Jangchub Choeling Nunnery

Jangchub Choeling Nunnery, is one of the most recently Tibetan nunneries built in India, and is located in Mundgod, in southern India two of the largest monasteries in India: Drepung and Gaden. In the early 1980’s His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, whose vision includes the preservation of Tibetan culture and heritage, recommended the building of a nunnery which would foster philosophical education and training in Mundgod, India. His recommendation was delivered to the Representative Chairman in India, as well as the local Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA). They then requested Venerable Thupten Lhatso La to establish the nunnery. In 1986 a small prayer hall was built with the help of the Tibetan Government in Exile. This prayer hall was used for schooling 18 young and eager nuns, who also used it for dharma practice in the evenings. The nuns were housed, two to a room, in a very dark and damp building, which had been bought from a local retirement home. Venerable Lhatso dedicated herself to the care and nurturing of the young nuns.

Since 1991, many new nuns have been arriving from Tibet, Nepal, the Himalayan Regions and other Tibetan settlements in India. The number is now up to 165. Jangchub Choeling has continued to flourish, The practice of Buddhist Philosophy is now thriving at Jangchub Choeling. Some of the nuns from Tibet are unable to read even Tibetan, as they have never had the opportunity to go to school or to practice dharma, due to so much restriction. Thus they eagerly come to join this nunnery, where the conditions for study are so much better than in Tibet. In Tibet the Chinese occupation limits the freedom to practice religion. Most of the monasteries have been completely destroyed, and those which have been re-created are very small. Religious studies and ritual practice is controlled by the Chinese government. Because of this many nuns and monks are forced to flee from Tibet and live in India.

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