“My feeling is that well-trained nuns will have an increasingly important role to play in upholding the sacred Dharma, and we are committed to helping this come about.”
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Togdenma Lineage
One of the aims of DGL Nunnery is to revive the tradition of Togdenma associated with the Palden Drukpa lineage. The training of a Togdenma is long, rigorous, and austere—with many years in strict retreat until spiritual realizations are stabilized. Learn more about the Togdenma lineage.
Learn more about the Togden lineage.
In 1999, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo established Dongyu Gatsal Ling (DGL) Nunnery in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India at the request of His Eminence the 8th Khamtrul Rinpoche Shedrup Nyima. Their shared vision was to enable girls and young women from Tibet and the Himalayas to find their voices as legitimate Buddhist monastics. Although intelligent and devoted, nuns in these regions have not had access to the same teachings and training traditionally available to monks. DGL Nunnery strives to fill the gap by providing rigorous Tibetan Buddhist instruction to their resident nuns.
With Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo as its director, DGL Nunnery offers a balanced program of study and practice so that the nuns may fully realize their intellectual and spiritual capabilities. They study philosophy under the direction of a Khenpo and senior nun teachers. They also learn Tibetan grammar, English language, and Tibetan Buddhist rituals, and sit a two-month meditation retreat every year.
The DGL Nunnery buildings comprise the nuns’ dormitories, the study center (shedra), the retreat center (drubda), the office and staff quarters, and a traditional temple for 108 nuns. There is also a small clinic and a guesthouse for visitors. The nunnery is situated on seven acres of land overlooked by the Himalaya mountains and near the Khampagar Monastery of Tashi Jong. After six years of training, DGL nuns may choose either to continue with their philosophy studies or to enter long-term retreats. It is the heart mission of DGL Nunnery that some of its nuns will become scholars and realized practitioners so that they can carry on this precious Drukpa Kagyu tradition for future generations.
DGL Nunnery Operations
Today more than 100 nuns live, study, and practice in the nourishing environment of DGL Nunnery. The maintenance of the nunnery and the nuns’ daily expenses are funded entirely by voluntary contributions from people around the world – like you – who share Jetsunma’s vision for the spiritual advancement of women.
Donate now to sponsor a nun or to contribute to DGL’s general operating budget.
