The teachings of the Lord Buddha have survived in their purest form for over 2,500 years not by sheer coincidence, but due to the many Members of the Sangha who have devoted their entire lives to the study, debate and propagation of the Dharma. These renunciates keep their precepts strictly by day and by night so as to create the necessary conditions for the preservation of the sanctity of the Buddha’s teachings. On this journey, the personal sacrifice of the Members of the Sangha cannot be underestimated.
However, we often think of members of the Sangha as the community of monks and many forget the contributions of the women who are also an integral part of our ordained community – the nuns. It is in this context that we wish to appeal for support for an ongoing project involving a nunnery in a very remote part of the Tibetan regions of Gansu (Amdo). The name of the nunnery is Gansu Province Hezuo City Quzong Nyingma Temple (甘肃省合作市曲宗红教寺).
The nunnery houses approximately 200 nuns who, by day and by night, pray for, contribute and are instrumental to the well-being of the community there, especially the women in the community.
In order to provide them with more auspicious conditions and to support them in their continued pursuit of the path, we are working on a project to procure for the Nunnery, a stupa dedicated to the long-life deity Amitayus (Chi: 长寿佛). The choice of Amitayus is also no coincidence as we hope this will give all the nuns (and the devoted who establish a karmic link to them through this project) great benefits through the prayers and offerings that will made by the nuns to Amitayus on a daily basis.
The glorious stupa, hand made in Nepal and costing approximately SGD11,500 (excluding freight costs which are in the course of being ascertained) measures 120 cm in height, and has a square base measuring 70 cm x 70 cm.
The intention is for the stupa to be shipped directly to the nunnery from Nepal as and when it is ready.
If there is anyone who wishes to help in this virtuous cause which celebrates the contributions of the nuns to the Buddha’s teachings, please don’t hesitate to contact us.