Nenang Nunnery
Encyclopedia
Nenang Nunnery is a historical hermitage
, belonging to Sera Monastery
. It is located west of Lhasa
in the surrounding Doilungdêqên County
in Tibet
. Nenang is the seat of the Pawo Rimpoches.
. Above Nenang, is the Tsurphu Monastery
, a monastery which served as the traditional seat of the Karmapa
. A river runs through the valley. It is the location of a quarry from where aggregates are carried to Lhasa for building construction, which is raising environmental concerns. As in the case of hermitages and nunneries located in the mountainous terrain with immense religiosity is associated with it. Thus, the peak surrounding this nunnery is called the Glorious Copper-Coloured Mountain (Zangs mdog dpal ri), which is the name of Padmasambhava
’s celestial palace, as the location was associated with Padmasambhava (Padma’byung gnas). Two large caves here were Padmasambhava’s meditation caves (sgrub phug). Another set of caves, on the hills opposite to the hermitage (ri khrod) were caves of the Sixteen Arhats (gnas brtan bcu drug). These sites are all now in total ruins. It is therefore said to even accept that a live and active hermitage existed here in the past.
. Some also say it was founded in 1333 by Tokden Drakpa Senge (1283–1349), the first Sharmapa.
The nunnery flourished briefly for one more generation under an incarnate of the first nun and went into decline thereafter due to lack of further incarnated nuns. It was then brought under the jurisdiction of Khardo Hermitage
. The third incarnation of Khardo Rikdzin Chökyi Dorjé (Mkhar rdo sku phreng gsum pa rigs ’dzin chos kyi rdo rje) made it his retreat and also established the nunnery. However, the nuns who felt insecure at this remote location wished to stay closer to Mkhar rdo. Consequently, as directed by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, in 1930 they exchanged places with the Gnas sgo gdong monastery where monks were residing; the male monks then shifted to Gnas nang.
Post 1959
Following the Cultural Revolution
in 1959, the nunnery was locked up and deteriorated into ruins. It was only about a decade ago that some nuns of this nunnery along with an elderly person (the father of one of the nuns) started building temporary huts from the ruins of the former nunnery.
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
, belonging to Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses in...
. It is located west of Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
in the surrounding Doilungdêqên County
Doilungdêqên County
Doilungdêqên is a county north-west of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet. Tsurphu Monastery and Nenang Nunnery are located in the county.-Geography:...
in Tibet
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
. Nenang is the seat of the Pawo Rimpoches.
Geography
The nunnery is located at the end of a valley, approximately 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) west of LhasaLhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
. Above Nenang, is the Tsurphu Monastery
Tsurphu Monastery
Tsurphu Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery which served as the traditional seat of the Karmapa. It is located in Gurum town of Doilungdêqên County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, 70 km from Lhasa. The monastery is about 14,000 feet above sea level...
, a monastery which served as the traditional seat of the Karmapa
Karmapa
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
. A river runs through the valley. It is the location of a quarry from where aggregates are carried to Lhasa for building construction, which is raising environmental concerns. As in the case of hermitages and nunneries located in the mountainous terrain with immense religiosity is associated with it. Thus, the peak surrounding this nunnery is called the Glorious Copper-Coloured Mountain (Zangs mdog dpal ri), which is the name of Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
’s celestial palace, as the location was associated with Padmasambhava (Padma’byung gnas). Two large caves here were Padmasambhava’s meditation caves (sgrub phug). Another set of caves, on the hills opposite to the hermitage (ri khrod) were caves of the Sixteen Arhats (gnas brtan bcu drug). These sites are all now in total ruins. It is therefore said to even accept that a live and active hermitage existed here in the past.
History
In the ninth century Padmasambhava, the Indian Buddhist guru credited with founding of Buddhism in Tibet, lived and did penance in the caves in the precincts of the monastery. According to oral tradition, Padmasmabhava lived in this cave for three years and three months in retreat. However, establishing the nunnery here is credited to a nun named Jetsün (or Khachö) Dröldor Wangmo (Rje btsureen nam mkha’ spyod sgrol rdor dbang mo), inferred to be a DakiniDakini
A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...
. Some also say it was founded in 1333 by Tokden Drakpa Senge (1283–1349), the first Sharmapa.
The nunnery flourished briefly for one more generation under an incarnate of the first nun and went into decline thereafter due to lack of further incarnated nuns. It was then brought under the jurisdiction of Khardo Hermitage
Khardo Hermitage
Khardo Hermitage is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located north of Lhasa, in the Dodé Valley.-Footnotes:...
. The third incarnation of Khardo Rikdzin Chökyi Dorjé (Mkhar rdo sku phreng gsum pa rigs ’dzin chos kyi rdo rje) made it his retreat and also established the nunnery. However, the nuns who felt insecure at this remote location wished to stay closer to Mkhar rdo. Consequently, as directed by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, in 1930 they exchanged places with the Gnas sgo gdong monastery where monks were residing; the male monks then shifted to Gnas nang.
Post 1959
Following the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
in 1959, the nunnery was locked up and deteriorated into ruins. It was only about a decade ago that some nuns of this nunnery along with an elderly person (the father of one of the nuns) started building temporary huts from the ruins of the former nunnery.