How Tibetan Nuns Become Khenmos: The History and Evolution of the Khenmo Degree for Tibetan Nuns
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Breaking the Traditional Structure and Setting Up the Khenmo Degree
3. The Development of the Khenmo System
3.1. The Initial Transformation of the Khenmo System
3.2. The Reconfiguration of the Khenmo System
3.3. The Enhancement and Refinement of the Khenmo System
4. Conclusions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
1 | Larung Gar, Lba rung sgar in Tibetan, Seda Larong Wuming foxueyuan in Chinese, is located in Sertar county of the Kham Tibetan area. It was established by Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok (Jing mei peng cuo fa wang in Chinese) in 1980. This was the sacred practice place of ‘dul ‘byum Rinpoche. Larung Gar is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery and Dharma institution in China now. There are many thousands of monks and nuns who stay there and study Tibetan Buddhism. Larung Gar is the most important and influential Tibetan Buddhist monastery and Dharma institution in the contemporary Tibetan area of China. |
2 | “Chinese-Tibetan Buddhists” means Tibetan Buddhist disciples who are Han Chinese. |
3 | Lama is bla ma in Tibetan, which means a Tibetan Buddhist master. |
4 | Khenmo is mkhanmo in Tibetan, a female Buddhist teacher who teaches Tibetan culture and Buddhism in a nunnery in the Tibetan area after finishing the traditional monastic scholastic study and exams. The Tibetan word mkhanmo is written as Khenmo in this article because the spelling Khenmo is accepted by Western Tibetan scholars. |
5 | Khenpo is mkhanpo in Tibetan and is a traditional title and esteemed status for Tibetan Buddhist monks who have finished their studies (ranging from 13 to 20 years (Hongxue 2012, p. 131)), passed the tests and debates, and completed the lengthy retreat in a Tibetan monastery. They are then able to give teachings to the monks and nuns in monasteries. The Tibetan word Mkhanpo is written as Khenpo as this spelling is accepted by Western scholars. |
6 | The fieldwork at Yachen started in July 2006, and I returned and continued the fieldwork in July 2007, May 2008, July 2010, and July 2011. |
7 | The five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study are called Gzhung po ti lnga, Gzhung bka’ pod lnga, Gzhung pod lnga, or Gzhung chen pod lnga in the Tibetan language, encompass the entire Dharma teachings of Buddhism, and are divided into main five subjects of Tibetan Buddhism as taught in monasteries. The five subjects are Prajnaparamita (phar phyin), Madhyamaka (dbu ma), Epistemology (tshad ma), Abhidharma (mngon par chos mdzod), and Vinaya (‘dul ba). Each of the subjects follows the sutras and corresponding commentaries to explain about wisdom and the paths of the mind (sa lam), the middle way, valid cognition and logic, and the knowledge of physical and mental constituents of beings. |
8 | Jomo is the name for a nun in the Tibetan language. A Tibetan nun, or Jomo, has taken the ten precepts, or the basic Buddhist vows called Dge tshul ma in Tibetan. |
9 | Zungchu, Song Pan, is located in northeastern Aba Tibetan area. Fieldwork at Bya’du was in July of 1995, 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2020. |
10 | Lho dzong nunnery, Lho rdzong jo mo dgon pa in Tibetan, Nan Zong Ni Gu Si in Chinese, is located in Kan la township, Jianzha county, Huangnan Prefecture. Fieldwork at Lho dzong was in July 2000. |
11 | Ani Tshankhung nunnery, A ni tshang khung jo mo dgon in Tibetan language, A ni cang kong si in Chinese, is located in the city of Lhasa. Fieldwork at Ani tshan khung was in July 2000. |
12 | Yachen Gar, also call Yachen or Ya chen o rgyan bsam gdan gling in Tibetan, is located in Palyul county of the Kham Tibetan area. Acho Rinpoche officially set up the Yachen Monastery in 1985. The monastery is the manifestation of the Palace of Infinite Light of Padmasambhava (Bzangs mdo dpal ri). |
