While the early days of the nation of America is seeped with Christianity, the West has also had an illustrious relationship with Buddhism. Western Buddhism and especially American Buddhisms has grown exponentially since the 1960s. One of the benefits of American Buddhism is the inclusion, reintegration of Women Religious. One of the most known Buddhist nuns is that of Pema Chödrön.
Pema Chödrön was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in 1936 in New York City to Catholic Parents. She would receive her English Literature Degree from Sarah Lawerence College and a Master’s in Elementary Education from University of California, Berkeley. She would be an elementary teacher for many years in New Mexico and California. Deirdre was married and divorced twice. She has two children and three grandchildren. In the 1970s. Deirdre would start to study and practice Buddhism under Lama Chime Rinpoche. This would be the start of her journey to become Pema Chödrön. Under the guidance and practice of Chögyam Trungpa, Deidre was given a new name, Pema Chödrön which means ‘lotus torch of the dharma’ when she took the refuge vows.
Continue reading “Herstory Profiles: Tending the Flame with Pema Chödrön By Anjeanette LeBoeuf”
In the winter of 2013, I went on pilgrimage to Kathmandu, Nepal. While there, I visited the Khachoe Ghakyil Ling (Pure Land of Bliss) Tibetan Buddhist nunnery, the largest in Nepal with about 400 nuns. It’s affiliated with the nearby Kopan monastery where I stayed in the retreat housing. The nuns gave a group of us a tour of the gompa (meditation room), classrooms, workshops, and kitchen. The studies at the nunnery include math, science, and English, Nepali, and Tibetan languages, as well as meditation, debate, ritual arts, and chanting, the same education that the monks receive at the monastery. When not engaged in prayer and education, the nuns produce herbal incense renowned for its healing properties, which clear and uplift the mind. Not surprisingly for their ambitious program, a nun’s average day is 14 hours long.
Since I am averse to crowds and rebellious by nature, I ducked out of much of the sight-seeing and instead spent my time engaging with the novitiates, the young nuns who were milling about before dinner because they had completed their classes, daytime prayers, and other duties. We asked each other questions like “What’s your name?” and “Where are you from?” Then I was treated to “Watch me do this!” and “Can you do this?” because the language of children is universal. Yet, what was special about these girls was that they were being given food, shelter, and an education — opportunities that many their ages, especially girls, would never know. 
Feminism and Religion 