LEADER 03864nam 22006374a 450 001 9910778456303321 005 20230817141031.0 010 $a0-674-03808-8 024 7 $a10.4159/9780674038080 035 $a(CKB)1000000000805534 035 $a(OCoLC)450899120 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10328846 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000110096 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11137828 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000110096 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10059907 035 $a(PQKB)11756595 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3300668 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3300668 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10328846 035 $a(OCoLC)923112444 035 $a(DE-B1597)589943 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780674038080 035 $a(OCoLC)1294425398 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000805534 100 $a20040113d2004 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aBeing a Buddhist nun $ethe struggle for enlightenment in the Himalayas /$fKim Gutschow 210 $aCambridge, Mass. $cHarvard University Press$d2004 215 $a1 online resource (356 pages) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 0 $a0-674-01287-9 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 294-322) and index. 327 $aGendering monasticism -- Locating Buddhism in Zangskar -- The Buddhist economy of merit -- The Buddhist traffic in women -- Becoming a nun -- Why nuns cannot be monks -- Can nuns gain enlightenment? -- Monasticism and modernity. 330 $aThey 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. 606 $aBuddhist nuns$zIndia$zJammu and Kashmir 606 $aBuddhist monasticism and religious orders for women$zIndia$zJammu and Kashmir 606 $aMonastic and religious life (Buddhism)$zIndia$zJammu and Kashmir 606 $aEnlightenment (Buddhism) 615 0$aBuddhist nuns 615 0$aBuddhist monasticism and religious orders for women 615 0$aMonastic and religious life (Buddhism) 615 0$aEnlightenment (Buddhism) 676 $a294.3/657/08209546 700 $aGutschow$b Kim$01512553 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910778456303321 996 $aBeing a Buddhist nun$93746510 997 $aUNINA