To all of our Friends, 

At this time when our world appears to be on shifting sands, we’d like to take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks to all of you — our donors worldwide — for your ongoing support. We are a volunteer-based organization with an important mission to support the activities of our Spiritual Director, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, and the many ways she has sought to strengthen the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, with an emphasis on the role of women, both monastic and lay, in the tradition. 

With the celebration of Jetsunma’s 82nd birthday and the 25th Anniversary of Dongyu Gatsal Ling (DGL) Nunnery in 2024, we are reminded of her tireless efforts over many years to secure funding for Buddhist nuns and elevate the position of nuns in the Vajrayana tradition. In this way, we continue to seek your support for the growth of the DGL Endowment. 

We offer prayers for Peace in the world and thank you for being an invaluable part of this initiative.

In deepest gratitude and with best wishes to all of you,

DGLI Board of Directors

Linda, Lillia, May Ling, and Sherab Khandro

Jetsunma on her birthday at Nan Hua Temple

A Saraswati Song of Delight for the Long Life of Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

The foremost mother of all buddhas, branch of the Vajra, Swift and noble accomplisher marked with wish-fulfilling wheels (White Tara), She who bestows abundance, the deathless Ushnishavijaya and all supreme long-life deities, bestow virtue and goodness!

You are a field of perfectly pure morality, laden with bountiful fruits of hearing, contemplating and meditating, who wondrously brings forth happiness for all in the three worlds. Please remain forever as a spiritual friend at the heart of the Practice Lineage!

Utterly stainless and noble vase of sacred lineage teachings, holding the pith of Rechungpa’s lineage of oral instructions, you who heal the weaknesses in the teachings and in beings, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, may your lotus feet firmly remain!

By the blessings of the infallible truth of the Three Jewels, Dusol Lhamo, the Five Tseringma Sisters and others, and by the ocean of activities of the samaya-bound Dharmapalas, may the unfolding of your excellent deeds shine in the ten directions!

May the great Nunnery of the ultimate lineage, Dongyu Gatsal Ling, a deep wellspring of the study and practice of Sutra and Tantra, flourish for as long as the sky remains as a sacred tree of offering for sentient beings throughout the three worlds!

*composed by Chökyi Wangchuk, who wears the crown title of Druk Shabdrung Chökyi Gonpo

Uncertain Times by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

We live in uncertain times filled with anxiety and paranoia. Our natural wish is for security and stability: a world at peace and in harmony. Yet again and again we face political and social upheaval, war and conflict, economic stress and downfall, and in general the opposite of the conditions we might have hoped for. Welcome to samsara!

The Dharma teaches us that our outer situation is often a reflection of our inner state. When we swim in an ocean of negative emotions this will often become evident in our daily encounters with others. Unfortunately we cannot change the world just by wishing, but we can affect our social environment by changing our attitude. The basic message of the Dharma teaches us how to cultivate a good heart and bring awareness and kindness into our everyday life. Dharma practice is not just sitting on our meditation cushion or reading books on abstruse philosophy, it means bringing the clarity of mindful presence into all our activities and our encounters with others.

All things are impermanent and the only security is to rest at ease in insecurity. We may not be able to stop the international chaos but we can choose to bring some sanity and kindness into our daily life. We can cultivate appreciation and contentment in a society saturated with greed and increasing desires. We can be friendly and gentle in a society of suspicion and violence. In other words, we can live the Dharma with deep gratitude for its wisdom and enlightened common sense. 

May all beings be well and happy, peaceful and at their ease! 

Happenings at Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery

Earlier this year, ground was broken on a new building at DGL Nunnery, an additional dormitory for nuns. This will enable the nunnery to accommodate more nuns. The retreat space for those foreigners wishing to do longer retreat at the Nunnery has been completed! 

In May, the nuns had their annual end-of-term exams and a DGL Bhutanese nun named Lhacho gave a well-received talk to an audience of hundreds of monks and nuns at Dzongsar Monastic College.

In June, the nuns enjoyed a month’s holiday during which many returned to their homes to visit family or go on pilgrimage. Some nuns, whose families live too far away to visit, accompany classmates to their homes instead. A group of nuns remained at DGL to cook for those in retreat and to carry out the ritual commitments such as the Tara and Mahakala pujas each day.

In July and August, during the monsoon rains, the nuns remain in strict retreat and the nunnery is closed to visitors. The nuns practice in groups in different locations (for instance, the beginners start with the 100,000 prostrations in the Tara Temple) and everyone maintains noble silence apart from chanting. 

The new academic year starts in September. This year in November we are expecting that 58 of our senior nuns will travel to Bhutan to receive the bhikshuni higher nuns ordination from His Holiness the Je Khenpo, head of the monastic order in Bhutan. 

This higher ordination for nuns in the Tibetan Mulasarvastivada lineage is still controversial and not usually bestowed. We are deeply grateful to HH the Je Khenpo for allowing these educated and well-trained nuns to receive this ordination, which was intended for them by the Buddha to fulfil the Fourfold sangha.

Summer Holidays

New retreat space for foreigners

New dorms for the DGL nuns

Endowment

As we look ahead, we are particularly focused on growing the DGL Endowment. Ensuring the DGL nuns have sufficient funding for many years to come is best achieved with a sizable Endowment. 

We would like to invite you to express your gratitude to Jetsunma and her spirited work for nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist mandala by donating to the DGL Endowment.

To receive more detailed information about the Endowment and how to make bequests, please email us at info@dgli.org. You may also visit our website: https://dgli.org/the-dgl-endowment. Donors in the United States are able to make tax-deductible contributions.

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