We are very happy to welcome Marlina Ashburnham now into our seminar series,
who is currently in all tucked away and ready to present something of her latest research project, which focuses on Buddhism agenda in Sikkim.
She looks at historical and contemporary sources in case us, I reckon, and maybe two words about Marlina.
She is a long term student and alumni of the Munich University.
She studied and put him over and also under cut cut out.
And she put out a very impressive catalogue on the bottom, kick you out there.
And she's now going into more diverse avenues with this take on Buddhism, the role of women especially, and other related issues.
Merlino, welcome. Had everybody and thank you for inviting me to present the bottom of my research.
So why Buddhism and gender perspectives? And second, to provide you with some background.
Sikkim is a tiny Indian state in the eastern Himalayas that is known as a state
where women have more rights compared to other states of the Indian Union.
Sikkim is also form up what is kingdom that has always had close ties with Tibet.
But today, Buddhism makes up around only 27 percent Sikkim as some might the ethnic and my darling will say.
That became the scene of religious disputes and confrontations of dialogues and inventive religious interactions.
And of course, Sikkim is one of the so called Big You,
a sacred hidden land that has been prophesied by my son, by the watering butcher as being a place of shame.
Whenever Buddhism or Buddhist mosque, this would be endangering Tibet and different Tibetan moss.
Those left Tibet during difficult times and went the Sikkim where they found new sponsors and followers of the Buddhist teachings.
So when I first visited Sikkim for some research in 2010,
I was scattering information on one Tibetan Buddhist tradition that will also spread across the Himalayas.
And it's still practised there, namely the Bahbah Coquitlam, an offshoot of the took cogito.
Like many scholars before I followed in the footsteps of important masses of Buddhist tradition,
read the hagiographies, historical and philosophical writings.
I visited monasteries connected to them, and even some years later,
as I came back to carry out further research, I still focussed on monks of that tradition.
But some observations that I made during both field trips made me think.
Even years later, the Babiuk monastery in Sikkim is home to several monks and novices belonging to the Father Coggin tradition.
During my first visit, young monks were playing at the meadow in front of the monastery.
Monks stood together, chatting, and some years later, all monks rode the football match in a nearby village.
When I reached Buddhist monastery but back at one corner, hardly visible from the main bar,
there are found a small building nun sitting close and reciting Buddhist texts.
During both visits, I saw them only in the small hut. So all the years of my research on the bar about tradition.
I never came across much written or oral information on nunneries belonging to this tradition.
Only some sparse information on some women are recorded in the hagiographies.
That irritated me since Deleware and still are obviously breakfasting nuns.
But it also seems to have been Blayse out of the radar somewhere in the background, both literally and metaphorically.
And that was the starting point, to dig deeper in my sources and stop thinking about Buddhism and gender perspectives in Sikkim.
And today, I'm going to share some of my thoughts and sides on my research on this topic.
But let's start at the very beginning. They can times during the lifetime of put a shark,
your Moonie daughters run not quite well come because they only cost huge marriage costs and
there would only exist because of a husband to whom they had to bring four sons in that money.
Could society. Buddhism was established. Might a different world view possible?
Buddhism, beaches, religious equality.
But the social convention was a social step, ordination of women, but even first refused in establishing announced tradition.
But he was reminded by Ananda is disciple that according to Buddhism, women have the same ability to gain a life.
Munder Mom. So a compromise was found in establishing announced tradition that was largely independent.
And that was new in a brief monikered context. But nuns and monks were only equal when they were separated.
Even the oldest and most honoured NRM had to bow down even before a novice monk.
So put a Mauney thought equality for every human being.
But reality was different. Also, it's within societies influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.
Generally, women were regarded as liking a man's intellectual, having a very calm mind and processing higher within their abilities.
The temptations since the birth of a woman imply the accumulation of bad karma in formal lives.
They were deemed inferior to mom. Yes.
Kirk Gibson, his dictionary, an interesting example in this context.
[INAUDIBLE] gave them a word to use to denote the women. One reads M. at the Yankee about men.
So a human being at the Struve, but only born as a female.
S. Yes. That's wrong. Slate that. That.
Owing to the fact that women were regarded as being less capable than men, women and nuns got less access to education.
Often woman took basic wiles and stayed with their families,
or they waited until their children were old enough and then took full novis vows and shined a nunnery for practising intensively.
So bearing that background in mind, let's now turn to Sikkim.
According to legendary accounts, glittering butcher visits came during the eighth century and prepare the land for future dissemination of Buddhism.
By the way, many legends are recorded wearing guru Jim Butcher for three months.
