Kung-fu Nuns

Nuns at the Druk Gawa Khilwa Abbey in Kathmandu have begun kung-fu classes. The BBC reports:

Rupa Lama, a 16-year-old nun from India, says kung fu helps her concentrate.

“It’s good for our health. Meditation is very difficult and if we do kung fu, then afterwards meditation becomes much easier,” she says.

Another nun, Konchok, also from India, says she likes kung fu because it gives her strength.

“It’s very helpful for our safety. If somebody teases us or something, then we can hit them and be more powerful,” she says.

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo is also quoted in the article:

The main problem for nuns has always been that they have not normally had a good situation in which to live, they have not received the support from lay people that monks receive and they have not been educated.

So often nuns became basically just household servants for their families or working in the kitchens and the gardens in the monasteries.

Read the BBC report here. The Abby’s website is here.

[Image: BBC]

Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! As a nonprofit, to keep Buddhist teachings and practices widely available.

This article is only for Subscribers!

Subscribe now to read this article and get immediate access to everything else.

Subscribe Now

Already a subscriber? .