Loyal to the lineage

By Samten Yeshi, Ladakh

Tagna monastery in Ladakh : The Drukpa Kagyue monastery was offered to Zhabdrung’s representative Chojey MuzinpaBeside the natural beauty and the landscape that Ladakh share with Bhutan, it was the devotion of the Ladakhis for the two line- ages of Zhung druk-druk Ralung in Tibet and Lho-druk in Bhutan that made Ladakh the favourite venue for the 3rd Drukpa Coun- cil, say to organisers.

Deputy chairperson of ADC , Drukpa Thuksey Rinpoche, said the Zhung Drukpa lineage in Tibet and Lho-druk from Bhu- tan originated from two 5th Gyel- wang Drukpa Rinpoches, born as Pagsam Wangpo, that spread the Drukpa lineage in Tibet; and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel in Bhutan.

“Durkpa Kagyue in Hemis monastery and Tagna monastery are the most significant monas- teries in Ladakh’s religious history and its relation with two major Drukpa lineages,” Rinpoche said.

According to local Ladakh history, Gyelwang Pagsam Wang- po sent Taktsang Raypa Nawang Gyatsho, on the invitation from Ladakh king Singye Namgyel, and founded the Drukpa kagyue in Hemis monastery, thus ex-tending his lineage to Ladakh.

On the other hand, Chojey Muzinpa was offered the Tagna monastery in Ladakh, which is now over 500 years old, after Zhabdrung Nawang Namgyel sent him as his representative on the invitation from Chojyel Singye Namgyel in 1590.Hemis Monastery

According to historical records of Tagna monastery published by the Tagna mo- nastic school, Chojey Muzinpa later founded the current Tagna monastery and relocated it to the present site from the bottom of the hill in 1618.

A statue of Zhabdrung Ngadrama (look alike statue), self crafted by Zhabdrung himself, is also found in Tagna monastery among its sacred relics today.

Since then the Tagna mon- astery became the link between Ladakh and Zhabdrung in Bhu- tan, and the Hemis monastery, the link between Gyelwa Pagsam Wangpo in Tibet.

Locals believe that the Lho- druk tradition of Drukpa Kagyue, founded by Zhabdrung after he settled in Bhutan, was introduced in Ladakh, after Jetsun Ngawang Gyeltsen became the next seat holder in place of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel from 1680 to 1720.

About 21 lists of seat holder in Tagna monastery, until the 19th seat holder Lama Tashi Tenphel were appointees from Bhutan. After Bhutan stopped appointing, Lama Tashi Tenphel’s successive reincarnations took over as the seat holder of the monastery.

Current seat holder was the 4th Tagna Rinpoche Doenyoed Dorjee, who passed away on January 25 last year. “Drukpa Rinpoche have said our rinpoche (Tagna rinpoche Doenyoed Dor- jee) has a reincarnation, but we’re yet to locate him,” Damchoe Jur- mey, treasurer of Tagna monas- tery in Ladakh, said.

In memory of the religious bond established by Zhabdrung between Bhutan and Ladakh, over 40 monks from Bhutan, who are attending the ADC made a Tshogkhor in Tagna Monastery yesterday.

Keeping one’s lineage alive in service to dharma

Pilgrims from Bhutan in Tsho Pema

Pilgrims from Bhutan offer Tshok at the sacred cave of Guru Rinpoche and Khandro Mendarawa in Tshopema, Himachel Pradesh. The pilgrims are on their way to the Annual Drukpa Council, to be held in Ladakh, which begins from August 22. (Source: Kuensel Newspaper, Bhutan)

To restore practices fallen into disuse

By Samten Yeshi, Ladakh

24 August, 2011 - Identifying and reviving practices of the Drukpa lineage th

at have been discontinued in Drukpa schools is the main objective of the third Annual Drukpa Council that starts today in Ladakh, India.

Citing an example, the former ADC chairperson, Khamtrul Rinpoche said that the practice of Tselha-trowa, the wrathful practice of the long life Buddha, has been discontinued in some drukpa schools.

The discussion on discontinued practices would be based on ‘Domsum Juedyik’ a scholarly work of Chagri Je, the 68th Je Khenpo.