13 | Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, mkhanpo ‘jigs med phun tshogs ’byung gnas in Tibetan language, 1933–January 7, 2004, was an incarnation of Terton Sogyal. He was one of the most important Khenpos for Tibetan Buddhism in contemporary China after the Cultural Revolution. |
14 | Since 2010, one hundred questionnaires regarding education were answered by students from different courses, and there were more than sixty interviews about Khenmos’ degrees, their teaching methods, and their life stories. |
15 | High Lama means a Tibetan Buddhist master who has the signs of accomplishment and is respected by local people, and has completed the entire, strict Vajrayana teachings and retreat. |
16 | Dge bshes is degree level in the Tibetan Buddhism education system, mainly used in the Dgelugs’ Buddhist academy. |
17 | Khenpo Tshul khrims Blo Grus is the Tibetan for Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö. He was born in 1962 in Drag’go (Ch: Luhuo) County in the Kham Tibetan area. He is one of the main students of Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, and he is one of the most important Khenpos for contemporary Tibetan Buddhism in China. |
18 | Jetsuma Mumtso is called mkha’ ’gro ma mu med ye shes mtsho gtso/mo in the Tibetan language. She is the niece of Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, and became the head abbot/abbess in Larung Gar after Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok passed away. |
19 | Most of the names in this article are not their original names. They may have just one sound mark in their name. Khenmo Chos dbang is about 45 years old and has lived in Larung Gar for about 30 years. We have been friends for more than seven years. |
20 | Use of the term Lama, in this paper, means a Tibetan Buddhist Master, and refers to Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok in Larrung Gar. There are many other Lamas who give teachings in Larung Gar and Tibetan society, but when people talk about the Lama in Larung Gar, that usually means their main and important Lama who is Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok in Larung Gar. |
21 | I interviewed Khenmos in 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2016. I was told there were four Jomos receiving the title of Khenmo for the first time. I interviewed a Khenmo who was the head of Si Guan Hui three years ago and she reported the number and the year of Khenmos. This number came from her interview in June 2018. |
22 | Lama means a master, and this refers to Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok. |
23 | I interviewed one Khenmo in June 2018 at Larung Gar. The Khenmo was titled by Khenpo Jigme Puntshok in 1997. |
24 | According to a few interviews with Khenmo Chos dbang, she confirmed the date with another Khenmo. The first cohort graduated in 1997 (Liang and Taylor 2020). Han Chinese nuns started to learn the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist Study (gzhung po ti lnga) in about 2003. The first Han Chinese Khenmo was awarded in 1991. |
25 | Lama (bla ma) is master or teacher in Tibetan. Here, Lamas give practitioners guidance, Dharma teachings, transmissions, and empowerments as Jetsuma Mumtso does. |
26 | Si Guan Hui is the Management Committee in Chinese, and three or four monks or nuns of a monastery with the Bureau of Religious Affairs cooperate to keep religious activities on track. The head of Si Guan Hui for nuns changes frequently at Larung Gar. |
27 | Khenmo Rin ’dzin in Tibetan language. She is about 30 years old and has lived in Larung Gar for about 14 years. We have been friends for over five years. |
28 | The three disciplines were required by Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok in Larung Gar. All monks, nuns, and lay practitioners (bla ser) who stay at Larung Gar must observe and keep the three disciplines, in Tibetan “Thug mthun dang khrims gtsang po dang sbang ba’i gtsang pa dang dpe slobs dang sgom rtson pa”, and these are group cohesion and solidarity, the keeping of disciplines and abstaining, and pursuing diligent study and meditation. Discussing the various disciplines in more detail is a subject for a future article. |
