
Planting Seeds of Compassion. and Roots of Wisdom
A Center for Learning
for Peace
for Compassion
Introducing the Forest of Wisdom
Forest of Wisdom is a new center of learning based in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of contemplative practices. We are located in eastern Connecticut, near the metropolitan areas of Boston, Providence, and New York City.
We are building the foundations for a community of dedicated monastics, scholars, and meditators to live and thrive. Now we offer classes for the local community, giving people of all backgrounds the fundamental tools that we need as humans to have a joyful and peaceful life in a complex and busy world.
Geshema Tenzin Lhadron has arrived at the Forest of Wisdom!
Please join us in formally welcoming her at a meet-and-great on the morning of Saturday, April 26th at 10:00 am EST at the Forest of Wisdom - 51 Palmer Road, Scotland, CT 06264!
This event will also be streamed on Zoom for those wishing to view from afar (but you’ll have to bring your own buns!). The Zoom link can be found below.
We will have Tea and Buns with a Buddhist Nun, as we introduce Geshema to the community and invite everyone in attendance to ask questions about Buddhist practices, mindfulness, meditation, current events, or about her life in Ladakh and Dharamsala and how she became one of the very first female graduates of the 20-year intensive academic program (the Geshe program) in the Tibetan monastic universities.
Why This Is Historic
Geshema Tenzin Lhadron is not only an experienced Tibetan Buddhist nun and teacher — she holds the Geshe degree, equivalent to a Ph.D. in Buddhist philosophy, which has been historically granted only to monks. Fewer than 100 women in the world have earned this degree.
She will be:
The first female Geshe to take on a resident teaching role in the USA
One of the only Geshes in the world teaching directly in English
A powerful voice in female religious leadership, helping transform a tradition that has long been male-dominated
This is a groundbreaking moment for the Tibetan Buddhist world and for spiritual seekers everywhere who long for wisdom, compassion, and representation.
New Course - 37 Ways to Mindfulness, Compassion, and Freedom
Saturdays at 10 am EST / 7:30 pm IST
In-Person and on Zoom
Starting on Saturday, May 3rd, Geshema Lhadron will begin a new course focusing on the classic text called “The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas,” which explains a variety of mindfulness and compassion practices - both for meditation and to apply in the heat of daily life.
You can find recordings of the prior classes on our YouTube channel.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99756543761?pwd=FouUSN9FFF0ybgo8mi78lnJEw1nJXM.1
Meeting ID: 997 5654 3761
Passcode: 834428
Give a warm welcome to our new teacher, Geshe Tenzin Lhadron!
Geshe Tenzin Lhadron of Jamyang Choling Nunnery (Dharamsala, India) has agreed to come join us at the Forest of Wisdom to be our first ever Resident Teacher! She was in the first group of nuns to ever complete the intensive (roughly) twenty-year course of study of Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and logic, receiving the degree of Geshe in 2016.
We are working hard to get Geshe la here as quickly as possible, but the visa process will take some time. We expect her to arrive in February, 2025. We are extremely excited and delighted that she has accepted our invitation to join the Forest of Wisdom!
Geshema Lhadron’s Full Biography:
Geshe Lhadron (Chopa Tenzin Lhadron) is from Zanskar Valley in the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. At the age of 13 she received teachings and the Kalachakara Initiation from His Holiness the Great XIV Dalai Lama at Duzin Podang Pipiting in Zanskar. His Holiness’ teachings and advice inspired her to make her journey to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India to pursue the study of the essence of the Buddha’s teachings on Wisdom and Compassion, based in reason and logic.
She was fortunate to have the precious opportunity to join in the first group of nuns at Jamyang Choling Institute, an educational institute for Himalayan Buddhist Women in Dharamsala, India founded by Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo, an American nun.
Starting in 1989, she received comprehensive education in the five major Buddhist philosophical texts of the Nalanda Buddhist Tradition over the course of the next 23 years. Her philosophy tutors were great practitioners and learned teachers of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics (IBD) and Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala. She was in the historic first group of nuns to successfully complete four years of Geshema exams in 2016, culminating in the bestowal of the prestigious Geshe degree from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2016.
In addition, she was very fortunate to received many precious teachings, as well as Tantric empowerments, from H.H. the Great 14th Dalai Lama throughout her life. As the first generation of nun scholars, she has participated in national and international conferences, seminars, and workshops, giving presentations both in the West and in Asia.
Currently, she is serving as an Indian National Sangha Council member of the Indian Himalayan Council of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition and is involved with the work of the Himalayan Buddhist Culture Association, whose work is preserving and promoting the ancient Nalanda and Tibetan Buddhist Tradition in communities in the Himalayan region and elsewhere.
Geshe Lhadron believes that the Ancient Nalanda Buddhist Tradition is as vast as infinite space and as deep as the limitless ocean. Therefore, she is continuously studying with peerless teachers including H.H. the Dalai Lama and Geshe Dorji Damdul-la. She is actively engaged in teaching young nuns and private students, to now help pass on the deep teachings that she has received.
*Geshe or Geshema is the title for someone who holds a degree earned by completing the roughly 20-year advanced philosophy studies of a Tibetan Buddhist institution; primarily those of the Gelukpa lineage, one of five main Tibetan Buddhist lineages. “Ma” is simply added on to make the term feminine, yet it is appropriate to refer to a woman with this degree as either Geshe or Geshema. The literal meaning of the term is Virtuous Friend.
Help sponsor Geshema Lhadron’s travel and residency
Our aim is to raise enough funds to cover her travel, food, and medical expenses for one year of teaching at Forest of Wisdom. Your kindness is deeply appreciated!
Stay tuned for information about more events, weekly classes, and other learning opportunities. Sign up for the e-mail list at the bottom of this page for updates.
Forest of Wisdom is a tax-exempt non-profit religious organization under the US tax code 501c3 and all donations are tax-deductible.