A view of the new O.Sel.Ling Nunnery building at O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros, Spain

“There are many who desire enlightenment in a man’s body, but none who work for the benefit of sentient beings in the body of a woman. Therefore, until samsara is empty, I shall work for the benefit of sentient beings in a female body.” — Arya Tara

A new FPMT nunnery is being created at O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros, an FPMT retreat center in Spain. Ven. Joan Nicell, who is part of the nunnery advisory board, shares this update on progress of the nunnery:

Thanks to the hard work and tremendous generosity of a great many people, the project to build a nunnery on the land of O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros in southern Spain has finally materialized. A million thanks to all the people who helped and supported this project! In particular, our gratitude goes to the director of O.Sel.Ling, Anne Wenaas, who has worked tirelessly to realize this project and has also enabled O.Sel.Ling to contribute financially to its development, and to the late Isabel Arocena, a long time FPMT student, whose generosity allowed the building to be quickly finished just in time for Lama Zopa Rinpoche to bless the nunnery during his visit to O.Sel.Ling in May 2019.

O.Sel.Ling is situated in the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range about forty kilometers (twenty-five miles) from the Mediterranean coast, and within easy traveling distance of Granada. The retreat center covers a large portion of the top of a mountain within a national park and has a spacious view over the wide valley below out to the distant sea.

Scenery around O.Sel.Ling, Spain

The new nunnery building is located on the side of the hill just below the large Tara statue. It consists of a gompa, eleven single rooms, a combined library and sitting room, a shared kitchen and dining room, and a large open terrace.

Rinpoche’s more recent advice includes building a Tibetan-style entrance gate, as well as adding Tibetan-style doors and windows, and constructing a beautiful traditional altar for the gompa. We are very lucky to have Peter Griffin, a skilled and experienced artist, working on actualizing this project. Hopefully we will have soon everything we need, including the necessary funds, to fulfill Rinpoche’s wish!

But, now, what the nunnery needs is nuns! Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said that the nunnery should be a place for older nuns to meditate and practice, and for new nuns to engage in studying the Dharma. As Rinpoche has been emphasizing in his recent video advice, in which he calls the Western Sangha in particular “heroes and heroines,” it is of great importance for non-Tibetan Sangha to have conducive places to live, where they can keep their morality pure and dedicate their lives to study, contemplation, and meditation.

Geshe Jampel, from Nalanda Monastery, doing pujas to the landlord spirits and so forth at the old ruins before starting the construction of the new nunnery building; almost all of the FPMT the Spanish nuns were present for the pujas as well as O.Sel.Ling volunteers and friends, O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros, Spain, 2017

Living together in a monastic setting gives Sangha the opportunity to be supported by other Sangha members. In addition, a supportive and caring community helps us deepen our practice. Living according to the Vinaya allows us to take refuge in the Buddhadharma and apply our practice in our daily lives. By nurturing and supporting the Sangha Jewel, we wish to create a community that inspires others to practice Dharma and take ordination for the benefit of all.

Ven. Thubten Khadro, who is currently teaching in New Zealand, was recently appointed as coordinator. She is planning to begin helping the nunnery remotely in August 2021 and hopes to actually go to O.Sel.Ling in May 2022. Rinpoche has also advised two young Russian nuns to come to live in the nunnery and they are currently working on getting the necessary visas. A German nun currently doing retreat in O.Sel.Ling has expressed interest in being part of this new community.

However, we believe it is very important to have some senior nuns join the community. In this way, the less experienced nuns will have the support of more experienced ones. For this reason, we would like to offer FPMT senior nuns the opportunity to come to live, practice, and study the Dharma in this beautiful place. We would be very happy to collaborate with you in creating a community of nuns that can serve as an inspiration for and be of benefit to all sentient beings.

With thanks from the O.Sel.Ling Nunnery Advisory Board: Ven. Sangye Khadro, Ven. Joan Nicell, Ven. Nerea Basurto, and Ven. Marga Echezarreta.

A view of the new O.Sel.Ling Nunnery building from below, O.Sel.Ling Centro de Retiros, Spain

If you are interested in being part of this new Sangha community or if you would like to offer support to completing the building project and furnishing the rooms so that the first nuns can move in, please email monasterio.oseling@gmail.com.

Learn more about O.Sel.Ling Centros de Retiros:
http://www.oseling.org/

FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.