29 | Assistants are nuns who can help with clarifying the teachings of the Khenmos, and they tutor the nuns to help them study and understand what the Khenmos taught for that day. |
30 | There was one Chinese nun who earned the title of Khenmo in 1991. Her name is Zhao wu. She became a nun at Emei Monastery in 1988 and came to Larung Gar in February of 1990. She started to study Buddhism and the preliminary practice of Vajrayana. Han Chinese nuns who come from Inner China and different districts have been studying Tibetan Buddhism in Larung Gar since the end of the 1980s. They mainly learn from Khenpo Sodargye, who translated Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok’s teachings into Chinese before 2004. Khenpo Sodargye started to teach the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study (gzhung po ti lnga) in Chinese in around 2003 for Han Chinese nuns. |
31 | Blo spyong means mind training, or self-cultivation. The main book on mind training is The Seven Points of Mind Training, by Atisha, of the Kadampa tradition. |
32 | The master refers to Khenpo Sodargye for Chinese nuns since Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok passed away. This interview was in 2013. |
33 | The number came from interviews in 2010 and 2017. According to the interview in 2010, there were thirty-three Khenmos who could teach the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study (gzhung po ti lnga). |
34 | Khenmo Yon tan, also called Thub bstan rig byed lha mo, was 37 years old when I interviewed her in 2013. She came from Gyegu of Yushu and became a nun in February 2003. She went on to study with Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok in March of 2003 and got her Sramanera (dge tshul་) from Khenpo Ri grol. She wrote eight books of commentaries on the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study (gzhung po ti lnga) from the 53-volume Ḍākinīs’ Great Dharma Treasury, edited and published by the Larung Ārya Tāré Book Association Editorial Office in 2017. |
35 | There were many Khenmo classes held in tents when I was there in 2010. |
36 | I was given the educational requirements when I did fieldwork there in 2016. |
37 | The numbers of Khenmos who taught the main formal courses came from two Khenmos I interviewed in July 2017. However, a Khenmo from Education Management reported there were forty-eight Khenmos teaching courses. The numbers in the table are the minimum number of Khenmos who were teaching the main courses in 2017. |
38 | Skal bzang mthso mo (Kal zang tso mo), Rnyed dka’ ba’i nga tsho’i dus tshod (our Rare time), Gangkar Lhamo 2013: 73. |
39 | The schedule for morning rising of the Chinese nuns is different than that of the Tibetan nuns. Many Han Chinese nuns in Larung Gar get up at 04:00 for meditation (Liang and Taylor 2020), while Tibetan nuns usually get up at 05:00 to 05:30. The reason for this difference seems to be that a lot of Han Chinese nuns keep their Chinese Buddhist tradition of earlier rising while in Larung Gar. Another difference between the two is that during exam times, some Tibetan nuns spend the entire night in the classroom, just sleeping a few hours and studying most of the night and early morning in preparation for the exams. The difference is also due to the academic semester; Han Chinese nuns have one to three months of winter break and resume in March or April (Liang and Taylor 2020), but Tibetan nuns don’t have a long winter break. They had a few days’ break after winter and summer exams until 2017. The schedule of Tibetan Khenmos and assistants is adjusted to the schedule of Khenpo Tshul khrims Blo Grus’s teaching in the afternoon. |
