A Joyful Holiday Season

Dear Friends,

As we approach the end of another year, we offer our heartfelt thanks to all of you, our donors, throughout the world. Dongyu Gatsal Ling Initiatives (DGLI) is a small volunteer-based organization with a large mission: to support the activities of our Spiritual Director, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, and the continuation and preservation of the BuddhaDharma. It is your ongoing generosity that provides the resources necessary for this mission, which in turn directly impacts the lives, education and health of the many ordained nuns under Jetsunma’s care.

In this newsletter, we are pleased to offer a special message from Jetsunma as well as updates from DGL Nunnery, Gebchak Gonpa, Tayul Gonpa, and Peukar and Lhaphag Nunneries.

From our hearts to yours, we extend our warmest wishes for a joyful holiday season, and fold our hands in prayer for Peace all over the world. Thank you once again for being part of our meaningful work!

DGLI Board of Directors

Linda, Lillia, May Ling, Lindsay and Chrysanne

Jetsunma’s special message for you

compliments of Katherine Demsky @UpayaConsulting

With deep gratitude we thank all our donors who, through their kindness and generosity, have helped Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery and all the other projects connected with DGLI to keep going during all these years. We feel very blessed to have the good fortune of being taken care of by such wonderful people who sincerely believe in what we are trying to do in order to improve the status of nuns both in Himalayan and Non-Himalayan contexts.

Thank you ever so much to all of you.

Sincerely,

Tenzin Palmo

Donate to DGLI

BBC UK recently honored the Venerable Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo as being one of 100 Influential Women of 2023.

BBC 100 Women 2023 List

Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery

The nuns at DGL presented a grand show for Lhabab Duchen on the 4th of November. Among them were Cham, or Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Dance, which the nuns have been perfecting for many years now and again performed this Lhabab Duchen. They enacted the story of Buddha Shakyamuni’s Descent from the Heaven of Thirty-Three, one of the special days in the life of the Buddha, when he had ascended to that special heaven in order to repay the kindness of his mother and liberate her from samsara. He also gave extensive teachings to benefit those beings in the higher realms. They concluded the day with the 16 Arhats Puja, complete with cake and Tibetan debating. The festivities were appreciated and enjoyed by many visitors, both local and international.

Laphag Gonpa

Drugpa Rinpoche reports that a stupa has been built next to the temple and a total of 12 rooms were completed along with a bathroom.

The dining room is currently inadequate to accommodate the 130 nuns and they

are looking to build an extension.

Tayul and Peuker Gonpas

Following the conclusion of the 2023 Sakyadhita Conference in Seoul, South Korea, Jetsunma went on to spend a month in retreat at Peuker Nunnery, which is not far from the cave where she spent twelve years in retreat. Life for the nuns in these remote places consists of intensive meditation practices, along with the simple (and arduous!) chores of preparing meals and chopping wood. Thank you Venerable Kalden Wangmo for the photos.

Gebchak Gonpa

Wangdrak Rinpoche continues to focus on the strength of the Gebchak lineage by ensuring the nuns stay healthy and that certain unique traditions, such as torma making, are passed along to members of the Gebchak community.

The Nangchen nuns have been contending with long-term effects of Covid and have been taking herbal remedies procured by Rinpoche to address these health concerns, which seem to be working well. In an effort to preserve the unique tradition of torma making at Gebchak, opportunities are created for the handful of elder nuns with this special knowledge to train the younger nuns.

It is with your generous support that the health and wellbeing of the nuns can be taken care of and the unique traditions of the lineage can be cultivated, in addition to providing for their food and shelter.

Donate to Gebchak Gonpa

The Alliance of Non-Himalayan Nuns

A call to all ordained nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition originating from the non-Himalayan regions! There will be a special meeting taking place in March 2024 in Dharamsala, India, at Thosamling Nunnery. If you would like to know more, please refer to: https://allianceofnonhimalayannuns.org/gathering

To those of you who would like to support Jetsunma’s efforts in bringing this select group of the monastic Sangha together, please click the donate button below.

Donate to ANHN

Please support us by following our social media outreach on Facebook and Instagram with news of Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and our Nunnery projects.

About Us

Dongyu Gatsal Ling Initiatives is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States. For USA residents your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

DGL Initiatives supports the mission of our Spiritual Director, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo. We are dedicated to improving the education standards and living conditions of Tibetan Buddhist female monastics and their communities.

Offering Service

If you are interested in volunteering for DGL Initiatives, we would love to hear from you! We are interested in candidates with good writing skills, tech savvy, and a willingness to make a long term commitment. Please click on the link below to complete our online application form to tell us more about yourself and your interests. Thank you!

Volunteer Application Form

You are receiving this email because you expressed interest in Dongyu Gatsal Ling Initiatives, and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo's various projects. If at any time you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please use the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails, and your data will be deleted in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.