Monday, February 12, 2007

Let me clarify

Hi there friends.
Well alot of people have inquired about my astonishment about the conditions at the nunnery and may have a misconception about the relationship with the monasteries and their perceived lack of support by the monasteries. While it is true, I found some of the conditions very disturbing at the nunnery, I think its important to point out a couple of factors - all my own projections of course, when considering how well the nuns do in comparison to the monks.

To being with, the monasteries have been at it alot longer than the nuns... the Gaden Monastery for example has been around since the mid 1400s. With the exception of the Chinese incursion of 1959 where only 50 high lamas survived (the rest were slaughtered) the monastic system had some tried and true mechanisms in caring for a lot of people.

There are 3500 monks in the two colleges of Gaden and while I think they are doing better, I by no means think they are doing well - except in the area of turning out perfected spiritual beings.

Its all very subjective. The monasteries have the benefit of World Tours which raises both funds and awareness of the monastic work and their plight of trying to secure that culture in exile.

People have heard things like the Gaden Monastery has five restaurants... and then ask me why -if the monastery is sporting five restaurants - they do not help the nuns..? It's important to understand the monastery's "restaurants" are really no more then dilapidated buildings with a sort of Noodle enterprise inside, where monks or lay people can have a simple variation from the regular meal served by the monastery. These "restaurants" are by no means our standard of a restaurant... hardly. In fact, watch this blog as I will be soon posting pics of the restaurants.

The nuns of Jangchub Choeling nunnery do not get any exposure that the nunneries in the North of India may get through tourism. This settlement is in a protected area and people don't come here to vacation. So their exposure is minimal, which may contribute to their ranking as the top nunnery in spiritual debate. Still, this isolation limits their resources which is part of our work, to translate their entity into cyberspace and also a new pamphlet for those in the international community wishing to lend their support.

Do I think there is an inequity between the monasteries and the nunneries. Of course. But not by virtue of the action of the monasteries. No, but by virtue of the circumstances of life in exile. I believe the Gaden Monastery supports the nuns in the ways that they can, while trying to keep their own situation in motion. The Gaden Monastery provides teachers to the nunnery and the new Gaden Shartse Hospital which is now open but has no equipment or funding, has been designed to service the entire settlement, including the nuns.

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