40 | Khenpo Tshul khrims Blo Grus teaches in Tibetan year-round, except for October through most of January. Tibetan nuns can listen to his live teachings in their big hall or their residences. So, there is no winter break for Tibetan nuns but there is for Chinese nuns (Liang and Taylor 2020). |
41 | Tibetan nuns started to learn and practice debate (bgro gleng) after 2014. When I was in Larung Gar in 2013, I discussed with the manager of Tibetan Education Management about why Tibetan nuns don’t have as much debating as the monks do. She told me that it was because some people think that Tibetan nuns don’t have this tradition in the Tibetan Buddhist history, but she then went on to add, “We have a little debate and discussion in our study.” The Tibetan Education Management added a debate (dgro gleng) exam and subject for Tibetan Khenmos into their required studies at Larung Gar in 2017. The requirement indicates that the debate exam (rtsod rgyugs) will be held twice a year; one exam is June 26 to 28, and the other is October 16 to 23. |
42 | Mtho rim gyi rgyugs meaning “the exam of high level”. This exam is for the election of Khenmo candidates in 2013. |
43 | In July of 2018, two new Khenmos told me they will get the certification this fall from Jetsuma Mumtso, Khenpo Tshul khrims Blo Grus and other Khenpos. During the three-year exams, they passed each of the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study (gzhung po ti lnga) in a different year. |
44 | The number came from a Khenmo in Education Management. |
45 | The five other nunneries are the nunneries who invited Larung Gar Khenmos to give teaching to their nuns. The names of the five nunneries follow in the article. |
46 | The numbers came from the Tibetan Khenmo in Education Management whom I interviewed January 2018. |
47 | For Tibetan nuns, the oral and recitation exams are separate from each other. All students in a class must have passed the recitation exam of the root text or what the Khenmo asks. The author experienced some Tibetan nuns who visited the Khenmo’s room for recitation exams. Han Chinese nuns’ oral exam usually consists of recitation (Liang and Taylor 2020), so there are three exams (Liang and Taylor 2020) for Han Chinese nuns, and Tibetan nuns have four exams, which are explained in the following footnotes and in Table 7. |
48 | The details of the education requirements are in the Bla rung padma mkha’ ‘gro’i ‘du gling gi ‘dzin grwa so so’i sbyang gzhi dang blo len gyi skor and Slob gnye gyed stangs skor sogs gros chod byung ba’i rim ba for 2017. The exam system for Han Chinese nuns has both the oral and writing exams in Chinese. They started administering the exams much earlier than those for Tibetan nuns, due to the Han Chinese nuns’ classroom being built and formal course available much earlier than those provided for Tibetans. |
49 | The four exam dates come from the author’s interview with Tibetan Khenmos and the document of education requirements. All the dates are from the Tibetan calendar. Following the education requirements, Tibetan nuns have to take the four exams and do what the rules require. |
50 | The range of exams changes every year. This information comes from the study and examination documents of each class in Padma mkha’ ‘gro’i ‘du gling at Larung Gar in 2017. |
51 | So so’ i blo rim kyi dbye ba in Tibetan. There are three grades, which are advanced (rab), intermediate (‘bring po), and beginner (Tha ma). |
52 | Stsa ba’i ‘khrid bya dang lo mjug rgyugs kyi gzhung dang zla rgyugs kyi gzhung in Tibetan. |
53 | Dri rgyugs kyi gzhung in Tibetan. |
54 | The reference for teaching is Zur ’khrid sgor in Tibetan, and is about supplementary teaching of the root text. |
55 | The recitation exam is blo rgyugs in Tibetan, and the contents of the recitation exam are indicated in the document. |
56 | Mdzo rtsa’i phra rgyas bstan pa nas ‘jug bar in Tibetan. |
57 | Mipham mchan ’gres gyi phra rgyas dang lam dang gang zag bstan pa in Tibetan. |
58 | Blo spyong skor dang sngags zhal gdams skor in Tibetan |
59 | Mdzod rtsa ba dang mkhas ’jug sdom byang in Tibetan. |
