Kung Fu Nuns of Nepal Smash Convention

NYT WORLD: Kung Fu Nuns of Nepal Smash Convention
By Sameer Yasir and Saumya Khandelwal
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: February 26, 2023 at 02:00AM

In Himalayan Buddhism, the religious roles of nuns have long been restricted by rules and customs. But one sect is changing that, mixing meditation with martial arts and environmental activism.

As the first rays of sun pierced through the clouds covering snowcapped Himalayan peaks, Jigme Rabsal Lhamo, a Buddhist nun, drew a sword from behind her back and thrust it toward her opponent, toppling her to the ground.
“Eyes on the target! Concentrate!” Ms. Lhamo yelled at the knocked-down nun, looking straight into her eyes outside a whitewashed temple in the Druk Amitabha nunnery on a hill overlooking Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
Ms. Lhamo and the other members of her religious order are known as the Kung Fu nuns, part of an 800-year-old Buddhist sect called Drukpa, the Tibetan word for dragon. Across the Himalayan region, and the wider world, its followers now mix meditation with martial arts.

Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/world/asia/nepal-kung-fu-nuns.html