The Institution of Feminine Enlightenment in Tibet's First Khenmo Program
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Department
Religion
Abstract
This article documents the history and social effects of the khenmo (mkhan mo) program at Larung Gar (Bla rung sgar), the first institution in Tibet to systematically grant nuns advanced Buddhist degrees. We argue that Jigme Phuntsok (’Jigs med phun tshogs, 1933-2004), Larung’s founder, started the program in hopes of challenging the public perception of women as incapable of advanced learning. Legitimating nuns as a field of merit for donors represented an important step in his larger project of changing the status of nuns and women in Tibetan society more generally. We begin with a brief history of Larung, demonstrating how Jigme Phuntsok’s singular vision of gender equality in Buddhist education and practice led to the arrival of thousands of nuns to his small encampment. We proceed to give an overview of the khenmo program, including its curriculum and degree requirements. We conclude with an examination of the social effects of the khenmo movement, exploring how the presence of educated nuns is changing both women’s self-understandings of their own practice and lay attitudes toward women’s religious capacities.
Publisher
The Journal of Buddhist Ethics
Recommended Citation
Liang, Jue and Taylor, Andrew S., "The Institution of Feminine Enlightenment in Tibet's First Khenmo Program" (2020). Faculty Publications. 1519.
https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/facultypubs/1519
ISSN
1076-9005