Abstract
In Kinnaur—a Himalayan tribal district of Himachal Pradesh, India, on the Sutlej River and at the Tibet border—Buddhism has been practiced, along with indigenous local Hinduism, for at least a thousand years. From ancient times too, Kinnauras have loved to sing and dance. In Kinnauri villages, jomos (celibate Buddhist nuns) and lamas (who in Kinnaur are male religious specialists and most often married) tell the story of Buddhism by reciting prayers and texts, performing rituals, teaching basic Buddhism, and also, significantly for this paper, by composing and singing songs for their disciples and others. Since the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan monks and nuns first came as refugees to India in 1959, some Kinnauri nuns and monks have gone to study with them in Dharamsala (where the Dalai Lama lives) and elsewhere. So nowadays, both ancient traditions and modern curricula coexist in Kinnaur, and Buddhist women masters transmit Buddhism in various ways.
Highlights
In Kinnaur—a Himalayan tribal district of Himachal Pradesh, India, on the Sutlej River and at the Tibet border—Buddhism has been practiced, along with indigenous local Hinduism, for at least a thousand years
Buddhist women masters of Kinnaur: Why don’t nuns sing about nuns? Kinnaur is a Himalayan district of Himachal Pradesh, northwest India, on the Sutlej River at the Tibet border
A Kinnauri scholar expressed the opinion that since 1959 when the Dalai Lama and many Tibetan followers came as refugees to India, Kinnaur has been at the center of Buddhism and no longer at the periphery
Summary
In Kinnaur—a Himalayan tribal district of Himachal Pradesh, India, on the Sutlej River and at the Tibet border—Buddhism has been practiced, along with indigenous local Hinduism, for at least a thousand years. The answer to the first question is that there are and have been for a long time Buddhist nuns who have been qualified ordinary women masters in Kinnaur.
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