In Buddhism, there are many bodhisattvas who are women, and there are also many successful Taoist practitioners-Da Kunfu's mother. The empty Buddha mother is also incarnated in the world and is a living Buddha. There are a certain number of female living buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism who preside over the political and religious affairs of monasteries composed of male monks. No one dares to neglect, be indifferent or discriminate. Because of their high virtue, there is no obstacle to the change of divine power, and they are widely worshipped by believers. At this point, Tibetan Buddhism broke the old secular concept that men are superior to women and advocated the progressive idea of equality between men and women.
Although there are not many female living buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, their positions are not low. For example, the Baishiya Temple in Amdo was built in the Baishiya Holy Land in Ganjia, Amdo's famous Buddhist practice place. The owner of the temple is Gong Ricang, a female living Buddha, commonly known as "Ka Zhuo Ma" or "Dakeyu". Among the nearly 100 living buddhas in Labrang Temple, her Buddha is located under Kampo, above the living buddhas on the side and in the middle. A large gathering was held in the temple and she was seated as a living Buddha. The religious affairs of Baishiya Temple, big or small, can only be implemented with her consent.
Every nun temple has a host, and the host in the temple is usually a woman, but other monk temples also have living buddhas and dharma platforms. Scripture teachers and chanting teachers are also nuns, and male monks from nearby temples can also be employed. The owner of Nanzong Temple is Gujiasai, the sixth living Buddha of Mani, and the specific affairs are taken care of by a nun Renzeng Angmao.
At the same time, the nun was given a dharma name by the barber. With the dharma name, the original common name is abandoned. The names of many nuns are closely associated with Tara Dakini. In the two-character and four-syllable name structure, Zhuo Ma, Kanzhuo and Angmao are the main Buddhist names. From the name, you can see at a glance that it is a female surname, a monk.
Most of the classics they learned were the knowledge of showing Buddhism, that is, the five classic works of the basic teachings of Buddhism, namely, the theory of reason, the theory of wisdom, the theory of middle view, the theory of whole giving up and the theory of discipline. They should not only be familiar with the content, but also master the spirit and practice it.
Their study is divided into classes, and each level has to be debated and tested. Only by passing the exam can they enter a higher level of study. These are exactly the same as male monks, only in different places. The nuns are all in their own Buddhist temples and halls, so believers are generally not allowed to visit them, and the courses will not be too tense and heavy.
After passing the exam, nuns can also get a degree of Guth (good at learning, equivalent to a doctor) like male monks, and become monks, reciters and hosts in temples, but this phenomenon is very rare. Because of its small scale, it is difficult to form a ladder-like teaching level in buddhist nun. It is inconvenient to go to the monk temple for further study, accommodation and travel: secondly, the ranks of nuns are unstable and erratic, making it difficult to form a ladder-like academic team; Third, it is difficult to persist in lifelong running. In this way, objective conditions limit the emergence of talents among nuns. So, this is just a pursuit. So is Nanzong Temple.
There are few tantric practitioners in buddhist nun who believe in the Gelug Sect, and there is no professional tantric college. It's not that nuns can't practice Tantric Buddhism, but that few nuns meet the premise of Tantric Buddhism-they must complete the course of Xianzong.
The most common practice of nuns is fasting. Fasting, asceticism, activities to commemorate Buddha and abstinence. There are also rich families who let nuns fast instead of themselves in order to turn over the dead, and then give them some support. Generally speaking, fasting lasts for two days. On the first day, you are allowed to talk, but you can only eat one meal at noon. You should abstain from drinking and fasting all day the next day, and you can't quit until dawn the third day.
Buddhist nun often holds fast activities. The vegetarian food at noon the day before is provided by the Buddhist temple, and the fasting of others is provided by the donor.
Lunch is very rich. Thick porridge cooked with rice contains ghee juice, ginseng fruit called Potentilla anserina, fine beef pieces when conditions are good, and condiments such as raisins and brown sugar. In addition, butter, glutinous rice and white flour cakes are also available.
