WUNRN
BUDDHISM LINEAGE REVIVING
TRADITION OF WOMEN MASTERS & MONKS
Kathmandu, April 13 (IANS) The
800-year-old Tibetan Drukpa lineage of Buddhism - based in Nepal and practised
in Bhutan and India - is empowering women, reviving the ancient tradition of
women masters and monks that the Buddha encouraged.
Its
head, the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, has set a precedent by giving the order to its
first ever woman master.
“In
Tibetan Buddhism, we have no tradition of ‘bikshunis’ or women monks who
practise the rigours of the faith and become masters on a par with men. But
Buddhism is a very modern religion,” the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, who was born in
Himachal Pradesh, told IANS in the Nepal capital.
“Buddha
Sakyamuni (Gautam Buddha) treated his disciples equally, irrespective of
gender.
“We
are bringing the liberal gender order of Sakyamuni back despite protests by
some Tibetan Buddhists that it is not right,” said the spiritual leader.
In
March 2008, the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa enthroned a London-born Buddhist nun
Tenzin Palmo, recognising her as Jetsunma or “his venerable holiness” for her
spiritual achievements.
She
came to India in 1964 to
study Buddhism. There she met her guru, the Kyabje Khamtrul Rinpoche, and
became one of the first European-born women to be ordained a nun. Palmo now
heads the Dongyu Gatsal Ling nunnery in Himachal Pradesh.
“I
am very proud of Tenzin Palmo and I am encouraging her to bestow on us her
lineage so that we can work together to bring the tradition back,” the 12th
Gyalwang Drukpa said.
He
lamented that the Buddhist sects over the past few hundred
years had ceased to allow women the freedom to speak on anything fearing that
it would bequeath them power.
“I
don’t blame anyone. The male-dominated culture of our folds had made the
masters conservative, which include the Dalai Lama and I. But connecting to
people is good and beautiful and is in
no way below dignity,” he said.
The
Drukpa nuns most often cannot be distinguished from their male counterparts in
terms of their attire and religious practices, he said. Both have shaven heads
and are clad in burgundy and saffron habits.
A
high profile woman member of the Drukpa women’s wing is 20-year-old erstwhile
Chinese princess Jigme Cheneing Khandro from Nancheng province in China. She gave up
her life of luxury to become a nun at the age of 12. It is an uncanny throwback
to the life of Gautama Buddha himself.
But
she protests with a nervous laugh. “Please don’t compare my life with that of Sakyamuni,”
she said here.
The
40th in the 200-year-old line of royal scions, Jigme wants to help people in
this life and get enlightened gradually. “It may not happen in this life,” she
said.
Her
day at the monastery begins at 3 a.m. “I pray for two hours from 3 a.m.-5 a.m.
and then recite the ’sutras’ (mantras). It is followed by activities throughout
the day till sundown,” Jigme Cheneing said.
The
Gyalwang Drukpa encourages the nuns to serve his order “and work in the
office”.
“I
often tell them to drive cars to bring bring them on the same level with men.
Last year, I invited the nuns to perform the traditional masked dance at my
monastery in Ladakh.
“Everyone
was shocked at the idea of women dancing with masks. But I said I was breaking
boundaries - they are all man made - Chinese made, Tibetan made and Indian
made…,” the Buddhist master said.
The
India-born Drukpa head has nearly 400 women nuns in his lineage. One of the
managers at the nunnery at the Drukpa headquarters in Kathmandu is a former woman
police officer from Jammu and Kashmir, Jigme Thupsten.
The
Tibetan Drukpa lineage - or the order of the dragon yogis - which has come out
in the open for the first time in 800 years - is hosting its maiden Annual
Drukpa Council atop the hills on the outskirts of this city April 8-16.
Over
2,000 monks and high-profile devotees have assembled from across the globe to
hear the Drukpa master’s discourse on religion and chart plans of action to
carry the religion worldwide.
India
figures prominently on the list, the Gyalwang Drukpa said.
The
sect, an offshoot of Mahayana Buddhism which believes in service and welfare of
humanity, has nearly 250,000 followers worldwide. It is the official religion
of Bhutan and has a large following in the Ladakh, Spiti, Lahaul and Zanskar
regions in Himachal Pradesh and in Nepal
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.