And I have the feeling mainly female demons that represent that breed Buddhist belief systems.
And he converted them into protectors of Buddhist.
However, in the centrists that followed, different Buddhist masters revered so-called threshers Thelma.
There have been hidden by Goodridge inputs.
In one time dogmatics, a guidebook to Sikkim rediscovered by recrossing Goodman in the late 4th and beginning of the 15th century.
One comes across an interesting passage in regard to gender or to description of the imagination of women.
One reads that Gotthard input Chip Ruffels side.
That when there is a decline of morale and general law in Tibet and sentient beings become full of the five months,
including all women looking for sexual intercourse and incest.
When there was a time of war or great desire to eat that food such as red flesh and black and blood, then flee, flee to the hidden land here.
And then in Sikkim there are sentient beings have respect for the Buddhist teachings and women got their pure bodies.
Everything is better there. So obviously it was believed that women have higher will not within their abilities to temptations, as stated before.
Or one could say that the decline in morale has, amongst others, was measured in terms of women sex lives.
Otherwise, a general decline in Mouret could have been described, both man and woman thirsting for sexual debauchery.
However, then during the 17th century, Sikkim was frequently opened by three Tibetan Buddhist masters belonging to running Muffat,
namely by Cut-Off Kinta Songpol lots uncut Schechtman and not act Semper Chimp or Prince of Crickets in Thailand.
They are throwing the first Chigwell or Buddhist ruler named Binstock Nunga, and he is Sido of three Masters and the first Buddhists king of Sikkim,
sent out by quoted inputs in these three Tibetan masters and the first to cammies King are known as the prophesied natural shishi.
The four yogis who are Prada's. This prophecy is contained in an address scripture revealed by rough modelling by the 15th century.
According to this, four yogis what entered a hidden land through defrauders and as intended by God,
it input and open the land for Buddhism and at the same time providing followers of the Buddhist faith with a safe place to practise.
And each of these, knowing my masters, also establish first monastic complexes and second.
By the way, as soon after the enthronement of the first word is King, the not a tradition became the more influential one, even more.
Not a prince of Rigzin was kind of a royal preceptor, robust disposition through his son jump atención and the late to do his son,
respectively, not that wrenching them under the rule of the fat sugar cheque, though none of this changed.
And the tradition of Latz and Shinhwa, the Minjilang tradition took up this position mainly one day, then coasties replacement.
The affair of not a grandchildren, grandson of Prince of which Rixton and wrote Preceptor with Ben there one more.
The half sister of the sugar. It seems that this relationship involves not drenching going in lots of troubles.
And then one more was the daughter of the put the niece, wife of the second Sugar Dancing Nun.
Yet she's associated with the niece invasion of Sikkim after her father's death as she claimed the right of the throne.
One cabinet had raised the question, to what extent? And then one more really was alone, responsible for all the actions against her half brother,
the second Meece King that she was blamed for it, or whether other mighty people poured the strings.
For example, her with the news relatives and strongly influence spend there one more or even more.
Use her as a dummy or as a scapegoat. But this remains Rattus speculation.
Eventually, this power struggle ended up in the murder of the first year gap through followers of the wrong.
And as a consequence of this and the murder of Bendalong. Not much information is preserved about not a Grinch syndrome,
and this might not be of a great surprise as he became a Best-Selling non grata to do his affair with one month.
The half sister and antagonist of the third shibulal in order to compensate for the improper relationship.
Different monasteries were built and the number of monasteries all around Sikkim grew over the centuries.
Besides, many Tibetans visit that sick him.
More sources deal with major Tibetans, but some females are also recorded.
The most famous was Cheat's In Your Bedroom.
Daughter of that darkling from the founder of the Min Minjilang monastery in Tibet.
That dappling emphasised on the importance of educating women and their role in transmitting and practising their authentic Dammam.
He met his daughter, Chid Semenya Beidleman, a natural leader chick.
My barber was a hiding my lover and the incarnation of Latson Gembrook, one of the three masters that had open sic him.
Born in Tibet, he travelled to Sikkim and gained a lot of power there.
Even more on the chicken, the Bible. The monastery of my young sir developed into a durable institution having the monopoly on the throne.
Month of the Buddhist king. These kings of Sikkim.
However, while residing in Sikkim, he tried to invite ships and mingle Bidar and to seek him.
But she only arrived as soon Glass invaded Tibet and especially threatened members of the NIMET tradition, which means relink along.
However, it's a media badgering, but the royal welcome when arriving in Sikkim and she once again shaved her head.
And don't the robes of a nun. Then she was allowed to transmit many teachings to faithful people of this land, including the king and high lamas.
