On June 14th, two days after Lady Könchok Palden entered samadhi, a magnificent rainbow appeared in the sky over the site of a new Dutsi Til nunnery now being constructed in the Surmang Valley. The rainbow came forth during the consecration of the new site near Tsokyendo village. The nunnery will be under the umbrella of Dutsi Til, the monastic complex where the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the abbot until making his historic journey out of Tibet across the Himalayas. Lady Könchok, who herself spent most of her early life as nun, was one of the hundreds who accompanied him on that trek to freedom.
A lhasang was held in the morning of June 14th, conducted by the Twelfth Trungpa Chökyi Senge, to consecrate the site for the new nunnery lhakang or main assembly hall. Locals from Tsokyendo village attended the consecration and fully support the project. The nuns have yet to arrive at the site, but are en route to the Surmang valley. Some will stay at the Surmang Shedra complex while the construction is being done. More than one hundred nuns are expected to reside at the new nunnery once completed. The route to the new nunnery is now being graded for a gravel road. This will allow the equipment and supplies to get to the site so that construction can begin.
Site for new Surmang Nunnery under the umbrella of Dutsi Til
View back to Tsokyendo village from site for new Surmang Nunnery
Twelfth Trungpa leads the procession to the new nunnery site
Locals from Tsokyendo village welcome the Surmang monks
Lhasang purification ceremony to ready the site
Consecration rituals started shortly after the lhasang
New road being graded to allow construction to begin
