History

Kyere and the four monasteries of Kyrung and their respective nuns and monks requested of Karma Senge Rinpoche in 1995 to build one nunnery on the border of Tibet and Qinghai Province. This nunnery is called Weyching Retchu or Weyching Gompa. It is needed because, whereas there are many monasteries for monks in this area, there are no nunneries. This place is very sacred, located high on top of a grassland mountain. There is a lot of brush, birds and firewood. It is very quiet and conducive to meditation. Since the building was begun, 80 nuns have been practicing here. Of these, 50 have no parents and many come from far away. The nuns all need to beg from neighboring towns and nomads for support. The nuns are studying the teachings of the 11 Trungpas and a special Kagyu practice that is part of every monk's study. Many of the nuns want to do a five to six year retreat here, but cannot without support. Please help."

—Karma Senge Rinpoche, the nephew of Trungpa Rinpoche, August 29, 1996

Why I got involved:
I spent two successive summers staying at Dutsitil Monastery in Tibet supervising construction of two medical clinics for Friends of Surmang. There I had the opportunity of getting to know Karma Senge Rinpoche who invited me to visit the Kagyu nunnery he is building in a remote valley. The location (a two-day horseback ride from the nearest dirt road) is breath taking. It sits high above timberline on a cliff, overlooking grassland valleys and surrounded by jagged Himalayan peaks. 

Karma Senge Rinpoche, a recognized and well respected Tibetan Lama, has been the main force in restoring the Surmang Monasteries and Kyrung Monasteries. He told me that there are many more nuns that would like to have a place to study if funds could be found to support them. This is not an expensive building project. The nuns themselves are providing enthusiastic labor and soliciting help from neighboring monks and friends. The building is being built of local materials (mud and rock and brush), using traditional building methods.

In 2006, the retreat center and ani gompa are complete, although there are still nuns waiting to practice there if more residences can be built. I am still so impressed with the dedication, hard work and enthusiasm of these nuns that I continue to raise funds for them.

—Gaye Carlson