REGULARS Once Upon A Time... Our Spiritual Path - Filming The Lives Of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns BY ALEXANDER CO AND TEAM
CONTACT www.daughtersofdolma. com daughtersofdolma@ gmail.com
“Daughters of Dolma” is a feature-length documentary that explores the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns through the lenses of modernity, gender and spirituality. Dolma is the Tibetan Buddhist Deity of Compassion, and she serves as the mother who guides the nuns towards their spiritual awakening. It explores how modern-day Tibetan Buddhist nuns live alongside and beyond their “spiritual” vocation. Our observation is that, at present, the majority of Buddhist films primarily revolve around male practitioners, meanings of rituals and theoretical Buddhist philosophy. Many films become isolated in theoretical discussions of qualities like compassion and kindness. It is our goal to explore deeper into how Buddhist philosophy is actually being lived out by female practitioners of different age groups, personalities and familial backgrounds to get a distinctly female experience of Tibetan Buddhism. Their voices, unique and different, highlight their individuality amidst their sameness in pursuing the monastic path. The film subtly questions the deeply-embedded assumption that spirituality exists exclusively from “mundane” activities, even in the Tibetan Buddhist religious order. It is an inspiring and light-hearted film that will resonate with people from different spiritual walks of life. The documentary is shot in two Tibetan Buddhist nunneries in the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal. In the first nunnery, Karma Ngoedhon Osal Choekhorling, we explored modern-day issues with the nuns, by asking them to debate about “gender equality” in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition (or the lack of it), the role of modern influences on their quest for spiritual awakening and their views on how the path gives meaning to them. We also interviewed their main spiritual guide, Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, on his views of female monasticism and the influences of modernity on the nuns’ practice. To get a more holistic perspective of their lives, we also met with and interviewed some of the nuns’ parents and close relatives on their views on monasticism and spiritual practice. At the same time, they are juxtaposed with the young nuns of Karma Samte Ling Nunnery, who attend a more isolated nunnery that teaches a fusion of curricula consisting of Science, Math, Social Studies, Tibetan, Nepali and English. The nuns, from ages 4 – 21, still conduct their daily rituals amidst their studies. They are led by a monk, Karma Thay, who serves as the principal and all-around repairman, with his small team of monastic and non-monastic teachers. They are seldom visited by their relatives who reside in the more isolated provinces of Nepal. With their basic English skills and highly developed artistic abilities, they showed us that language does not pose a barrier to communication. These two distinctly different nunneries provide the foundations of how spirituality is uniquely expressed in different settings.
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