60 | Mdzod rts’i phra rgyas bstan pa nas lam dang gang zag bstan pa’i bsgom dang mthong la rab tu phye yan in Tibetan. |
61 | Phra rgyas kho na srid pa’i zag yan in Tibetan. |
62 | I got the subjects of teachings and exams for 2017 in January 2018. A Tibetan Khenmo from Education Management explained that they are following new material this year. |
63 | The number of nuns who can stay in Larung Gar is limited to 3500 since July of 2017. |
64 | Culture study, Rigs gnas in Tibetan, includes Tibetan grammar, literature, and poetics, Chinese, and English, since 2017. The Education Management added Chinese and English classes into Culture study. |
65 | Six years of the Philosophy of Buddhism requires each of the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study (Gzhung po ti lnga) for at least two years. Culture (rig gnas) includes one year of Tibetan grammar, and at least two years for the study of Literature in Tibetan, English, and Chinese. Meanwhile, History, Computers, and Mind Training (blo sbyong) require three to five years. |
66 | The oral instruction (man ngag) is the essential instructions/method, to help the practitioner successfully practice Vajrayana and Buddhism. This is given by the master (Lama) whom you follow and study with.The main oral instructions in Larung Gar are the linage of Longchenpa. |
67 | The number came from a Tibetan Khenmo in Education Management in August of 2020. |
68 | When I was in Larung Gar in 2018, I attended a few Khenmos’ teachings, and Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö’s streaming teaching with Larung Ārya Tāré editors. All the classes concluded with a short meditation. This is a new event in the classroom. Previously, I did not have this experience during my fieldwork. |
69 | The lecture “Contemporary Education of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns in Kham, Eastern Tibetan Area” was presented at the Divinity School of Harvard University in 2011, and at the University of San Diego and Naropa University in 2011. The lecture “The Lives of Nuns at Larung Gar” was presented at the Himalayan Studies Conference at the University of Colorado in 2017. |
70 | My friends of nuns told me, “we are going to the teaching of Mkha ‘gro ma mu mtsho.” I went with them, but I was so surprised and saddened that it was actually a male teacher (Khenpo) giving teaching! Jetsuma Mumtso (mkha’ ’gro ma mu med ye shes mtsho gtso or mkha’ ’gro ma mu mtsho) just sat behind the male teacher (Khenpo). |
71 | Chinese nuns in Larung Gar have been using Buddhist texts in Chinese about the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study, which were translated by Khenpo Sodargye and Kenpo Yeshes Phantsho, and some reference Chinese Buddhist texts. |
72 | There are two main teaching methods for Han Chinese nuns: The first is Khenpo Sodargye (mkhan po bsod dar rgyas in Tibetan) teaching every night. Every time that I was there, he taught around the middle of the night in the Chinese nuns’ hall; the second is Han Chinese Khenmos teaching in Chinese nuns’ classrooms, which are in a building inside their hall. When I was there in 2003, there were Han Chinese assistants teaching in their own rooms. |
73 | Han Chinese nuns formally started classes on the five major subjects of exoteric Buddhist study (Gzhung bka’ pod sang) of Tibetan Buddhism in Chinese, taught by Khenpo Sodargye, in 2003. When I went to classes taught by Khenpo Sodargye and his Han Chinese assistant in 2003, they taught the Abhidharma. |
74 | The Document of Larung Monastery Management Committee of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture: Supervision of Ganzi Larung [2020] Number 38 (Chinese: Gan zi zang zu zi zhi zhou la rong si guan wei yuan hui wenjian: Gan la guan [2020] 38 hao), the Office of La Rong Monastery Management Committee (Chinese: La rong si guan li wei yuan hui ban gong shi), 27 April 2020 (Chinese: 2020 nian 4 yue 27 ri). |
