BEING A BUDDHIST NUN

BEING A BUDDHIST NUN
By:Kim Gutschow
Published on 2009-06-30 by Harvard University Press

They may shave their heads, don simple robes, and renounce materialism and worldly desires. But the women seeking enlightenment in a Buddhist nunnery high in the folds of Himalayan Kashmir invariably find themselves subject to the tyrannies of subsistence, subordination, and sexuality. Ultimately, Buddhist monasticism reflects the very world it is supposed to renounce. Butter and barley prove to be as critical to monastic life as merit and meditation. Kim Gutschow lived for more than three years among these women, collecting their stories, observing their ways, studying their lives. Her book offers the first ethnography of Tibetan Buddhist society from the perspective of its nuns. Gutschow depicts a gender hierarchy where nuns serve and monks direct, where monks bless the fields and kitchens while nuns toil in them. Monasteries may retain historical endowments and significant political and social power, yet global flows of capitalism, tourism, and feminism have begun to erode the balance of power between monks and nuns. Despite the obstacles of being considered impure and inferior, nuns engage in everyday forms of resistance to pursue their ascetic and personal goals. A richly textured picture of the little known culture of a Buddhist nunnery, the book offers moving narratives of nuns struggling with the Buddhist discipline of detachment. Its analysis of the way in which gender and sexuality construct ritual and social power provides valuable insight into the relationship between women and religion in South Asia today.

This Book was ranked at 16 by Google Books for keyword the frontiers of paradise study of monks and monasteries.

Book ID of BEING A BUDDHIST NUN's Books is 1mnELpqNsOMC, Book which was written byKim Gutschowhave ETAG "3FJtkZL7cMs"

Book which was published by Harvard University Press since 2009-06-30 have ISBNs, ISBN 13 Code is 9780674038080 and ISBN 10 Code is 0674038088

Reading Mode in Text Status is false and Reading Mode in Image Status is true

Book which have "355 Pages" is Printed at BOOK under CategoryReligion

This Book was rated by Raters and have average rate at ""

This eBook Maturity (Adult Book) status is NOT_MATURE

Book was written in en

eBook Version Availability Status at PDF is true and in ePub is false

Book Preview