Why Larung Gar, the Buddhist institute in eastern Tibet, is important
There is nothing quite like ascending the slope into Larung Buddhist
Academy from the rough road to remote Serta. After rounding a narrow
bend, the valley opens out and red log cabins, housing monastics, line
the surrounding hills on all sides. Two large assembly halls, one for
nuns and one for monks, tower above the modest and sometimes makeshift
cabins built along winding alleyways. Crowning the ridge is the
magnificent Jutrul Temple, a site of daily pilgrimage for visitors and
residents alike.
Larung Buddhist Academy (also called Larung Gar) was closed to
foreigners for almost a decade following the demolition of a thousand
residences and eviction of numerous monks and nuns in 2001. Now,
demolitions have begun once again, with as many as half its monastic residents facing eviction. What makes Larung Gar so important?
Larung Buddhist Academy has been a major center for the
revitalization of Buddhist monasticism and scholastic study on the
Tibetan plateau. It was certified as an ecumenical institute in 1987 by
the internationally renowned Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok (1933–2004) and has
played a major role in producing the current generation of
cleric-scholars, or khenpos, who now teach at Nyingma and Kagyu monasteries throughout eastern Tibet.
In recent years, Larung Buddhist Academy has also become the hub of a
growing ethical reform movement. One of its leading scholars, Khenpo
Tsultrim Lodrö, has vigorously advocated for vegetarianism, served on
the front lines of AIDS prevention, promoted the use of Tibetan
language, and provided the inspiration behind a new set of ten Buddhist virtues, spreading in nomadic areas surrounding Serta.
Addressing animal welfare and social concerns, such as the loss of
family wealth to gambling and the threat of AIDS, the new ten virtues
include vows not to sell one’s livestock for slaughter; not to drink
alcohol, gamble, or smoke; not to visit prostitutes; not to wear fur on
the trim of traditional coats; not to fight with weapons; and more.
As a result of the Khenpo’s efforts, many Nyingma monasteries no
longer serve meat from their main kitchens, monks and nuns are becoming
vegetarian at an unprecedented scale, and many lay Tibetans in the
region observe meatless days. All thirty monasteries in Serta have
implemented the new ten virtues, which have also spread to neighboring
areas in Kandze Prefecture and beyond since at least 2010. Meanwhile,
ethical reform is not without its critics, generating controversy in the Tibetan blogosphere
due to the economic toll on nomadic families who vow not sell their
livestock for slaughter and sometimes strict implementation methods by
local monasteries.
Khenpo Rigdar (Rigdzin Dargye), the head disciplinarian at Larung
Gar, has promoted non-violence and Tibetan unity in recent speeches and
writings. In 2012, he introduced an “amulet for peace,”
worn around the neck as a reminder to laymen who take a distinct pledge
to abandon fighting among Tibetans. The pledge addresses disputes over
grazing rights on the grassland, a major problem in nomadic areas of
eastern Tibet.
Chinese students of Tibetan Buddhism also regularly visit and study
at Larung Buddhist Academy. Khenpos Sodargye and Tsultrim Lodrö have a
significant Chinese following and recently made international tours.
Notes:
Holly Gayley is Assistant Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her first book, Love Letters from Golok: A Tantric Couple in Modern Tibet, comes out November, 2016, from Columbia University Press.
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