75 | The five rituals are the Assembly of 9 deities (Gar dbang lha dgu), Vajrasattva (Rdo rje sems pa), Samantabhadra (Kun du bzang po), Kshitigarbha (Sa’i snying po), and Amitabha (‘od dpag med) and ‘dus mchod. The ritual of long life (tshe sgrub) was the one that was cancelled because of the pandemic in 2020. |
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Year | Time | Number of Khenmos |
---|---|---|
1990 | First | 6 |
1991 | Second | 10 |
1994 | Third | 19 |
1996 | Fourth | 4 |
1997 | Fifth | 5 |
Year | Class | Number of Khenmos |
---|---|---|
2006–2007 | Culture | 3 (at least) |
Tibetan Medicine | 1 | |
Vinaya | 2 | |
Epistemology | 2 | |
Abhidharma | 2 | |
Madhyamika | 2 | |
Prajnaparamita | 2 | |
2008–2009 | Culture | 2 (at least) |
Tibetan Medicine | 1 | |
Vinaya | 3 | |
Epistemology | 2 | |
Abhidharma | 2 | |
Madhyamika | 2 | |
Prajnaparamita | 2 |
Year | Class | Number of Khenmos |
---|---|---|
2010–2011 | Culture | 5 |
Tibetan Medicine | 1 | |
The Way of the Bodhisattva | 4 | |
Vinaya | 3 | |
Epistemology | 3 | |
Abhidharma | 3 | |
Madhyamika | 3 | |
Prajnaparamita | 3 |
Course | Number of Khenmos | Course | Number of Khenmos |
---|---|---|---|
Culture | 4 | Prajnaparamita | 6 |
Vinaya | 8 | Madhyamika | 10 |
Abhidharma | 4 | Epistemology | 8 |
Mind Training | 3 | Tantra Section (Rgyud sde) | 5 |
Course | Number of Khenmos | Course | Number of Khenmos |
---|---|---|---|
Culture | 6 | Prajnaparamita | 4 |
Vinaya | 6 | Madhyamika | 3 |
Abhidharma | 8 | Epistemology | 5 |
Mind Training | 5 | Tantra Section | 3 |
The Year Exams Were Taken | The Year of Formal Certification of Khenmo Degree | Time | Number of Khenmos |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | 2013 | Sixth | 28 |
2016 | 2018 | Seventh | 58 |
2016 | 2019 | Eighth | 21 |
Course (‘dzin grwa) | Grades51 | The Main Content of Teaching and the Range of Annual and Monthly Oral Exams52 | Range of the Written Exam53 | Reference for Teaching54 | Recitation Exam55 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abhidharma (mngon pa) | Advanced (rab) | From the subtles and explanation of the root text to the end56 | From the subtles and explanation of Mepham’s commentary and the chapters of path, and the sentient being57 | Regarding mind training and the instruction of tantra58 | The root text of Abhidharma and the summary text of Gateway to Knowledge by Mipham59 |
Intermediate (‘bring po) | From the subtles and explanation of the root text to the chapters of path, meditation, and perception of sentient being60 | ||||
Beginner (tha ma) | From the subtles and explanation of the doctrine to the chapter of world of sentient being61 |
Course | Number of Khenmos | Course | Number of Khenmos |
---|---|---|---|
Culture | 8 (grammar) 1 (second grade of poetry) | Prajnaparamita | 9 (beginner) |
Vinaya | 3 (beginner),3 (advanced) | Madhyamika | 4 (beginner), 2 (advanced) |
Abhidharma | 3 (beginner),1 (advanced) | Epistemology | 14 (beginner), 21 (advanced) |
Mind Training (Blo spyong) | 2 (first grade), 4 (second grade), 3 (third grade), 9 (fourth grade), | Tantra Section | 1 (beginner), 1 (oral instructions, man ngag in Tibetan) |
Course | Number of Classes | Course | Number of Classes |
---|---|---|---|
Tibetan Medicine | 2 | Arts and Crafts (Bzo rig) | 1 (first grade), 1 (second grade) |
English | 1 (second grade) | Astronomy (Skar rtsis) | 1 (first grade), 1 (second grade) |
Chinese | 1 (second grade) |
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Padma’tsho. How Tibetan Nuns Become Khenmos: The History and Evolution of the Khenmo Degree for Tibetan Nuns. Religions 2021, 12, 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12121051
Padma’tsho. How Tibetan Nuns Become Khenmos: The History and Evolution of the Khenmo Degree for Tibetan Nuns. Religions. 2021; 12(12):1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12121051
Chicago/Turabian StylePadma’tsho (Baimacuo). 2021. "How Tibetan Nuns Become Khenmos: The History and Evolution of the Khenmo Degree for Tibetan Nuns" Religions 12, no. 12: 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12121051