Meet the nuns leading Buddhism into a new era

One of the enduring legacies of the Dalai Lama is that for the first time, Tibetan nuns are leading their own educational institutions

- Swati Chawla

This is a precious human life. And we should do what we can."

Geshema Dawa Dolma, 43, recalls these words from the Dalai Lama during our phone interview. "Internal work," she adds, "is more important than external work. Nuns should work hard."

Dawa Dolma teaches Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy at Thosamling Nunnery, Institute, and Retreat Centre in Sidhpur, near Dharamsala, the seat of the 14th Dalai Lama for over six decades.

Venerable Chhering Norjom, 47, who goes by Norjom and works as a nurse at the nearby Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, echoes another of the Dalai Lama's exhortations with animation during our phone interview: "Hum Buddhist hain karke baithe mat raho. Philosophy seekho. Zyada achche se padhai karo. (Don't be content with just saying you are Buddhist. Learn philosophy. Study harder.)"

Both women are graduates of Dolma Ling's rigorous 17-year monastic programme, which centres on the Five Great Canonical Texts—Pramanavartika by Dharmakirti, Abhisamayalamkara by Maitreya, Madhyamakavatara by Chandrakirti, Vinayasutra by Gunaprabha, and Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandhu—alongside courses in Tibetan language, English, basic mathematics, computer skills and ritual arts such as sand mandalas and butter sculptures.

They represent a radical shift in the landscape of Tibetan Buddhism in exile, which came into sharp focus earlier this year when their alma mater moved from male to female leadership for the first time in its three-decade history.