The Tsoknyi Nuns carry forward a vision of enlightenment in female form that traces its roots to nineteenth-century Nangchen. The first Tsoknyi Rinpoche and his main disciple Tsangyang Gyamtso, began the tradition of the Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns more than a century ago with the simple but revolutionary idea of providing the same training for women that had been reserved for monks. He envisioned these women would become among the most accomplished Buddhist practitioners in the world.
Today, the Tsoknyi nuns continue this tradition with the support and guidance of Tsoknyi Rinpoche III. The Tsokyni Nunneries in Nepal are multi-generational communities where women and girls practice, study, and carry the lineage forward.
Practice
The heart of the tradition
The nuns devote their lives to Buddhist practice, from daily prayers and rituals to extended periods of intensive retreat. At the heart of the Tsoknyi lineage is the traditional three-year retreat, through which generations of nuns have mastered advanced Vajrayana practices, particularly the subtle-body yogas of Anuyoga. Renowned for their meditative accomplishments, many became respected teachers and lineage holders, transmitting these practices to successive generations.
Study
Buddhist wisdom and contemporary learning
The nuns receive both secular and Buddhist education, from foundational schooling through advanced philosophical study. At the shedra—Buddhist monastic college—they undertake a rigorous curriculum culminating in the Lopon-ma degree. Modern teaching and learning methods are integrated throughout all educational programs.Â
Lineage
A tradition preserved and carried forward by generations of women
This is a remarkable tradition of enlightenment that originated at a time when opportunities for women to pursue advanced Vajrayana training were rare. The lineage was established by Tsoknyi Rinpoche I to preserve the Ratna Lingpa tradition, while also ensuring women were able to undertake the highest levels of study, retreat, and practice.
The Tsoknyi Nuns live and practice in communities across Nepal and Nangchen. In Nepal, three principal locations provide spaces for education, practice, and retreat: Tsoknyi Gechak Ling in Chobar, Tsoknyi Gargon Ling in Muktinath, and Thondrolling Nunnery in Swayambhu, (also referred to as Tsoknyi Gargon Ling, Swayambhu).
These communities have developed through the efforts of the nuns and their teachers, with support from donors around the world.
Practice
For generations, the Tsoknyi Nuns have devoted their lives to the study and practice of the Buddha’s teachings. Daily prayers, rituals, and pujas are integral to life at the nunneries, alongside periods of intensive meditation and retreat.
The Three-Year Retreat
At the heart of the Tsoknyi lineage is the traditional three-year retreat, known as the Kusum or Three-Kaya retreat. It is through this retreat that the nuns in Nepal continue the same sequence of practices undertaken by generations of nuns in Nangchen. Preserved and transmitted over centuries, this tradition connects the nuns practicing today and the lineage they have inherited.
Based on a treasure teaching revealed by Ratna Lingpa and organized into its present form by the first Tsoknyi Rinpoche and (Tsang-yang Gyamtso?), the retreat unfolds in three phases. Practitioners begin with deity visualization and mantra recitation, progress to completion-stage practices working with the body’s subtle energies, and conclude with the profound meditation practices of Dzogchen.
Together, these practices form a complete path of transformation of body, speech, and mind. By undertaking the retreat, the nuns maintain the practices of their lineage through direct experience and continued transmission.
Request Prayers
The Tsoknyi Nuns regularly perform prayers and pujas for health, well-being, and the removal of obstacles. Visit the Request Form to submit prayers for yourself or a loved one.
Study
Education is central to life at the Tsoknyi nunneries. From kindergarten through higher Buddhist education, the nuns have opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding through both contemporary learning and traditional Buddhist study.
Foundational Education: Kindergarten Through Grade 8
Both Thandrolling Nunnery in Swayambhu and Tsoknyi Gechak School in Chobhar offer kindergarten programs. When the younger nuns at Thondrolling reach first grade, they continue their education at Tsoknyi Gechak School, which provides schooling through Grade 8.
Following Nepal’s national curriculum, the school combines modern, student-centered teaching methods with traditional Buddhist education in meditation, ritual practice, and sacred texts. Together, these approaches nurture the students’ intellectual development and emotional well-being.Â
Higher Buddhist Education: The Shedra
The shedra, or College of Buddhist Philosophy, offers an approximately 11-year program of advanced Buddhist study that culminates in the Lopon-ma degree. Beginning with Tibetan grammar, poetry, and foundational logic, the curriculum progresses through five major areas of Indian Buddhist philosophy, including monastic discipline (Vinaya), Buddhist logic and epistemology (Pramana), the Middle Way philosophy of emptiness (Madhyamaka), and the stages of the bodhisattva path. The program concludes in the study of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, a central text of the Nyingma Vajrayana tradition.
Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s vision is to combine traditional Buddhist scholarship with contemporary approaches to learning. Alongside textual study, the nuns develop their understanding through discussion, debate, and Dharma presentations.
The shedra prepares a new generation of nuns to become scholars, practitioners, and teachers, strengthening their ability to study, practice, and transmit the teachings.
Lineage
The Tsoknyi Nuns carry forward a tradition of Vajrayana Buddhist practice established in nineteenth-century Nangchen by the first Tsoknyi Rinpoche and his principal disciple, Tsang-yang Gyamtso. Rooted in both the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the lineage became distinguished by generations of accomplished female practitioners who played a central role in preserving and transmitting its teachings.
Origins in Nangchen
In Nangchen, the nuns undertook rigorous Vajrayana training, including the traditional three-year retreat. They became particularly renowned for their mastery of the subtle-body practices of Anuyoga, the Nyingma counterpart to the Six Yogas of Naropa, and for their high levels of meditative realization.
Over successive generations, many became respected lamas and principal lineage holders, transmitting teachings and guiding practitioners throughout an extensive network of Tsoknyi nunneries. This tradition of accomplished female practitioners occupying positions of spiritual authority was exceptionally rare in Tibetan Buddhism.
Preservation Through Upheaval
The political upheavals of the twentieth century brought profound disruption to Buddhist communities across Nangchen. Monasteries and nunneries were damaged or destroyed, and practitioners faced extraordinary hardship.
Amidst this all, the surviving nuns continued to preserve the teachings and practices. Through their determination, the tradition survived and began to flourish again as circumstances allowed.
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Taking Root in Nepal
In the early 1990s, Tsoknyi Rinpoche III began supporting the nuns and helping to establish a home for their continued practice and education. A small number of nuns from Nangchen arrived in Nepal in 1994, and over the following years, the communities grew through the dedication of the nuns, the guidance of their teachers, and the generosity of supporters.
Today, the Tsoknyi Nuns continue this tradition in Nepal and Nangchen. Through study, retreat, and daily practice, they preserve the teachings they have inherited and pass them on to new generations.