And as stated by the second, me scholar Kyrsten Dolce put the important contributions to see Keamy Spudis are said.
Remember during the period of her exile in Sikkim, she transmitted many important teachings that remain vital parts of the name above tradition there.
And the king, the Fox, Yogya, Yemen. Yeah, even married one of its immediate bodhran systems.
But the marriage was not a happy one. Yes.
Later the king became seriously ill and there was still no at the A throne.
Everybody was concerned about the continuity of the Namgyal dynasty.
As recorded in royal documents, the king thought the ministers on his deathbed that none was expecting his challenge.
Then the king passed away and the ministers found who shortly afterwards gave birth to an heir.
Interestingly, her name is not mentioned in any source.
As far as I know that the name of the father belonging to the local Fortia, that ethnic group that was allowed to reign.
So in this way, it is nameless, non descending from an appropriate family safe.
The Namgyal dynasty in the 18th century.
Over the centuries, mainly monastery's following Mingma or cogill, tradition, traditions, refounded and Sikkim.
And this might also be one reason why celibacy was never really popular in sick.
There have been several attempts to introduce celibacy and Sikkim, but without great success.
Whereas the gallop, along with their strict monastic discipline, became dominant in Tibet.
This tradition was never introduced in Sikkim. To give you a further example, within the battle about Coquet, by tradition that exists,
one incarnational in which was my monastery, the Kagami Monastery in Truby, was founded on 60 Meece territory.
And by the way, the Sikkim royal family also left in the Chumby Ballet during the summer.
And they also had close contact with Parivar Masters.
However, this part of the Trumpet Valley, they came up out of bed shortly after the establishment of this monastery.
And after the debate. Yes. Out in the 1950s, most members of this monastery went to see him and the coqui monastery in exile.
Was this average close to Bangkok, the capital of Sikkim. However, the respective incarnates run up only to only fully.
Odey night ordained monks of that monastery. But also as being tantric monks married.
But what about Chander in this context? With very few exceptions, they're active.
Rose and Sikkim have so far been. They combine socially and culturally,
expect that women usually marry and then take care of their children and the household until the children are grown up and unstopped own families.
Once this task is fulfilled, several women decide to devote themselves.
The Buddhist practises Debray intensively for what people love and thus become part of money umbrella communities,
Villette's village structures that are also called money Larcom and that belong to superordinate monasteries.
After all. Sick and today, there is a 50 percent loss in the election,
reserving 50 percent of the seats in bunches, yet the woman said to punch up the punch yet.
It's a local village, said government in rural India that was once run by five male editors and some special religious features and seek him out.
Massacre Department of Sikkim. And does Keamy Songa represent the thief that represents the whole Buddhist community in the second misgovernment?
Both Rochester monks and nuns may contest and vote for this position.
However, in 2019 of more than 3000 riches that Songa members, only six in line will months.
Nuns always think that in the background, almost invisible.
Perhaps that is one reason why the cammies code is songa seat.
Also mongst seat. And there are no records of proper nunneries and Sikkim prior to the 20th century.
To illustrate the point further from the deep ethologists and explorer Lawrence Redl that travelled in India in the 80s and 90s and visited Sikkim,
observe that I quote, Naans are admitted to a few monasteries.
But their number is extremely small and individually they are illiterates, old and decrepit.
One reason for this might be the fact that several monasteries accumulated political and economic power.
Monks were advisers to the king and performed the stage rituals, and naans might not fit into this picture of monastic monasticism.
Another reason might be that women had other opportunities to devote themselves to put his practises.
At least one hundred and fifty money that comes out of this, that better access to the apartment of Sikkim, they are located throughout the state.
These Villette's structures give Froome the women for fasting practises connected with other kiddish Mara.
And for reciting on money at home the mantra associated with Abelow British for DePodesta of Compassion.
So this is the most popular law Mantha in Tibetan Buddhism that disposer recited
by devotees was accumulating sacred sites or donning prayer waves amongst others,
in or around such money. Alarcon's.
As noted by Holmes Electrum that the activities of these groups of women, the big thing in the resting potentials for older women,
the practise put us in an intensive collective environment in modern Sikkim.
Their activities also suggest how women in minority communities in South Asia,
such as Nopal and Lecture, will make up the demographically significant portions of money.
Amla communities have continued to sustain the traditions in the face of new mainstream cultural institutions.
In a post colonial era. So he you see different types or size of such undemanding outcomes.
The worth it says I need money. Larcom can mean spray a weird damper or shrine drew for months.
And the government of Sikkim defines money like Cong's as Sepp Monastery's for women.
