The Buddhist Women’s Educational Society is a charitable organization, registered in New Delhi, India, set up to provide education and training towards the spiritual well-being of women, particularly Buddhist nuns without reference to the race, caste or creed of the beneficiaries.

The BWES is committed to:

Improve the economic and spiritual well-being of Buddhist women

Introduce Buddhist women to a well planned educational system according to the Buddhist tradition and the essential elements of a modern education

Raise the status of women in society

Reaching out to existing nunneries to improve their educational facilities and standards; and

Preserve the teachings of Lord Buddha


Our Projects

Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute

An innovative non-sectarian Institute, based in the Kangra Valley near Dharamsala, North India, Dolma Ling currently houses 232 nuns who are fully engaged in the 17-year study curriculum. This program uses Buddhist philosophy texts from all the four major lineages.

Shugsep Nunnery and Institute

The only Nyingma Nunnery in Dharamsala houses over 80 nuns. These nuns are dedicated to an 11-year study program equivalent to that of monks at Namdroling Institute in South India leading to the degree of Lopon.

Geshema Degree

Through the support and encouragement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and years of dedicated commitment to their studies by the nuns, the decision to grant the highest available degree to nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition was made for the first time in history in May 2012. After completing a 17 year course of study, the nuns must pass a rigorous four year examination process. The first Geshema degrees will be granted in 2016.

Jang Gonchoe

Jang Gonchoe is a month long inter-nunnery debate session which has been held annually since 1995. Nuns from at least six different nunneries from Dharamsala, South India and Nepal participate in this session every year and other nunneries often attend the sessions as well . It is an excellent medium for the participating nuns to clarify their understanding of the philosophical texts as well as to improve their debating skills.

Sponsorship Program

The sponsorship program supports nuns from 7 different nunneries located near Dharamsala, in remote regions of Lahaul/Spiti and Zanskar, and in Uttaranchal. We channel the funds received from sponsors to the respective nunneries where the amount is used to provide accommodation, food, medical needs and education for all the nuns.


Contact

We maintain a communications office in New Delhi:

H-9 Jangpura
New Delhi 110014

As most of our work is carried out in Himachal Pradesh, our full-time staff operate from our office within the Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute complex:

Buddhist Women’s Educational Society
c/o Dolma Ling
P.O. Sidhpur   176057
Dist. Kangra, H.P.

contact@bwes.in

We depend on donations to carry out our work. As all contributions from outside India must come through our one registered bank account and wire transfer procedures differ from country to country, please contact our office for details on how to make a donation.