His Holiness’s work contains all practices of Drukpa tradition and its lineages, which also highlights those practices, which are discontinued in some regions. It also says where it can be traced from for the practice to be revived and continued.

Broken or discontinued lineage is a practice or teaching that is not passed on. A practice also gets discontinued when the next generation in the same family studies under another master.

There are also cases when some practices that are continued in Bhutan are found to be discontinued in Nepal and Ladakh.

What the ADC plans to do is to invite masters from one country to another to share and reconnect the practices through teachings.

“Besides ADC is also an opportunity to meet and receive teachings from great masters and yogis of Drukpa lineages from all over the world,” the chairperson said.

Drukpa Kagyue sect of Vajrayana Buddhism is known as the Drukpa tradition of practice and its teaching passed from one master to another.

Like the three councils that were organised after the death of Lord Buddha to strengthen his teachings, ADC is also organsied to uphold the continued Drukpa tradition practices.

It brings together some 29 drukpa masters and thousands of followers from about 80 different countries to strengthen the Drukpa lineage.

Thousands of monks and other Drukpa followers from all over the world received the 12th Gyelwang Drukpa Rinpoche yesterday at his Shey monastery in Leh, Ladakh.

Over 80 Bhutanese, including about 40 monks, are in Ladakh participating in the programs, with about 14 Bhutanese volunteers helping the organisers. Bhutan’s representative, the national council’s chairperson Namgay Penjore and the Je Khenpo’s representative Yongchab Lopen Sangay Dorji are also in Leh.

The event is held at Narophodrang, the seat monastery of Gyelwang Drukpa Rinpoche.

Source: Kuensel Newspaper

拉達克主辦第三屆ADC

2011年4月18日由不丹Kuensel日報的丹增朗傑報導——下一屆天龍傳承周年集會（ADC）將會在一個被眾多古老寺院環繞，位於北印度喜馬拉雅山的拉達克舉行。這是一個在冬天時會冷得把所有通道都凍結而又引人入勝的地方。

Devotion and compassion

The Statesman's Nirendra Dev attended the 2nd Annual Drukpa Council and provided this article (download article in PDF format)- The Drukpa lineage claims to have at least 4 million followers. Nirendra Dev attends the second annual Druk Council of the Buddhist monastery in Nepal

Kalenjoj (10) is the third member in his family to turn a Lama besides his elder brother; his 6-year-old sister has become a nun. A simple boy from a tiny hamlet in Nepal, Kalenjoj knows little about the tough metaphysical aspects of Buddhism. For him, Buddha is best known throughout the universe for his teachings of love and com-passion. “Woh pyar sikhanchcho (he teaches love)”, he says in Nepa-li adding that he finds Buddha’s feet “very attractive”.

In this little known place called Bajurai, for children like Kalen-joj getting inducted into lamahood is also tinged with sadness. “My father is dead,” he said with moist eyes and added that he wept a lot when his mother agreed to let him join the monastery. His 15-year-old brother Sher Bahadur had gone home about two years back and sought his mother’s permission to allow Kalenjoj to be dedicated to the service of the Lord and humanity. “I know it was a difficult decision for mother. But she is a devoted believer and hence allowed me,” the 10-year-old said.

For the past two years, he is among the 1500 plus lamas of young aspiring monks and nuns in the mo-nastery at the Druk Amtibha Mountain of the Drukpa sect of Buddhists.

The Drukpa lineage is one of the main Buddhist schools of thought in the Himalayan ranges beginning from 1206 and spreads across Bhutan, Tibet, China, Nepal and India. It claims to have at least 4 million followers.

Druk Amitabha Mountain is located in Sitapaila, within the provincial district of Bagmati. It is within walking distance from Kathmandu’s famous Swayambhunath Stupa.

The mountain has now become the main training centre and administrative headquarters of the nunneries of the Druk lineage. About 800 nuns from across the globe, especially from the Himalayan range, and 200 young lamas and about 15000 participants had gathered at the monastery for the group’s second annual Druk Council. The daily life of the participants and the nuns during the 8-day long festival primarily consisted of morning prayer, education, learning some martial arts and also education in religious rites and practices.

