The Fragility of Restoring Full Ordination for Tibetan Tsunmas (Nuns)

Abstract

Drawing from interviews with tsunmas (Tib. btsun ma, nun) living and practicing in Geluk, Kagyu, and Sakya institutions in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Uttarakhand, India, between March 2017 and February 2019, this case study foregrounds tsunmas’ heterogenous insights into the most ideal and acceptable ways for restoring gelongma (Tib. dge slong ma, Skt. bhikṣunī, fully ordained nun) vows. I argue that fragility, the quality of being breakable, underlies the history of gelongma vows in Tibet. Fragility, however, can also be generative. In this regard, fragility also signifies the possibility of restoring gelongma ordination for some tsunmas who are interested in receiving gelongma vows in India. This article examines Tibetan and Himalayan tsunmas’ perspectives on the possible ways of restoring gelongma ordination for women in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Since the lineage of gelongmas ceased in Tibet, some tsunmas see this fragility as prohibiting restoration of gelongma ordination unless there is a way to re-establish these vows through the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the monastic code adopted in Tibet, whereas other tsunmas perceive this fragility as an opportunity for other possibilities for gelongma vow restoration through innovative ritual practices such as dual-Vinaya ordination.