nuns to meet their daily needs. As there are several experienced tailors on staff at LNA, a tailoring training is the first activity planned. Nuns will then be able to sew their own robes and materials for the nunnery and temple. Other possible activities include knitting, block printing prayer flags, and medicinal herb production.

Ladakh Nuns Institute for Culture and Research:

Building on the solid foundation that Ladakh Nuns Association has established among nuns and the larger community in Ladakh during its first decade, the long term vision includes an institute for Buddhist education so that Ladakhi Nuns do not have to leave their home region in order to access higher education in Buddhist Philosophy, Tibetan Medicine and training as active social workers or Engaged Buddhists.

During a ten-day visit to Ladakh by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1999, he expressed the need for an institute for nuns in Ladakh and also donated a sum of Rs. 530,000 to the LNA. The money was given to the president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) and a building fund was created.

To further support the creation of an institute for nuns, on 24th August 2002, the LNA working committee members were blessed by an audience with His Holiness. During that meeting he stated that in Buddhism and other religions, monks and nuns have the most venerable position in society, and we should provide equal opportunities for ordination of both male and female alike. Further, nuns should have ample opportunity to study Buddhist philosophy, be able to obtain equivalent degrees to the male ‘Geshes’ (PhD in Buddhist Philosophy) and to provide teachings to laypeople in society.

In 2004, the villagers of Saboo donated 7.5 hectares of land to the LNA for building this proposed training centre where nuns from all over Ladakh will get an opportunity to study and practice Dharma. First on the site will be more accommodation for nuns to study in Leh. Building will continue with classrooms, a library, prayer hall, pharmacy of herbal medicines, a large organic garden and tree plantation. During 2005 and 2006, LNA met regularly with members of the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh to discuss ways that Ladakhi villagers can contribute to the Ladakh Nuns Institute. The laywomen are extremely supportive and energetic with plans to solicit monetary and material donations from their villages. The Ladakh Nuns Institute for Culture and Research will be a center built by and for the nuns and communities of Ladakh.

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