Yoga of Himalayas – Nuns & Communities

 www.icimod.org

www.pundarika.org

www.muktinath.org Chumig Gyatsa

 www.tnp.org

Nepal (नेपाल) (/nɛˈpɔːl/ Nepali: नेपाल ), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People’s Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 30 million, Nepal is the world’s 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. Kathmandu is the nation’s capital and the country’s largest metropolis. Nepal has a rich geography. The mountainous north has eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest, called Sagarmatha in Nepali. It contains more than 240 peaks over 20,000 ft (6,096 m) above sea level. The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized. Read More: > HERE <

The Tibetan Nuns Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and supporting nuns in India from all Tibetan Buddhist lineages. It supports nuns interesting in study and higher ordination. Tibetan nunneries have historically been well established in Tibet, certainly from the 12th century and with traditions reaching back as far as the eighth century. Before the Chinese invasion in 1949, there were at least 818 nunneries and nearly 28,000 nuns living in Tibet. Traditional education in the nunneries included reading, writing, and lessons in ancient scriptures and prayers taught by the senior nuns or lamas from monasteries. Read More: > HERE <

The vision behind the Pundarika lotus symbol is the immaculate wisdom and compassion of Dharma. It is Pundarika’s hope to manifest this vision by bringing the timeless wisdom of great Tibetan masters to the modern West.

Under the guidance of Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Pundarika Foundation was established in 1994 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization and as a 501(c)(3) church in 2006 (FEIN No. 84-1295990). Pundarika is a volunteer organization that relies on the generosity of students’ time and commitment. It has the support of over 2,000 students throughout the world who attend retreats, practice Dharma under the inspiration of Rinpoche and contribute time, money and prayers to its success.

Missions and Goals: „You can awaken a sense of responsibility for all the other sentient beings who are exactly the way you used to be, tormented by negative emotions. You can begin helping them–first one, then two, then three and finally all sentient beings.“ Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Pundarika Foundation’s primary mission is to support the teaching activities and humanitarian work of Tsoknyi Rinpoche by: Keeping alive the wisdom of the Dharma, Sustaining practitioners who preserve the teachings of the Buddha as a vital tradition, Helping people experience inner peace, to better face the challenges of modern life with compassion and sanity, ~For Recent Accomplishments, please click here ~

Produced by Chariot Videos – www.chariotvideos.com . Blessings tells the story of 3000 nuns living in the remote nomadic region of Nangchen in Eastern Tibet who practice an ancient yogic tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Despite near extinction during the destruction of the Cultural Revolution, these remarkable practitioners have emerged to rebuild their monasteries by hand.. stone by stone. Now, their wisdom tradition is once again vital and growing. In 2005, Tsoknyi Rinpoche III led a small group of western students to meet these amazing women. Narrated by Richard Gere www.gerefoundation.org/, with music by Ani Choying Drolma and Steve Tibbetts, Blessings is the story of this extraordinary journey.

Rinpoche’s first visit to Chumig Gyatsa led to the immediate construction of 10 small rooms. Since then, their nunnery has been repaired and enlarged, and the nuns were able to perform a full Buddhist ritual practice for the first time. Twenty young girls were ordained and joined the community. Today, the 51 nuns divide their time between Kathmandu and Muktinath. Also, a health clinic (Chumig Gyatsa Gargon Abbey and Clinic) was constructed that serves the nuns and the local community. This year, a new large shrine hall is being constructed.

Ancient practices leading to enlightenment – The nuns’ story is a classic example of dedication and tenacity. Organized in nunneries comprised of several “Ani houses” (dwellings where up to 15 nuns live together), they perform their spiritual practices in a group, teaching and helping each other all their lives. Many nuns do three-year, nine-year or even lifetime retreat. On retreat, each nun sits all day in meditation posture doing her yogic practices and meditation.

The nuns’ daily routine captures a timeless scene from the past. A typical day starts around 3:30 a.m., as the nuns wake and immediately start their first three-hour practice session. After a short break for breakfast, they resume their second session, ending at lunch. The third session occupies the afternoon, and after a light evening meal, they complete their fourth practice session. They then continue sitting throughout the night, practicing dream yoga.

Many of the nuns are accomplished masters of difficult yogic practices such as tummo (the yoga of inner heat). They perform yearly rituals for the public that include a long procession around the center in the dead of winter in sub-zero temperatures, with only a sheet wrapped around their bodies. During the night, hundreds of the most adept nuns wet their sheets repeatedly in buckets of melted snow and continue their procession, drying the sheets again and again with the inner heat generated by their yogic practice.

This very rare and awe-inspiring event, as well as the realization of the elder nuns, has gained them respect and renown throughout Tibet. In a culture where female practitioners have struggled to gain respect, these nuns have risen to a high level of status, with many monks and lamas seeking their teachings and instruction.