Vajra Dakini Nunnery

Vajra Dakini Nunnery

Vajra Dakini Nunnery is a contemplative community in the Drikung Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Drikung Kagyu Order was founded in 1179 by Kyobpa Jigten Sumgön. It is headed by the two Kyabgön Rinpoches: His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang and His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgön Chungtsang.

While H.H. Chungtsang Rinpoche resides in Lhasa, H.H. Chetsang Rinpoche has established the Drikung Kagyu seat in exile in Dehra Dun, in the northeast of India.

Vajra Dakini Nunnery was founded with the blessing and patronage of His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche; it is dedicated to peace, practice, and service. Vajra Dakini works to strengthen the feminine within Buddhism through supporting Tibetan nuns and providing leadership internationally. VDN is a community of nuns and laywomen in training, established for the purpose of providing food, housing, and a suitable religious environment for those nuns. Equally, Vajra Dakini is a source of compassion training and practice for the public: women and men, old and young. Vajra Dakini regularly offers both traditional retreats and also compassion training in diverse settings including businesses, hospitals, hospices, colleges, and universities.

Our home, Liberation House (named so by H.E. Garchen Rinpoche), is a small residence for Khenmo Drolma, our Fellowship Nuns from India, and visiting nuns. It also houses our office and online programs.

Organization Website

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Kagyu'

Karuṇā - The profound wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. It is a core virtue in Buddhism and, in the Mahāyāna tradition, develops into 'great compassion' (mahākaruṇā), the driving force behind the pursuit of enlightenment for the benefit of others. Skt करुणा  Tib ཐུགས་རྗེ་  Ch 悲  

Go to the page with the definition of 'compassion'