December 2001 – February 2002

Ani Jinpa left behind the Australian arts world where she worked as an administrator to become a nurse, primarily in palliative care and with “especially dear” dementia patients (“I could be any one of those suffering beings”). Although not a Buddhist at the time, she wondered why some people died calmly and peacefully, while others left clinging, angry and unresolved. She traveled to India, spent time in an ashram, and sought work that would extend her. She has found it in the Lotus Children’s Centre in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia.

One week in, the teachings [at the Kopan course] on the Precious Human Rebirth had such a profound effect on me that I knew I couldn’t waste a minute! It was everything I had been waiting to hear, and it was breathtaking to realize this knowledge had been there all the time and I hadn’t known it. It was also a relief – I began to feel my life unfolding. I took refuge with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, with the desire for ordination powerfully motivating my future plans.

My ordination in December ’99 was the most joyful experience of my life. The door opened to much happiness – and many painful experiences too – as I began to learn more about this treacherous mind and the great gifts our precious teachers offer to guide us in overcoming our obstacles….

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Tags: mongolia, socially engaged buddhism