Lama Rinpoche with Ani Chodron at Kopan Nunnery, 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Venerable Ani Chodron was born in the year of the wood bird in 1945 in the village of Tsum near the border of Tibet in northeast Nepal. She is the oldest of four children, all daughters, born to Mingmar Tshok and Mingma Tsewang. Her parents were nomads and farmers, and her uncle Gelong Pasang Tsering was known as the chanting master of Mu-Gompa.

At the age of nine, Ani Chodron ordained at Ranchen Nunnery. She received from His Holiness the previous Chosang Rinpoche the great initiations of Avalokiteshvara, Yamantaka, and Vajrayogini. When her uncle retired from Mu-Gompa to enter retreat in a nearby cave, the senior monks and nuns chose Ani Chodron to be his assistant. There she performed one hundred thousand each of mandala offerings, prostrations, guru yoga recitations, and long mantras of Vajrasattva.

Geshe Lama Konchog at Kopan Monastery, 1985. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

In 1959, Geshe Lama Konchog escaped Tibet via a route revealed to him in a dream which led him across the border to the village of Tsum. After many years meditating in solitude in a cave of Milarepa, he settled in a cave about an hour outside of Tsum known as Gaden Gompa.

Ani Chodron remembers when she heard the great mahasiddha Geshe Lama Konchog had moved to a nearby cave. She joined her uncle, three nuns from Ranchen Nunnery, and seven monks from Mu-Gompa to pay their respects and request teachings. The group received from Geshe Lama Konchog profound instruction and were led in a great Vajrayogini retreat. Together they performed four hundred thousand mantra recitations.

When Ani Chodron’s mother died at the age of 39, she moved home to the village in Tsum to help her family. After some time, Geshe Lama Konchog paid the family a visit. He advised the family to arrange a marriage for Ani Chodron’s younger sister so that Ani Chodron could continue her retreat. The family agreed, and Geshe Lama Konchog chose a husband for Ani Chodron’s younger sister, Ami Bhuti. In 1975, in the village of Tsum, Ami Bhuti gave birth to Tenzin Zopa, now Geshe Tenzin Zopa, an FPMT teacher.

Ani Chodron’s first nyung na retreat was led by Geshe Lama Konchog. The intense purification practice is highly praised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a supreme method for transforming the mind. Nyung na involves fasting, meditation, prostrations, mantra recitations, and taking Mahayana precepts each day. In Geshe Lama Konchog’s commentary on nyung na he said, “You should work hard. I have already completed 2,000 sets of nyung na retreats.”

At times the conditions in the cave were so poor it tested Ani Chodron’s faith as to whether she would be able to complete the nyung na retreats. For many years, she would go down to the village to beg for tsampa, rice, fruit, or any food at all just to be able to survive the retreats in the cave. Whenever she questioned whether she had the strength to continue, she recalled Geshe Lama Konchog’s words in order to fortify her resolve. Incredibly, in the end, Ani Chodron was also able to complete 2,000 nyung na retreats.

Over the years, Geshe Lama Konchog became a beloved figure in Tsum village. Ani Chodron’s nephew spent so much time at Geshe Lama Konchog’s feet that as a little boy Tenzin Zopa assumed he was his grandfather. Geshe Lama Konchog taught the local ordained and lay community, and every year he would lead a nyung na retreat that included both villagers and Sangha.

Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche, the recognized reincarnation of Geshe Lama Konchog. Nepal, 2006. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.

Ani Chodron did retreats with Geshe Lama Konchog in the summer and traveled with him to India in the winter to attend teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The walk from Tsum to Kathmandu took sixteen days. In Kathmandu they stayed in Thamel at Katasyambu because they had no money. They would sell Tibetan incense and share what they collected. It took two days of walking non-stop day and night to reach the border of India. In India they received from His Holiness the Dalia Lama initiations for Kalachakra, Yamantaka, Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrayogini. His Holiness also gave teachings on the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Each time she returned to Tsum she continued to receive Dharma teachings at Gaden Gompa.

On October 15, 2001 the great mahasiddha Geshe Lama Konchog passed away at the age of 84. Ani Chodron’s nephew Tenzin Zopa had long-since been ordained as a monk and become a devoted disciple of Geshe Lama Konchog. He presided over the ceremonies and funeral for his precious guru at Kopan Monastery in Nepal.

In 2006, Ani Chodron came to Kopan Monastery to take care of Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche, the recognized reincarnation of Geshe Lama Konchog. She had no hesitation and only joy at being given the opportunity to serve because, as she explains, she understood the power of the opportunity provided for her to purify her negative karma and to accumulate merit. At Kopan, she received many Dharma teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Ani Chodron credits any progress in her practice and on her path to following the guidance of her holy gurus.

This remarkable nun has simple advice for her dear Dharma brothers and sisters, “I only have a humble request [for] you to follow wholeheartedly the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Guru Kyabje Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.” 

This article was written by Heather Melton Fox based on an interview with Ani Chodron. Thanks to Ngudrup Tsering for translation of this interview. Edited for publication by Carina Rumrill.

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