Compared with male monks, the life of nuns is much worse. They don't belong to supporting tribes and villages, so they can't mobilize or apportion believers to provide scriptures and meals to temples. People and villages only occasionally give alms to nuns when they are well off, but this kind of opportunity is rare several times a year. Due to economic constraints and secular prejudice against women, there is no grand Buddhist meeting or respected living Buddha or scholar in the nun temple, which objectively makes it difficult to attract a large number of believers and pilgrims to worship and give alms. Therefore, nuns receive very limited charity. Unlike monks who become monks, nuns have basically cut off their economic ties with their families, and all their living expenses have to be raised by themselves.
There are several ways for nuns to raise living expenses: temples collectively recite scriptures and everyone gives alms; Fasting for the rich gentry families, helping their deceased to gain merit and support from the early pregnancy; During my non-reading period, I traveled around the country and raised money from house to house. This determines that it is impossible for buddhist nun to master abundant fixed property and have more working capital.
Nuns live in poverty, but they are strict in discipline. There are 348 commandments of Buddhist monks and nuns, nearly 100 more than the 250 commandments of monks and nuns. Usually, the life of nuns is quite free, and there are few feelings of depression and imprisonment.
In Nanzong Temple, we saw them playing and joking with each other at will, even dancing, singing and laughing constantly. They told them that neither the abbot nor the master would interfere as long as they did not violate the canon and did not affect Buddhist activities.
On the premise of not affecting Buddhist activities, you can also take a walk or buy things on the street and browse the city, but you must ask the temple host for leave in advance.
Nuns can also go to larger monasteries to attend major Buddhist ceremonies, watch Buddhist debates and dance performances.
Through these activities, they can appreciate the profoundness of Buddhist classics from a broader scope. Not only for viewing or entertainment, but also for understanding, experiencing and self-cultivation.
According to the precepts of monks, nuns should not wear luxurious clothes or make up their faces after becoming monks, but everyone loves beauty, especially women's pursuit of beauty, even buddhist nun has traces. In the temple, we found that the houses and clothes they packed were clean and well dressed. When monks get together, it is not difficult to see that they belong to a nun.
Even large-scale coolies such as repairing houses, building stoves and ramming walls are all nuns in the temple doing their best to help each other. In the temple, nuns are linked by mentoring and living in the same monk's house.
Any nun, after obtaining the qualification to enter the temple, always takes a knowledgeable old nun as his teacher. She is the instructor of the little nun's study and Buddhist activities, and the little nun takes care of and serves the elderly in her daily life. Little nun is called old nun grandma, and Tibetan translation means aunt. The old nun called the little nun as an apprentice. They respected each other and took care of each other, and spent their whole lives as nuns.
Although the life of nuns is monotonous and poor, lacking material comforts, after studying Buddhist scriptures and practicing asceticism, they have no regrets about their chosen life destination, preferring to live such an indifferent life rather than set foot on worldly ups and downs. What they value is happiness in the afterlife and personal detachment.
The Buddhist temples in buddhist nun are managed by themselves. All Buddhist activities are hosted by myself.
There are no monks and nuns in the temple who are responsible for all kinds of affairs, and public affairs are generally part-time, with division of labor and mutual substitution.
Generally speaking, nuns spend a lot of time in meditation. Meditation usually takes place in winter.
They sit quietly in their rooms all day, reading classics, not going out, not talking, and refusing visitors. Inserting a bunch of cypress branches on the knocker is a sign of meditation and silence. Believers or family members will shrink back when they see this sign, and it is best for others not to come to the door to stir it up. Some nuns set themselves the number of times to receive visitors before they closed their doors and meditated, and kept records with stones. Even if something important happened, it was unshakable.
The time for retreat and meditation ranges from January to more than half a year. The purpose of this meditation is to get familiar with Buddhism in the process of feeling and thinking, get rid of unclean evil thoughts, and finally achieve positive results and achieve everything.
I feel that nuns are practicing hard and vain, subliming their own realm and trying to knock on the ideal heaven.
Some nunneries have students who have not graduated from public schools. Although they have a good understanding of other languages (Chinese, etc.). ), the first languages of Tibetan nun temples are Tibetan and Tibetan.
How to get in touch with them?
Generally, nunnery temples are mostly in secluded places in the mountains, and modern communication is rare. However, Labuleng Temple is located in Labuleng Temple, one of the six major monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism, buddhist nun, Nanzong (meaning Tianbao in Tibetan) in Jianzha County, Qinghai Province, and the south of Madan buddhist nun in Xunhua County, and believes in the teachings of Maning.