In a society with heavy manual labor, the status of the worker is higher, which leads to a pronounced preference for sons over women in Tibetan society. Men go out to herd to earn money to support their families, while women stay at home to take care of the household chores and take on the responsibilities of serving men and raising children.
However, not all Tibetan women willingly accept this fate. Under the oppression of the patriarchal system, some women choose to rebel by leaving their families, going to temples, joining religious groups, and seeking equality and freedom.
In Ganzi Prefecture, a small border town in Sichuan Province in the western part of China, there is a famous holy place of Tibetan Buddhism - Yaqing Monastery. It is a temple built in the middle of the river and is known as the "Pure Land for Women".
This became an outlet for many women. In the temple, they are no longer bound by the rules of the world and have the opportunity to live an independent life. These ordained women are called "Kyawm" in Tibetan, which means women who have attained enlightenment.
Today, Yaqing Monastery has developed into the largest nunnery in China. The temple is divided into nine districts, with male and female worshippers living in different areas. They have a strict daily schedule and must participate in reciting sutras, sweeping garbage, and other labor.
In Yaqing Monastery, more than 20,000 female believers live day and night, chanting sutras, practicing Buddhism, and observing the precepts. It was originally a small nunnery, and a few decades ago it was obscure. The person who made Yaqing Temple famous was a shocking woman - Master Baima Quzhen.
Pema Chozhen is a true Tibetan Buddhist who was born with an unparalleled understanding of the Dharma and the ability to spread the Dharma. For the sake of her ideals, she resolutely abandoned her earthly life and chose to become a monk.
Master Baima Quzhen traveled from south to north to promote Buddhism in various places, and she preached diligently and influenced countless believers. When she traveled to Ganzi Prefecture, she was deeply attracted by the beautiful scenery here, so she chose to live here for a long time and practice.
Master Baima Quzhen spent many years in retreat at Yaqing Monastery and finally passed away, ending his legendary life. She has led by example and has become a role model for countless Tibetan women in their religious life, who have come to Yaqing Monastery to follow in the footsteps of the master and live a simple spiritual life.
Only by completing the task can you get a meager living allowance. Tibetan Buddhism advocates self-control and simplicity, which is also in line with the requirements of the temple. In order to maintain discipline in the temple, Yaqing Temple has established many regulations, and violations of the rules are punished to varying degrees.
The shops around Aseongji Temple originally existed as a service to tourists. From the local point of view, promoting the development of tourism is a reasonable move, because it can bring a certain contribution to the local economic development.
What they didn't expect, however, was that the existence of these shops would become an obstacle to Kyaw's spiritual progress. Since the temple could not remove these shops directly, they had to work on the rules and resolutely put an end to the possibility of Kyaw Mu making mistakes again.
In order to ensure the strict implementation of this regulation, Yaqing Temple has taken very strict measures. Every day after dinner, the Kyaw Mu had to stay in their own living area and could not go out at will.
If someone finds them secretly out shopping in the dead of night, they will be asked out of the temple the next day. This red line is a red line, and it must never be touched, and no one is exempt.
In Buddhist practice, the six roots of purity are a very important state. If a person can't restrain even a little bit of greed, then how can her six roots be purified and how can her cultivation progress?
Therefore, the temple considers this regulation to be entirely for the sake of the practitioner. In this way, the Kyaw Mul can better concentrate on their practice without external distractions, thus achieving progress in their practice.