Ani Tsankhung Nunnery ( ) is a nunnery of the

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous' ...

school of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

in the city of

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was built in the 15th century on a site that had been used for meditation by the 7th century Tibetan king

Songtsen Gampo Songtsen Gampo (Classical , pronounced ) (; (601–683 CE, reign 614-648) was the 33rd Tibetan king of the Yarlung dynasty and the founder of the Tibetan Empire. The first of three Dharma Kings of Tibet, he formally introduced Buddhism to Tib ...

. The nuns support themselves through alms and manufacturing items such as clothing and printed texts.

Building

The word ''ani'' () means 'nun', and ''tshamkhung'' () means 'a place for spiritual retreat', or 'hermitage'. Ani Tsankhung occupies a yellow building in the

Barkhor Barkhor (), is the commercial center and busiest street of the old city of Lhasa, Tibet. The Barkhor Ring Road is composed of Barkhor East Street, Barkhor South Street, Barkhor West Street and Barkhor North Street. The circumference of Barkhor Str ...

area of downtown Lhasa. It is southeast of the

Jokhang The Jokhang (, zh, s=大昭寺}), historically known as the Rasa Trulnang (ra sa 'phrul snang) or Qoikang Monastery or Zuglagkang ( or Tsuklakang), is considered the "heart of Lhasa"."Jokhang". MAPS, Places. University of Virginia. The Jokhang ...

temple, and is the only nunnery in the old city of Lhasa. The building is three stories high. In the main hall there is an image of Chenresig, the multi-armed

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

of Compassion. Behind this there is a 7th-century meditation chamber that was used by

. The nunnery has a collection of thirteen

Thangka A ''thangka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा) is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled ...

s from

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

dynasties depicting Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

History

The 7th century Tibetan king

used to meditate at a natural cave in this location, and recited prayers to reduce the danger of flooding by the

Lhasa River The Lhasa River, also called Kyi Chu (, ), is a northern tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The Yarlung Tsangpo is the upper section of the Brahmaputra River. The Lhasa River is subject t ...

. Doctor Gewahum meditated here in the 12th century. Kujor Tokden, a close disciple of

Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ( Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་པ་, '','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the format ...

, established the nunnery in the 15th century. The Tibetan Living Buddha

Samding Dorje Phagmo The Samding Dorje Phagmo () is the highest female tulku, incarnation in Tibet''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', (1988) p. 268. Keith Dowman. . and the third highest-ranking person in the hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and ...

began her life as a Buddhist at the monastery. The Lama

Pabongkhapa Déchen Nyingpo Pabongkhapa Déchen Nyingpo (; 1878–1941) was a Gelug lama of the modern era of Tibetan Buddhism. He attained his Geshe degree at Sera Mey Monastic University, Lhasa, and became a teacher in Tibet. He taught lay people. Pabongkha was offered ...

and Tampa Dhoedrak, throne holder of

Ganden Monastery Ganden Monastery (also Gaden or Gandain) or Ganden Namgyeling or Monastery of Gahlden is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries located in Dagzê County, Lhasa, Tibet. The other two are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery. Gan ...

, enlarged the nunnery to its present size early in the 20th century. The nunnery was closed for ten years during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, its statues destroyed and the nuns evicted. Later it was allowed to reopen by the Lhasa Municipal Bureau of Religious Affairs. Today there are more than one hundred resident nuns.

Activities

The youngest nuns are sixteen. The young women live on the ground floor and the older people live upstairs. The nuns are poor, dependent on alms given for their prayers, and on manufacturing goods for sale. Their work includes sewing, weaving and making handicrafts. They also have a small workshop where they print religious texts. The nuns run an inexpensive outdoor restaurant, which is busy at lunch time, serving bowls of noodles and dumplings. File:Ani Tsankhung Nunnery2.jpg, Front of the nunnery File:Ani Tshamkhung Female Monastery Lhasa Tibet Luca Galuzzi 2006.jpg, A young Buddhist nun at the nunnery File:Ani Tsankhung Nunnery3.jpg, Printing holy texts

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa Buddhist nunneries in Tibet Gelug monasteries in Tibet Buildings and structures in Lhasa Chengguan District, Lhasa