Mongolian Nuns Arrive in India!
On the auspicious Spring Equinox day, March 21, 2008, the MBRP helped nine young Mongolian women fulfill their dreams of studying Buddhism in-depth in India. With the generous sponsorship of many individuals, they are now happily ensconced at HH Penor Rinpoche's Tsogyal Shedrup Dargyeling. There, they will receive world-class training for several years, absorbing the teachings of the Buddha generally, and the special methods of the Nyingma tradition specifically.
The group at a farewell dinner in Ulaanbaatar on the eve of their departure
This effort was undertaken in partnership with KPC’s sister temple in Mongolia’s Eastern Gobi, Khamariin Khiid. That institution was renowned for its founder Danzan Ravjaa’s insistence that men and women be provided equal opportunity for spiritual training. A women’s temple there, Toinag Datsan, gained a strong reputation for the quality of its practitioners.
The nine after receiving genyen vows from His Holiness Penor Rinpoche
Toinag, along with all of Khamar, was destroyed during the Stalinist religious purges in the late 1930’s. Since Mongolia’s peaceful democratic revolution in 1990, however, Khamar has been steadily rebuilding. Khamar’s director, Altangerel, has decided 2009 will be the year to rebuild Toinag Datsan. He expressed his wish to MBRP staff for well-trained women to practice there. So these women are undergoing the training with the understanding that they will return to Mongolia and reside at Toinag to share their knowledge and experience.
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Background
In early 2005, at the urging of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, a group of Mongolian Nyingmapas on pilgrimage in India made a special journey to HH Penor Rinpoche’s Namdroling Monastery to seek his blessing and advice about the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia. He told them it was premature to send teachers to Mongolia. Instead, he advised them to send their most promising students to him in India for training. Jetsunma considers this the top priority of the MBRP.
Gantulag and Tomor Ochir, the first
two candidates sent to India under
KPC sponsorship in 2005. |
Before 2005 was over, KPC had sent the first two young men, Gantulag and Tomor Ochir, from the eastern Gobi and they’re said to be thriving. The following year, a generous donation from B. Alan Wallace allowed eight more young men to join them inIndia and begin their studies. In early 2008, the MBRP sponsored nine young women to attend the neighboring nunnery, Tsogyal Shedrup Dargyeling.
These young men and women will remain at Namdroling for 10 years, studying the Tibetan language and classic texts, receiving the proper transmissions and instructions for practice, and becoming adept at the details necessary for ritual performance and the spiritual arts. Many will dedicate their lives as ordained monks and nuns. They will bring all of this training and experience back to Mongolia, most of which is now completely missing.
His Holiness Penor Rinpoche oversees one of the finest Nyingmapa training centers in the world. Won’t you help a young Mongolian get there?
A donation of $1000 covers all the fees and travel expenses for one student (Penor Rinpoche provides shelter, food and clothing free of charge) but any amount helps. To contribute online to this crucial effort, click the "Donate to the Mongolia Fund" button below and type “MBRP India Training” in the comment box.
Eight young monks were sponsored in 2006,
joining three Mongolians already there. Here
are the eight after arriving at Namdroling
Monastery and presenting traditional blue
katags to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.
Young and old at a Buddhist blessing ceremony
in Sainshand. The MBRP plans to sponsor both
girls and boys to go to India to study.
