Maitripa Rabjungma Community
WHAT WE HAVE DONE So Far

We have already begun the initial stages of this project: a renowned Lharampa Geshe with monastic experience (Yangsi Rinpoche), the infrastructure and faculty of Maitripa College to assist, land to practice on, and a senior fully ordained gelongma/bhikshuni (Venerable Yönten) with the experience of more than twenty years of ordained life in community – including in depth Vinaya training and ongoing connections to numerous other senior nuns and lay teachers in the Tibetan Buddhist world. We had a two-week inaugural retreat in the summer of 2024 to assess possible candidates for the program, and from that process have welcomed three women as our first cohort.

In the summer of 2024, sincere and heart-centered dharma students interested in service-oriented ordination came and flourished in an intense two-week retreat with Maitripa College Professor and Chaplain Bhikshuni Lozang Yonten as a preliminary launch to the Maitripa Rabjungma Community. The 2024 Summer Intensive was intended to draw Buddhist women to a training retreat to see if the longer program might be a good fit. This took place at Tara Farms, in Corbett Oregon—a property just outside of Portland owned by a community member who shares our vision of women’s empowerment through this model.

In 2025 housing and practice space was prepared at Tara Farms, including three tiny houses and a seperate upgraded barn space for practice, cooking and other facilities. Three women were welcomed from the 2024 inaugural retreat as our first cohort. They have arrived, taken relevant vows and teachings and are currently becoming settled into a routine of community and practice.