corboy Wrote:
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> But, this is the noble, ancient, oppressed culture
> that regarded Drukpa Kunley and his Wonder Weiner
> as purveyor of enlightenment.
>
> [www.google.com]
>
> In the West, Drukpa Kunley would be on the Sex
> Offenders' Registry -- unless
> of course, he arrives clad in silk and brocade as
> a giggling Tibetan Buddhist guru, accompanied by
> an entourage.
I seriously question the extent to which Drukpa Kunley's behavior was approved of, even celebrated. Himalayan culture was and still is, very Victorian. OTOH, the theocracy had (and still has) a lot of people bamboozled into believing that if the monk, abbot or lama chooses your daughter, your 12-year-old child, even, to use for sex, it's a great blessing. But what happens to that daughter after a pregnancy or two, when the monastery discards her, and all the eligible bachelors in the village regard her as used goods?
There's also similarly celebratory mythology relating to the 6th Dalai Lama, who was a blatant womanizer, and composer of love poetry. He was basically useless as a spiritual and temporal leader, being not at all suited to the job. Somebody made a big mistake in declaring him a "tulku" in his tender years. But of course, the hagiographers had to cast him in the best light, so all they could come up with was praise for his sexual prowess.
The rogue, Padmasambhava, had similar hagiographies written about him, casting him as Tibet's great saint. This sweeps under the rug the fact that the King of Tibet threw him out of the country for practicing black magic. In addition, the royal family and much of high society in Tibet at the time were outraged at the sex-cult form of Buddhism he proselytized.
The Reting regent, who ruled when the Dalai Lama was a child, was similarly corrupt, having affairs with ministers' wives, and others. Although he was in charge of his own monastery, he was regarded as a failed monk, due to this behavior. As the Dalai Lama approached adulthood, he had the (at that point--former) regent thrown in the Potala jail. He was also guilty of favoring China, and being involved in endless political machinations.
These examples should allow us to put the Drukpa Kunley stories into perspective. The fact that he's a celebrated figure says much about the lot that Bhutan's women have been relegated to. These are women who, in a national survey a few years ago, admitted to being abused wives, further admitting that they believed they deserved to be beaten for burning food, and other small errors at home.
If we look at Tibetan-related peoples around the periphery of Tibet on the Chinese side, we see a number of ethnic groups displaying matriarchal characteristics. From this, we can infer that Tibet, itself, used to be matriarchal. Even to this day, the Earth Goddess is venerated, pilgrimages to her sacred lakes and mountains are carried out painstakingly, often performed as prostrations along the entire path, taking a year or even two or three years, to complete. The imposition of virulently patriarchal values and a misogynistic monastic system onto what was once a matriarchal society has been a great and ongoing tragedy for Tibet's women, and Bhutan's.
-------------------------------------------------------
> But, this is the noble, ancient, oppressed culture
> that regarded Drukpa Kunley and his Wonder Weiner
> as purveyor of enlightenment.
>
> [www.google.com]
>
> In the West, Drukpa Kunley would be on the Sex
> Offenders' Registry -- unless
> of course, he arrives clad in silk and brocade as
> a giggling Tibetan Buddhist guru, accompanied by
> an entourage.
I seriously question the extent to which Drukpa Kunley's behavior was approved of, even celebrated. Himalayan culture was and still is, very Victorian. OTOH, the theocracy had (and still has) a lot of people bamboozled into believing that if the monk, abbot or lama chooses your daughter, your 12-year-old child, even, to use for sex, it's a great blessing. But what happens to that daughter after a pregnancy or two, when the monastery discards her, and all the eligible bachelors in the village regard her as used goods?
There's also similarly celebratory mythology relating to the 6th Dalai Lama, who was a blatant womanizer, and composer of love poetry. He was basically useless as a spiritual and temporal leader, being not at all suited to the job. Somebody made a big mistake in declaring him a "tulku" in his tender years. But of course, the hagiographers had to cast him in the best light, so all they could come up with was praise for his sexual prowess.
The rogue, Padmasambhava, had similar hagiographies written about him, casting him as Tibet's great saint. This sweeps under the rug the fact that the King of Tibet threw him out of the country for practicing black magic. In addition, the royal family and much of high society in Tibet at the time were outraged at the sex-cult form of Buddhism he proselytized.
The Reting regent, who ruled when the Dalai Lama was a child, was similarly corrupt, having affairs with ministers' wives, and others. Although he was in charge of his own monastery, he was regarded as a failed monk, due to this behavior. As the Dalai Lama approached adulthood, he had the (at that point--former) regent thrown in the Potala jail. He was also guilty of favoring China, and being involved in endless political machinations.
These examples should allow us to put the Drukpa Kunley stories into perspective. The fact that he's a celebrated figure says much about the lot that Bhutan's women have been relegated to. These are women who, in a national survey a few years ago, admitted to being abused wives, further admitting that they believed they deserved to be beaten for burning food, and other small errors at home.
If we look at Tibetan-related peoples around the periphery of Tibet on the Chinese side, we see a number of ethnic groups displaying matriarchal characteristics. From this, we can infer that Tibet, itself, used to be matriarchal. Even to this day, the Earth Goddess is venerated, pilgrimages to her sacred lakes and mountains are carried out painstakingly, often performed as prostrations along the entire path, taking a year or even two or three years, to complete. The imposition of virulently patriarchal values and a misogynistic monastic system onto what was once a matriarchal society has been a great and ongoing tragedy for Tibet's women, and Bhutan's.