The Buddhist nuns of the 1,000-year-old Drukpa (dragon) lineage have been learning Kung Fu for 13 years now. It is a novelty that gets them media coverage and makes for stunning photographs and videos: a group of shorn women in spartan clothes and sports shoes working a machete or a fan traditionally armed with a blade, against the backdrop of the Himalayas. About 500 nuns live on the premises of the Druk Amitabha Mountain Nunnery that overlooks the Kathmandu valley.
Now, they are getting recognition for the work they do in the hours outside of Kung Fu and their spiritual practice. The group has been nominated as one of the three finalists for the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize 2020 that “rewards outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond”.
Kung Fu kindness
At 26, both Jigme Konchok Lhamo and Jigme Migyur Palmo, from Lahaul and Ladakh respectively, say they are excited, but “nuns don’t have phones or access to the Internet,” so they had to explain to their fellow members about what the prize means.
“We’re very happy just to be nominated and that around the world people know who we are and what we’re doing,” says Palmo, who works at the office and has administrative duties.
On Facebook, the nuns document their work. They are currently landscaping the mountain on which they live. “Everything from tree cutting and rock removal, to brick-laying are part of the specialised physical work being performed by the Gyalwang Drukpa [the leader] and the Drukpa nuns,” says a message along with pictures.
Lhamo says most of the work they do is physical, whether it is eco padyatras covering about 650 kilometres on foot to pick up plastic litter and talk to people about Nature-based ways of living, or cycling yatras to promote green transportation.
The main agenda for both though, is to advocate against human trafficking.
- Who was Vaclav Havel ? Born in 1936, Vaclav Havel was a “playwright, poet, and political dissident” according to Encyclopædia Britannica . He went on to become the president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and of the Czech Republic (1993–2003), after the fall of Communism.
- What is the prize? The prize consists of €60,000, a trophy, and a diploma, and is open to individuals, NGOS, and organisations working in the human rights space. It is awarded each year by PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation. PACE is made up of 324 parliamentarians from the national parliaments of the human rights organisation, Council of Europe’s 47 member states.
- Who are the nuns up against? This year, the other two nominees are also women: Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain Alhathloul, currently imprisoned; and Congolese women’s rights activist Julienne Lusenge. The prize will be announced on April 19 in an online event.
The nuns reach out to people in unreachable places, especially in disaster situations, like in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake in 2015. In COVID times, they have travelled, sometimes walking through the day or sending essential supplies, to reach about 2,500 families in Nepal.
In the monastery itself, women are trained to maintain the facility. “We don’t have to call the plumber or the person for the generator, or people to do the solar lights… We sometimes ask for help, but mostly we are self-reliant,” says Lhamo, who at 12 heard the head of the monastery speak about women’s equality and was so inspired that she decided to join the nunnery. Her parents wanted her to be a doctor or a lawyer, but, “I cried for three days. At last they sent me.”
At the time, she was studying at the Our Lady of the Snows School in Kullu, where she was enrolled from the age of three-and- a-half. Today, she handles IT and communications for the nunnery.
She enjoys the sense of equality in the sect, not just with the teaching of Kung Fu, but also in the spiritual practices that often see women left out.
In the world outside, nuns and monks are not often seen as equals. Here, it is the women who learn the martial art form, not the men. The men “are very good at cricket and football,” says Lhamo, laughing, adding that they are very supportive of the women.
Feminism in a monastery
While the award may be for humanitarian work, there is a hidden impact that Kung Fu has had. Introduced from the sect’s Vietnam branch, it has built a sense of confidence in body and mind. In fact, the nunnery now has a waiting list, because it is aspirational, even for people internationally.
They receive about five or six enquiries daily from school-goers and seniors, from as far off as villages in Germany and Ireland. “Kung Fu has changed our lives in terms of believing that we can do anything we want to do,” says Lhamo.
Of the 500 nuns on the premises — there are 300 more scattered all over the Himalayan region and in about eight locations around the world — about 80 are currently actively practising Wushu Kung Fu. It is compulsory for women below 35, unless they have physical health conditions, so most have had a brush with it.
In 2008, the Vietnam nuns came down to do some basic training. In 2012, the nuns in Kathmandu entered the intermediate phase, with Troung Kha Nguyen, an instructor who comes down from Vietnam every year for two to three months to train them. Those days are rigorous, with 10 hours of practice daily.
The rest of the year the women work on the teachings, until he comes back to evaluate and train again. Now, those who have been training for over eight years are able to guide newcomers. They also take self-defence classes for women. At these, the nuns aim at understanding the world the girls live in. “We try and make them feel encouraged and inspired — by themselves, not by us.”
“Many people say, ‘You’re breaking stereotypes.’ We are not breaking anything,” says Lhamo laughing, “but yes, we are changing the rules.”
