1. And Now What? The Life, Status, and Education of Newly Fully Ordained Nuns in Bhutan
- Author:
- Dorji Gyeltshen and Lauran Hartley
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
- Abstract:
- This talk communicates the findings of a research project on the evolution of monastic education in the 21st century, in particular, for contemporary nuns in Bhutan. On June 23, 2022, the 70th Je Khenpo, Tulku Jigme Chodrak, at the request of the king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, and in an event organized by the Bhutan Nuns Foundation, conducted a bhikṣuṇī ordination to 144 nuns, restoring the Mūlasarvāstivāda female lineage in the Himalayan tradition. It is difficult to understate the importance of this event since, by most accounts, bhikṣuṇī ordination had never been introduced to Tibet or Bhutan, and nuns have only had access to novice status since the introduction of Buddhism in the region in the 7th Century. The goal of this talk is to discuss how Bhutanese nuns were able to develop a pragmatic discourse that allowed them to achieve this historical accomplishment, and how the newly achieved bhikṣuṇī status has impacted the lives of Bhutanese nuns and nunneries.
- Topic:
- Religion, History, Buddhism, and Nuns
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Bhutan