“Besides being involved in daily spiritual activities, the nuns also practice Kung Fu twice daily. We believe firmly in what our spiritual guru His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa says, that spiritual and physical well being are equallyimportant,” said Jigme Rigzin Jhano, one of the nuns and office-bearers at the monastery. On a different plane, boys like Kalenjoj miss their childhood. There is another compatriot of his age, Rinche Tare, who addresses himself as “Jigmey”; a title he still struggles with. Their concept of Buddhism is basic but sound.

“Paap karne hunna” (mankind should give up all kinds of sin), said Tare and added that his daily prayer includes a modest slot for universal peace.

Tare’s father stays in Malaysia, so for his mother it was but a natural choice to allow him to join lamahood as that would probably guarantee a salvation from worldly pathos. “Nepal mein shanti chayie,” remarked Tare intelligently but his face betrayed the innocence of childhood. It is a similar story for the slightly older Jigme Rigzin Jhano, a 20-year-old officer at DAM. She said she fled her home in Ladakh against the wishes of her parents to join the monastery. “I wanted to serve people,” she said. Zineet Amo and Zineet Sunam are also from Ladakh but their joining the monastery was voluntary and with the approval of their families. They participated in the 10-day-long special prayer session coinciding with the Council’s annual conference and the coronation of the 4-year-old boy reincarnate of Sengdrak Rinpoche (1947–2005), Kyabje Sengdrak Rinpoche.

About 800 nuns participated in the special prayers with participants drawn from across the globe including, Bhutan, France, Brazil, England, Hong Kong and Germany. “Zineet (Jigme) means Nidar – we are fearless,” said Zineet Amo.

Documentary by NDTV on 2nd ADC and Nuns

The kung-fu nun of Kathmandu

by Tenzin Namgyel, Kuensel, Druk Amitabha Mountain, 9 May, 2010 - She appears sheepish and timid as she makes her way up to the concrete roof of the giant four-storied assembly hall from the courtyard.

Once on the roof, 12-year old Jigme Wangchuk Lhamo is anything but gentle and compassionate.

Changing into loose maroon cotton pants and a long sleeved shirt, belted around the waist, Jigme throws quick jabs and punches and kicks higher than an average person. She is among 400 other nuns of the Druk Amitabha nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal, who reminds visitors of a scene from a Shaolin kung-fu flick.

Everyday, the nuns wake up at 4 am and begin reciting and memorising Buddhist texts for about an hour, following which they engage in an hour-long practice of the martial art. The devote another hour towards the evening.

Jigme from Nganglam Dechenling in Pemagatshel is the most energetic and enthusiastic of the group.

She enrolled in the nunnery last year, after completing class five from Lungtenphu primary school in Thimphu.

Although she was among the top ten position holders in her class at Thimphu, Jigme said her faith in dharma and interest to become a nun caused her to discontinue studies.

“It’s my sixth month running here at the nunnery,” she said. Within that short span of time, Jigme can fluently speak Nepali, Hindi, Tibetan and Ladhaki languages, which are widely spoken at the nunnery.

Her Vietnamese master said that, although kung-fu was new to her, Jigme was able to attained the sixth of the 16 basic levels of the art.

“When I practise, I visualise I’m in a real combat,” Jigme said.

Besides learning to defend themselves from a handful of troublemakers in the vicinity of the monastery, kung-fu, Jigme said, made one capable of sitting straight-backed for many hours during meditations, ceremonies and teachings.

“It keeps me physically fit, mentally sound and helps me focus better,” she said.

The idea and the story resonates with those of the Shaolin monks in China, who learnt the martial art to defend themselves from passing bandits, besides the real concept of introducing it for health reasons by an Indian Buddhist priest named Bodhidharma (Tamo in Chinese), who visited a Shaolin temple.

Tamo, who joined the Chinese monks, observed that they were not in good physical condition. They spent hours each day hunched over tables where they transcribed handwritten texts.

The Shaolin monks lacked physical and mental stamina needed to perform even the most basic of Buddhist meditation practices. Tamo countered this weakness by teaching them moving exercises, modified from Indian yoga, which were based on the movements of the 18 main animals in Indo-Chinese iconography like tiger, leopard, snake and dragon, to name but a few.