That should have a one story single mention in a traditional architecture.
A huge idol of Abelow Kiddish Farah, a tutor and at least eight nuns.
And it should function during all monthly periodical ceremonies at important Buddhist events.
To give you a further example, was on the rows of women when I was when I was visiting Sikkim in 2010.
The wife of a buncha yet a leader of a religion also told me that once her
children are old enough and she would not be needed anymore in the household,
she would join the local money lab, come and devote herself to put us.
That's what she's expected to do.
As she told me, besides, even if there are around 100 Buddhist monasteries listed by the AKOS ecclesiastical department of Sikkim,
only two gone bust, meaning nunneries are comprised in that list.
However, they do exist more nunneries and Sikkim, even if the most of them are far off amongst monastic complex.
One man, for example, that told me about her life used to talk about the nunnery at Tech that she first joined.
But according to the information provided by the Christmas secret apartment of Sikkim,
there exists that money come from nuns, but not the proper nunnery, however.
Nancy, usually extra in the background and devoted themselves to Buddhist practises, including reciting mantras and fasting practises.
I would not go to more recent religious challenges and seek him and the role of gender in such a context.
That, however, I strongly associate that with old legends and religious beliefs.
The 20th century marked great changes for Sikkim, the Namgyal dynasty came to an end and Secant became an Indian state,
while in the past Tibetan mosquitos provided locusts with new infrastructures, including bridges, roads, sources of drinking water.
In the 20th century, locusts were again provided with new infrastructures again, roads and bridges, especially in the north,
where sick and sick and borders on Tibet and the Indian military is now permanently
station and destress cited in a confrontation of may lead to a religious belief systems.
Buddhism and Sikhism. Many military members are followers of Sikhism and realise elections that Buddhists connect with.
Gruder departure to quote Anana, the first of totally down six quarters and the fun of Frager of the six traditions.
For example, in the village June Thung, one finds footprints of quoted in [INAUDIBLE] on a rock where he too caressed.
It is said that during the rest he throw away some rice seeds and thus rice could be called avoid.
That then showed them where to to climatic and attitude treasons.
Rice usually would not grow. However, the Sikh community that same story but connect these elections to good anana that showed done a sick road.
Rora has been erected near the sacred rock connected the budget importune.
On the one hand,
one funds' plates from the second misgovernment labelling displays as a Buddhist pilgrimage site that is connected the quoted input chain.
And on the other hand, one fonds plates from the Sikh community telling the same reactions of bloated inputs.
But intending to Romanic. And it seems to me that this discourse did not begin until the 20th century before it seemed clear that this was put aside.
To give you an example of this. The second mass, thus surname should stand with Ravid to stick him in 1724.
Report that in his writings that he visited sacred sites connected to grow broader input [INAUDIBLE] in trunk them, including his throne.
Most likely preferring to go to needle the stone recorded input should to progressed.
However, this forward area in the Himalayas is prone to earthquakes.
When a heavy F quake hit Sikkim in September 2011, Chungdam was hit worse, amongst others.
The local Buddhist monastery and the local money home,
the place for Buddhist nuns and glady devotees to offer prayers under the guidance of a tutor were damaged.
Why the restoration was going on very slowly. A new large Sikh gurdwara was put in a rush.
McWhirter knaidel. The debate, whether this is a safe place for put is a Sikh community, is a very sensitive form.
Locals, for example, claim that their history is being rewritten by the intruders.
Both sides claim their rights. And they even go to court because of it.
Another recurring theme of contests that hydropower road cheques through Sikkim, which Nehru once name named Temples of modern India.
The second ME scholar and Compa published Tibetan texts, and he wrote that the hidden length of Thamel Jong Sikkim is the feeding spring of India.
And I would translate even more freely. Sikkim is what, a dollar of India.
And now it is turning into its powerhouse.
Already in the 1990s, some go getters and tried to stop such projects, which, according to them, disturb the safe environment.
For example, in the 1990s, the government plans to build a hydro electric power station on the sacred random river river.
That's the spot of the undrivable true ritual.
That is one of the most important Buddhist festivals in Sikkim, which has been held for centuries, and which the sangha now so in danger.
In 1995, around 500 monks from all over Sikkim gathered in Bangkok, the capital of Sikkim,
and demonstrated against this project that was understood as a fence of the sacred land.
They carried families with Please protect our sacred land.
These monks were followed by sea cammies women that chant Braille's.
That particular project was cancelled. Two years later, many orders have been realised.
So people have a close relationship to nature, incorporate this in their religious practise and in daily life.
