Geshema Degree
Jangchub Choeling Nunnery is an Education and welfare society dedicated to providing higher Buddhist Philosophical education to all ages and It is open to all aspiring nuns from all traditions. The Geshema examination process is an extremely rigorous examination that takes a total of four years – one round per year. In the 12-day exam period, the nuns must take both oral (debate) and written exams. The nuns are examined on the entirety of their 17-year course of study of the Five Great Canonical Texts. Upon Graduating from the seventeen years of study program from the institution, they are eligible to sit for their final Geshema Examination. After completing their four years intense Geshema examination, they can get a Geshema degree which is equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist Philosophy.
The handling of the Geshema degree is one of His Holiness’s visions and recommendations that become a reality and made history in the Buddhist tradition in the year 2016 with 20 nuns from different nunneries across India first graduating with a Geshema Degree. His Holiness awarded the first Geshema degree to the 20 Buddhist nuns at Drepung Monastery, South India, and witnessed the glory of the first 20 Geshema.
Twenty Buddhist nuns became the first Buddhist women to earn a Geshema degree.
Jangchub Choeling Nunnery has been honored to see our own first five Geshema among them. It’s such an inspiring and honorable event. The nuns now have some role models from their nunnery and have a purpose to pursue higher education with such recognition for their many years of intense Buddhist studies.
From the historic moment in the year 2016 when the first 20 Buddhist nuns received Geshema Degree from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, more nuns are graduating each year. Of the 20 nuns, five Geshemas are from the Jangchub Choeling nunnery. 2018 is the third batch of nuns completing four years of intense Geshema Exam and are graduating. Last Year 2017, there are 6 nuns who graduated with a Geshema Degree and three of them are from Jangchub Choeling nunnery.
In the year 2018, 10 more nuns graduated and seven of them are from Jangchub Choeling Nunnery. We have seven more nuns who graduated from Geshema in 2018. In total, now we have 15 Geshema from the nunnery. Ven. Tenzin Dolkar topped the Geshema Exam among all the ten nuns appearing in the exam in 2018. And also the succeeding second and third from our nunnery.
THE 16th Geshema of the Jangchub Choeling Education And Welfare Society is Ven.Ngawang Choezom from Chungpo , Kham province in Tibet. She arrived at the Jangchub Choeling Education and Welfare Society in the year of 1996 and has been studying vigorously. She has completed her learning and given an examination in the Five canonical texts of Buddha teaching.
The 17th,18th ,19th and 20th Geshema of the Jangchub choeling Nunnery are Ven. Samten Choedeon, Ven. Jinpa Choetso, Ven. Chattan Dolkar and Ven. Tashi Yangkyi. Ven. samten choedon la, Vev. Jinpa choetso la, and Ven. Tashi Yangkyi la are from Tibet and Ven. Chattan Dolkar la is from Ladakh, India. The year 2022 batch of Geshema degree attained nuns are all the four mentioned venerables from jangchub choeling nunnery. There is a total number of 10 nuns attaining Geshema Degrees this year; Geden choeling nunnery, Kopan nunnery, and jangchub choeling nunnery.
