By Ani Joan Nicell

Shenpen Samten Ling nunnery has a label but still does not have a base. The founding of a nunnery is not an easy thing as we have discovered again and again during the past months. Fortunately our enthusiasm is holding out in spite of the countless obstacles presented to us in the search for an appro­priate place to establish a community of Western Buddhist nuns.

This project began last year during a course in Pomaia, Italy when a group of about twenty nuns met to discuss the need for a place to live together in an environment that would support a life of ordination and the training of the mind. A nunnery would provide new nuns with the opportunity to adjust to their new style of life and to study, reflect, and meditate in an atmosphere supporting the practice of Dharma. For the more senior nuns it would provide a place to regain the energy expended in working for the centers as well as to study and do retreat.

After presenting this idea to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and receiving his approval, the nuns of various nationalities commit­ted themselves to putting their energy into founding and developing a monastic community.

Then in May of this year several of the nuns met once again at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa to dedicate themselves to making this project become a reality. Feeling that a harmonious com­munity was of utmost importance, we concentrated on develop­ing a group energy through doing Lama Chöpa together in the morning and several short prayers in the evening.

Meanwhile, we investigated several properties, but finding an appropriate place in this highly touristed, and thus expensive, area has proven difficult. Each possibility has turned out to have its problems and so the search for a place has had to begin again. However each obstacle has helped to make clearer exactly what is needed for both the present and future nuns and has given us even more determination to make the nunnery become a reality as soon as possible.

For this reason, we are now considering renting a moderately sized house for the present time while we continue to look for a more permanent situation. In this way, we can begin imme­diately to concentrate our energy on building up a strong community of nuns living and practicing together.

Lay women are also welcome to join us providing they are willing to live in the eight precepts during their stay at the monastery. For more information or to offer your help, write to the nuns at Shenpen Samten Ling c/o Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Pomaia, Italy.

We would like to extend our deepest thanks for all the support we have received from Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa.