Buddhist nuns
lead modern, rich lives
2015-07-28 China Daily, Si
Huan
2015-07-28 10:46China Daily Editor: Si HuA pizza place in
Yunnan province's Shangri-La county is the favorite dining spot of
Tashi Yungdrung, a Buddhist nun.
Like many young people in the
cities, the 29-year-old Tibetan woman enjoys sharing her life by
posting pictures of fruit pizza and friends on WeChat, a mobile
messaging app.
Tashi was 16 when she first donned
the magenta robe of Tharpaling Nunnery, the only Tibetan Buddhist
nunnery in Yunnan. There she began her lessons, just 20 kilometers
from her hometown, in a village of the Dechen Tibetan autonomous
prefecture.
More than 100 nuns from Yunnan and
Sichuan provinces and the Tibet autonomous region practice Buddhism
at the nunnery. Some of them, including Tashi Yungdrung, study
scriptures, while others study Tibetan grammar.
They get up and chant at a hall at
about 6 am every day. They then take courses in the morning and
debate Buddhist scriptures, a special form of practicing Tibetan
Buddhism, from afternoon until night.
A nun named Drolma said they have a
day off every 10 days, just like living in school. The summer
vacation starts in June or July, while the winter vacation starts
in December on the Tibetan calendar.
Tashi Yungdrung said people are
wrong if they think a nun's life is boring and isolated from the
outside world.
She and her peers have moved to
their new dormitory, which is decorated with Buddhist classics,
with little dolls on each of their bedsides.
Buddhist nuns lead modern, rich
lives
She likes to visit the nunnery's
library with computers and printers when she has time, cook in the
refrigerator-equipped kitchens, or just scan the news on her cell
phone at the dormitory.
The local government recently began
to offer an annual subsidy of 3,000 yuan ($480) to every nun in an
effort to improve their lives.
In order to increase the income of
the nunnery and enrich their lives, nuns are encouraged to learn
skills such as Tibetan medicine and tailoring.
Five years ago, the 300-year-old
nunnery was dilapidated, with cracking walls and decaying
components.
"Whenever it rained, the roof
leaked. We had to repair the roof, though we are women," Drolma
said.
With the help of the local
government and society, the main hall has been strengthened, new
dormitories and kitchens have been built, and the road linking the
nunnery with the outside world has been improved.
Tashi Yungdrung has just started a
25-day summer vacation after taking exams, returning to her
home.
She arrived at home with the money
she saved, and she shared on WeChat a video clip of her mother
cutting grass.
"We don't have homework to do during
vacation. I will pick mushrooms on the mountain to provide some
help for my parents," Tashi Yungdrung said.