Brief Biography
I would like to write briefly about my life. My name is Tenzin Zangmo I was born on April 24th, 1969, in a village in the north of India called Kanam.
This village is located in Himachal Pradesh, Distt. Kinnaur. My family name is Serpon. My mother's name is Wangchub Lhamo and my father's name is Abbhey Singh. They were both farmers. Both are still alive. I have three brothers and four sisters. Most of them have jobs and are married, and all their children go to school.
As a child, I was upset with my parents because they did not send me to school. I was a serious girl and my mother told me that married life would be difficult, whereas becoming a nun would be very good for me. Since I was destined to become a nun, I did not attend school. All but one of my sisters went, though at that time few girls went to school. If I had gone to school, I would have been able to study Hindi and English in my early years. Instead, my parents sent me to a nunnery where I learned about Buddhism.
I became a nun when I was 13 years old. At that time, I did not want to become a nun because I was so young and did not know which life path was right for me. However, my parents wanted me to become a nun because my aunt was a nun, and she had many books about Buddhism. My parents wanted to pass down these books to me so this tradition in our family would not be lost. They also believed that if I became a nun, I would look after them in their old age. My parents are Buddhists, but they do not know much about the philosophy behind Buddhism. I agreed to become a nun to fulfill their wishes.
In 1985, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was going to give the initiation of the Kalachakra Tantra in Bodhgaya, and my Geshe teacher advised me to attend. After the initiation, His Holiness was going to give getsul ordination to those who wanted it. My teacher told me it would be good for me to be ordained by His Holiness in such a holy place, so I decided to go to Bodhgaya, and I was given the ordination and name of Tenzin Zangmo. Ten of us from the same village were ordained together.
After we returned back home, I and other nuns realized that although we were ordained as nuns, we did not understand the deeper meaning of Buddhism. We sent a letter to my cousin, Tenzing Choezing, who was studying at Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala, to see if there was space for us to come. Unfortunately, there was no space. However, Tenzin Choezing told us that nearby was an American nun, Ven Karma Lekshe Tsomo, who had some land and who might allow us to join her. She was contacted and she agreed.
And so, Tenzin Deden and I went to Dharamsala, and were introduced to Ven Karma Lekshe Tsomo. She had some rooms for us to stay in, but room and board were not free. She could only give a salary to our teacher when he came to visit. I studied continuously and also earned my keep by doing chores to keep the nunnery running. I already knew the Tibetan U-chen, the language used in the scriptures, but I needed to learn how to read and write in Tibetan U-med; and after one year I started to study Buddhist philosophy. After some time more nuns came to stay and Ven Karma Lekshe Tsomo made it possible for all of us to be able to stay there free of charge. That�s when Jamyang Choling Institute was established.
At that time, the conditions were not like now; the rooms the nuns were staying in were very damp and cold, because of which some nuns got sick, including me. My life was seriously threatened by a grave disease all over my body and at times I couldn�t move. I was taken back home where the weather was more favorable, but it took more than a year and a half for me to recover and be able to come back to my studies. However, a few months later my illness relapsed and it became more serious. I was taken to Shimla Government Hospital for treatment which was not successful. Then I was taken care of by an Ayurvedic doctor in a village near by Shimla where I was successfully treated for about three months. Following the treatment I came back and caught up with my studies again. As I recall those events now, the feeling I remember about that time was like a return from death. This is
just an example of how harsh and difficult the nuns� journey is and how determined we are to reach our goal.
This summary of my experiences reveals examples of the traditional life stories of many other nuns: the support of my mother, the companionship of other nuns, the encouragement of a village lama, and the traditional lack of schooling for a nun-to-be. But two elements were different from what my teachers� generation experienced: the opportunity to receive nun�s vows from the Dalai Lama in India and the chance to join a nunnery offering a modern monastic curriculum � not only in Tibetan grammar and philosophy but also in debate, traditionally not taught to nuns, and English.
It took me almost twenty years to complete my Sutra studies, which are mainly about the five major texts. During that time, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave nuns the opportunity to study further for the Geshema degree, which I decided to do. In order to earn my Geshema degree, along with 19 other nuns from Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and the Himalayan region, I had to review those five major texts again for four years. The final examination was successfully held in May 2016 in Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala. My next aspiration is to deepen my studies about Tantra which will take another couple of years to complete.
For the first time in history the Geshema Degree will be given to 20 nuns by His Holiness Dalai Lama at Drepung Lhachi in South India, in December 2016.
Buddhism is very suitable for me and I know how fortunate I am to have met the Buddhadharma and to have had an interest in learning about it in depth. But I don�t know much about other traditions; therefore I cannot say that Buddhism is best for everyone. It depends upon one�s interest and aspirations.
Since I am a Buddhist nun, I must know well what it means to be a Buddhist and to be able to explain Buddhism to others. Although achieving a Geshema degree is a great accomplishment, I think the most important thing is to put the Buddha dharma into practice. I know that a proper understanding of the Buddhist teaching is difficult; moreover, putting those teachings into practice is even more difficult. But as we Buddhists practice the Buddha dharma, we hope that one day we will become enlightened, in order to free ourselves from the endless sufferings of samara and to help others free them through following the path we teach.
Here I would like to thank His Holiness the Dalai Lama from whom I was given the opportunity to study all those precious Dharma texts, and to complete my studies. I always keep in my mind His Holiness� teaching of not harming any other living being and to be kind to everyone, and try as much as possible to implement this into my practice.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as to Ven Bhikshuni Karma Lekshe Tsomo, and to Ven Gen Damchoe, Ven Gen Gyatso, and all my spiritual teachers who opened my eyes into the blissful world of the Dharma. I also want to thank Khen Rinpoche from Jamyang Choeling Institute, and the staff; as well as all my parents, relatives, sponsors and friends for their continuous support and help in many different ways, during this long and arduous journey.
May all the Dharma teachers live long and the Dharma teaching ever increase; and may all sentient beings abide in Buddhahood very soon.
May His Holiness live long and all his wishes be fulfilled!
Geshema Tenzin Zangmo
Jamyang Choling Insitute, Dharamsala, 2017
