Following Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s words about the crucial importance of supporting monastic sangha in their studies, this summer Dharma Ratna shop helped purchase books for the Nagi gompa nunnery’s library. About 20 titles were recommended by Khenpo Urgyen Tenpel to round out the collection of the foundational readings. These include biographies of the great masters of the past from all schools; religious histories like The Mani Chronicles and A Feast Scholars; and commentaries on the famous poetry treatise The Mirror of Poetry—basically all the literature necessary for the Khenmos of the future. The nunnery’s Shedra, or nine-year monastic college, was established in April 2016. The elementary and middle school programs have been recently enhanced and are now led by the resident Khenpo and Lopon.

Dharma Ratna customers’ continuous support, as well as generous contributions from La Asociación Bodhicitta Escola de l’Ésser and several individual sponsors, has enabled us to purchase the 32 books that were needed and provide the nunnery with extra funds for purchasing more books in the future.

Historically, Tibetan Buddhist nuns have had little to no access to education. We have the aspiration that the seeds planted by providing books for Nagi Gompa’s new library will ripen into trained and educated nuns and Khenmos of the future, while at the same time starting a new trend in education for nuns. It’s truly wonderful that modern nuns can finally have full access to the literature of Tibet and the Himalayas.