In 2018, the 9th annual environmental conference for Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries and
Nunneries was held at the humpbacked monastery and in the 17th Khartum up.
Org Enduring Torture spoke via video. The 90 monastery trip.
A scent that the extreme 34 monasteries and nunneries.
Addressing climate change and the role of Buddhists in this context.
See, he said that I quote to you to the importance of Tibet and the Himalayas as a source of water for millions of people downstream.
I appeal to you all to also take up the responsibility of addressing climate change.
We should see our actions of preserving nature and protecting the environment not only as ways of minimising climate change impacts,
but also a Spotify Buddhist practise, because everything we do with benefit artists and then beings that a speaker
at the conference was Mr. Pesche of Quiera from the United Manged Nations,
and he stated that he strongly felt that monks and nuns have huge power as people dam the river listens to them.
Thus, if they talk to laypeople about the environment and climate change, there is a big chance they might change people.
So this organisation, Kovar York, which means the environment in Tibet,
is a network of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries that are located in India,
Nepal and put them and which have Chaundry made the commitment to help protect the
Himalayan region from environmental degradation through their core initiative.
The Karmapa wants to turn both Buddhist monasteries and nunneries into environmental leaders and problem solvers.
Some say cammies monasteries are part of this organisation. But until now, no sicking meets nunnery, at least as far as I know.
But Buddhist nun slowly start to stand up from the marginal position some are studying at Buddhist universities in India or even abroad,
but only a few have taken active roles in society so far.
To give you an example of an outstanding Buddhist nun, one nun, a Tibetan by rich and but born and sick,
him, as she named it, left Sikkim because of the Karmapa controversy in the early nineties.
She went on a ball and dental up where she joined the Central Institute of
Higher Tibetan Studies and where she graduated on the Forest Philosophy Stream.
She wrote a book on general Buddhist concepts, especially for Sikkim most readers.
And she went to this mania for Happy Achee today.
Besides of being a researcher at the Institute in Satina, focussing on Buddhists, lexicography is from Sanskrit, the Tibetan.
She also became a visiting assistant professor at a number Namgyal Institute of Deep Ethology and Sikkim teaching master's students.
Asking her about the rows of nuns,
she stated that generally what is not in Tibetan Buddhists were mostly devoted to doing prayers and purchase and not much philosophical status,
but lots of positive changes have occurred in the last decades now.
Nuns in most of the nunneries do philosophical studies like in the monks monasteries.
And there are many nuns now graduating as Kendalls Geisha, Mass, loban and chariot's in all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism,
a huge achievement in this century, in the history of Buddhist nuns and Tibetan Buddhists.
And of course, this naans curriculum vitae is certainly an exception for a C cammies nun.
But it also shows that in that not all nuns work exclusively in the background.
And some also start taking on active roles. But also, more generally,
topics such as gender equality or the empowerment of women are recurring themes in security newspapers and at the same time the
Hmong's have a strong position and voice to Sikkim and they come together and involved politically whenever they feel threatened.
They remind, for example, traditional values for intensified Buddhist practises.
Also reinterprets rituals that have changed due to environmental changes,
or they collect evidence for protecting Buddhist predicaments, sites or a sacred landscape.
In February this year, a Sikkim North Bengal put his complaint took place in Gangtok.
The chief minister, which is see in the middle of this picture,
highlighted that the Buddhist heritage is undergoing rapid transformation in its polity,
as well as in cultural and social economic dimensions, creating strategic challenges.
So also, policymakers recognise the ongoing transformation and the connected religious challenges amongst Buddhist communities in might the ethnic.
And my dealing was sekhon and issues and debates, including disputes with other belief systems or how to deal with a safe environment and hydropower,
hydropower projects or climate change, but also gender, gender equality and gender empowerment.
Both of these religious challenges.
And I close with a quote from the office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women United Nations from 2001.
It is important to convince demographers that gender perspectives can strengthen their
analysis and provide new insights about demographic processes and to demonstrate this,
that this Titians the inadequacy of data that do not incorporate gender perspectives and fire cheekily.
I add that in many other areas. It would be important and fruitful to include Chandos perspectives as well.
And of course, I don't mean by any means that in Himalayan Tibetan Buddhist Sikkim status,
no scientific discourse in this context have taken place so far or that everybody should include that.
But in some parts this component is overlooked. After all, this is exactly what is needed to show a comprehensive picture of a society.
But in my opinion, also of religious traditions,
even if it is certainly easier to integrate and to concentrate on the male part since more was documented and written down.
We disregard. So I stop here and I'm really looking forward to the Q&A session.
Thank you. A human, you know, we talk.