A description and short history of the Nunnery

There are twenty-five very sacred places in east Tibet, one of the main ones being Chodrak Chenjum Seng-ha Dzong discovered by Guru Padmasambhava. This sacred spot is north west of and very close to Chodrak nunnery.

In the Kagyu tradition there are four great and eight lesser schools, the Barom is considered to be an important one of the four great lineages. The nunnery is of the Barom Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

The great master Chodrak Choje spent many years in practise at this sacred spot called Karei Gurpok, very close to where the nunnery was later built.

This sacred spot is now called Methukar and His Holiness Fifteenth Gyalwa Karmapa Kachup Dorje recommended that a nunnery be established there. The nunnery was founded by Venerable Chodak Karma Kagyu Tashi, in the female metal pig year 1911.

Karma Kagyu Tashi’s student Venerable Lhabu Urgyen Tenzin continued to develop the nunnery complex which consisted of accommodation, a temple and retreat buildings. Some years after this Urgyen Tenzin went into a permanent life retreat. Over a hundred nuns lived at the nunnery and were dedicated and good practitioners. They received many instructions and transmissions from Urgyen Tenzin in meditation, the four main foundation practices of Tibetan Buddhism and also teachings such as the six yogas of Naropa and Mahamudra.

The nunnery became quite large and was a substantial centre for Buddhism until it was completely destroyed in 1959.

Since 1959 many Buddhist centres in East Tibet are being rebuilt. Consequently in 1984 on the eighth day of the tenth month His Eminence Chodrak Saljey Rinpoche ordained sixty nuns. He appointed as abbot his representative- Venerable Lama Karma Zangpo whom he sent to begin rebuilding and re-establishing the Chodrak nunnery. Highly trained and qualified Lama nuns, are now at the nunnery and since 1984 many more nuns have come to live there and nowadays up to three hundred nuns are associated with the nunnery. At present the nuns are not all able to live at the nunnery due to lack of accommodation and facilities and so some live in neighbouring areas with family and friends.

In 1995 some nuns started to rebuild the retreat house in order to be able to do the three year, three month and three day retreats. Since 1995 there have been four, three year retreats with seventeen nuns in retreat each time. This retreat building is called Pema Choling. Another retreat building called Ngarong Dupdei Changchup Choling was started in 1999. All these three years retreatants have practiced the six Yogas and Mahamudra, which are special practices of the Kagyu tradition. When the nuns are in retreat they follow the three year retreat instruction of His Eminence Jamgong Kongtrul.

Throughout the year the nunnery schedule consists of:

• Daily practices,
• Lunar month practices,
• Guru Rinpoche practice on the 10th day,
• Amitabha practice on the 8th day,
• Nyun Nye fasting practice on the full moon 15th day,
• Chod practice on the 25th day,
• Sojun Practice on the 30th day before the New moon.

Yearly events.

• Mahakala puja at the end of the year for five days and nine days in two consecutive months.
• New year – Seven days of Pema Beza purification puja.
• Second month – Three days Vajra Yogini puja, three days Chakrasamvara puja.
• Fifth month – Saga Dawa sixteen days Nyun Nye practice (fasting)
• Sixth month – Amitayas puja seven days and three days Lama dancing.
• Ninth month – Amitabha puja for I week, starting on the twenty-second day of the month.

The nuns dedicate their lives to achieving enlightenment for the benefit of all living beings. Developing profound compassion and insight in their daily lives the nuns often tolerate very difficult circumstances and hardships in the pursuit of their aims.

The nunnery looks as if it had just risen from the earth. Travelling across a rickety bridge, through canyons and over rivers, it takes 3 hours by motorbike to reach after leaving Chodrak Monastery on a dirt road. The buildings are terra cotta, made from clay in the surrounding countryside which is pristine grasslands smattered with wildflowers. The rooms are small, the walls thick to keep out the scorching summer heat and winter snow. Inside the buildings, the nuns gently go about their activities. Quite a lot of time is taken performing duties which would seem arduous to the western mind. A small group of 3-4 nuns cook on a makeshift stove that sits on the porch outside, barely covered from the elements. It looked like a slab of metal supported by rock with a fire fueled by dried yak dung. Black smoke burns the eyes and lays on the nuns clothing and skin like a sheath. In the same area, others are washing dishes in a plastic bowl. A nun in robes that looked older than her, served lunch on a tiny table which we crowded around, grateful after the long ride. Her sunburnt face shone from the steam rising from battered, tin pots and a dirty cloth was tied around her waist. Personal hygiene is not forgotten but just impossible. In the isolated area, water is very scarce and is used for necessities. There are no catchment areas and everyone is mindful of the sacredness of water. Tanks are badly needed. Still under construction, the temple is the most important building but, as yet, cannot be used. Without proper technical expertise, unsuitable foundations mean that the structure is not safe. Many hours had been spent in fabricating beautiful symbols seen grafted on the ceiling joists and around the walls, ready to receive the paint which would bring it to life. Being a rare and expensive commodity, it will be years before paint touches the walls of this or any temple on the site. So there the temple sits, unfinished, unused, an unreachable gem. A high clay wall with many doors along it reveal tiny courtyards aside dwellings of 2 rooms each to support 2 nuns. One corner is neatly stacked with dried yak dung gathered from the fields and a board leads to the door, keeping feet dry in the wet season. In their rooms are a small cupboard and a bed stacked with their cotton quilts and scant clothing. An altar is pride of place and any worth, is here. You can nearly reach from wall to wall. The 20 or so, silent nuns who are in a 3 year retreat have even smaller rooms with a 1 meter square bed. They are housed separately under appalling conditions, the compound falling down around them from years of disrepair due to lack of money. The nuns are studious, hard working and very devoted. Under circumstances which would seem unbearable to us, they work and pray for the sake of all sentient beings away from their families and familiar things. They are happy and very grateful to be in a safe environment where they are allowed to commit themselves to the only pursuit they see as worthwhile. Merely a third of those who have dedicated themselves to this calling are housed at this complex, the others, finding accommodation where they can. More housing and better facilities will bring them all together to pray, one day, under one roof.

The new meditation hall.

Thank you to all of the supporters who donated towards the construction of this new Temple.