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52 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

Teaching Buddhism to children and parents, Maha Karuna Buddhist Society, A Talk on Animal Care and Protection Forum, Palace of the Golden
Selangor, 2018 Horses, 5 Oct 2019

For the time being, I have stopped with Venerable Dr. Karma Tashi There is a marked difference in the
collecting funds for the retreat Choedron a forthcoming book titled way the life and liberation stories are
center for the nuns. However, for “I can be Enlightened Too” about told, if written by females.
the children’s education, I need to female Buddhist masters in Tibetan
sponsor a few children to further Buddhism. Currently, we do have Can you highlight some teachings
their studies as they cannot afford many contemporary women masters from the scriptures, especially
to pay the enrolment and travel in Bhutan and Tibet or in other parts from the Tibetan canon, where
expenditures. Some nuns have of the world. In the case of female the Buddha categorically spoke
also approached me for financial masters, their stories have not been against gender discrimination,
support but I couldn’t meet their documented, and their teachings and that enlightenment can be
needs as many of my sponsors remained in oral form and known attained by both men and women?
are also affected financially by the only to local communities where
Covid-19 pandemic. If I have enough they lived. However, a few reliable A: The Buddha declared that men
funds, I would like to support the full biographies and liberation and women have equal spiritual
pre-university education of the stories (hagiographies) have been potential to attain liberation from
children, the Geshema examination translated into English, but there saṃsāra. In the same vein, race,
th
of the nuns sitting for it, and various are hardly any biographies of 20 caste and social standing are not to
retreat accommodations for the century illustrious female masters. be taken as barriers to pursue the
nuns doing retreats. Moreover, most of the biographies highest spiritual goal in Buddhism.
documented are of female masters According to the Buddha, spiritual
Most Buddhist teachers are from Tibet even though Tibetan progress depends on the quality
male. Are there any prominent Vajrayāna Buddhism is practiced in of one’s actions rather than traits
female Dharma masters Bhutan, Nepal, India, Mongolia and inherited at birth (Gross, 1996).
in Bhutan (or in Tibetan Buryatia. Precious little is known
Buddhism) who have strongly of female masters outside of Tibet. In Highest Yoga Tantra, even the
influenced society and culture? Almost all female personalities first step of receiving empowerment
mentioned are portrayed through is possible only on the basis of the
A: Yes, there were and there are androcentric lens, i.e. from the presence of a complete assembly of
still a significant number of female perspective of male religious male and female deities as stated by
th
Dharma teachers in Tibetan personalities, whereby the female HH the 14 Dalai Lama in “Survey of
Buddhism. I mentioned them in the adept is almost always portrayed the Paths of Tibetan Buddhism”. The
thesis of my second M.A. degree from as an emanation of a ḍākinī, female role is strongly emphasized
the International Buddhist College, never an ordinary woman, which in Highest Yoga Tantra. According
Thailand, titled “Soteriological contrasts with the accounts in to HH the Dalai Lama, “To despise
Androgyny and Eminent Buddhist autobiographies. There are only four a woman is a transgression of one
Women Masters in Tibetan Vajrayāna autobiographies by female masters of the root tantric vows. Also, in
Buddhism”. I am also co-authoring in Tibetan Vajrayāna Buddhism. the actual practice of meditating