[Buddha-l] women & , er, religion

[jkirk]

 Speaking of English usage, even though technically in Tibetan
the women novices are referred to by a word meaning novice, in
English usage, probably since they live together in monasteries
and take some vows or precepts, the term 'nuns' is still applied
to them, as in Gutschow's book.

Joanna
==========

Sorry, this is a bit late but before the FWBO discussion jkirk
mentioned about Tibetan nuns working in the fields etc...
*
Studies on Tibetan nunneries have found that they do all the work
for nearby  monks, and are given minimal spiritual guidance. In
Ladakh, they also must continue to work in their family's fields.
(see Gutschow, Being a Buddhist
Nun: The Struggle for Enlightenment in the Himalayas, 2004.)*

The fully-ordained female sangha was never established in Tibet.
I don't know why, but it would be interesting to try to find out
the reason. I haven't had the privilege of reading Gutschow's
study, which may have some information on this. The 'nuns' in
Tibet have only received novice vows; something like the
'ten-precept nuns' of Theravadan countries, who also are
technically novices, not nuns. Tibetan 'nuns' are called 'Ani',
which means Auntie. Some (e.g. Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo) have
obtained full ordination from female Mahayana lineages outside of
Tibetan Buddhism.

Margaret
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