He did not, however, introduce kung-fu, which existed in China much before his arrival. The ancient martial art is popular even in big Mahayana Buddhist monasteries. They believe that sound mind comes from sound body.

“Even Buddha Shakyamuni had said that, if you are sick, take medicine, even if a medicine is fish. Otherwise without body, practice is impossible,” His Eminence Khamtrul rinpoche said.

Jigme said the art taught the nuns to channel their energy and be positive about everything they attempted to do in their daily lives.

The founder of the nunnery, H.H the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of the Drukpa Lineage introduced kung-fu class two years ago after watching nuns practising kung-fu in Vietnam.

He was told that it helped the nuns concentrate better and made them self-reliant.

His Holiness said that was true because, ever since kung-fu was introduced in the nunnery, nuns rarely fell ill, which was a frequent occurrence otherwise.

On the contradiction of Buddhist principles of non-violence against learning martial arts, rinpoche explained that it all depended on motivation.

“If you are aggressive out of good motivation, you are an angry bodhisattva,” he said. Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, an English lady, who became a nun more than 30 years ago, said if one knows how to defend oneself, one can stop an opponent without necessarily doing tremendous amount of damage.

“You’ll know which part of a body to disarm without hurting,” she said.

Apart from training the mind, keeping fit and improving concentration, kung-fu, she added, gave them a sense of confidence to protect themselves.

“When young men in our locality know the nuns practise kung-fu, they keep away,” Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo said.

Meanwhile, Jigme Wangchuk Lhamo hopes to, one day, introduce the ancient martial art in Bhutan. “My dream is to become the first Bhutanese kung-fu master, even if I can’t master Buddhist scripts,” she said.

Get Thee to a Fighting Nunnery

by Vera H-C Chan at The Buzz Log, 21st April 2010 - Kung fu nuns. Enough said.

Okay, maybe a little more. The Nepalese nuns, who hail from high up on the mountain of Druk Amitabha in Kathmandu, are getting trained in the lethal Chinese fighting arts. (Check out the BBC video here.)

The nuns started practice back in 2008, thanks to their spiritual leader, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa. He was visiting a Vietnamese nunnery where he saw the women practicing kung-fu. His Holiness thought back to his Nepalese nuns, and how some mean mountain people would harass them by throwing stones or teasing, according to the Hindustan Times. That made the nuns scared to venture out too far from home base.

Now, they're ready for folks to bring it on. Turns out that the daily workout doesn't just help self-defense, posture and meditation: Kung fu classes have turned out to be a recruitment tool of sorts. Educational programs like English language classes, computer skills, and of course martial arts have helped boost the incoming nun population.

The kung fu has also boosted their overall confidence—helpful, considering the BBC reports that "Buddhist nuns in the Himalayas are normally seen as inferior to monks." All the positives means more feisty fighting nuns on the way: The practice will be spreading next to an Indian nunnery.

Nuns and martial arts actually have a long history. Buddhist nun Ng Mui has been credited with inventing Wing Chun (which Bruce Lee studied) about 300 years ago, and named the system after her first student, Yim Wing Chun. And, the origin story behind the invention of martial arts (Shaolin Kung Fu) has been attributed to Bodhidharma himself, who thought the monks looked a bit flabby and enervated. With these nuns, looks like kung fu's coming back to its roots.

Nepalese Buddhist nuns will kick your tail

Orlando Sentinel, 17th April 2010 - A group of Buddhist nuns in Nepal say their confidence is up and they’re getting more respect these days because they’ve taken up fight training.

The BBC reports that women of the 800-year-old Drukpa Buddhist sect are being taught kung fu by a Vietnamese master.

Other nuns are impressed. A nun named Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo says that after seeing demonstrations, she intends to bring the practice to her own nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, an Indian state.

“It’s excellent exercise, secondly it’s very good for discipline and concentration, thirdly it arouses a sense of self-confidence which is very important for nuns, and fourthly when any young men in the area know nuns are kung fu experts, they keep away,” she says.

As a bonus, interest in becoming a nun has increased since the groups of women have been able to offer better education and exercise programs.