Last month a Buddhist nun in Nepal was gang-raped on a bus. That news was shocking enough, but the aftermath is disturbing also.
The Buddhist sangha of Nepal has called for justice for the 21-year-old nun and for proper medical treatment for her extensive injuries. However, the sangha also is considering expelling her from her order because she was raped.
The Times of India reports that Ang Kaji Sherpa, general secretary of the Nepal Adivasi Janajati Mahasangh, is asking Nyingmapa in Nepal to consider giving shelter to the nun when she recovers
"'We are discussing the formal Buddhist policy that says a nun who loses her celibacy, even though involuntarily, can't remain a nun any more,' said Ang Kaji Sherpa."
Seriously?
"Sherpa said he has had discussions with three monks from the [Nyingma] sect, who are now mulling whether the nun could be offered sanctuary in a nunnery run by the sect in Nepal. 'Buddhism is a very forgiving religion,' Sherpa told TNN. The Buddha forgave Angulimala, the robber who was a ruthless killer. So it should show compassion to a victim.'"
It seems to me that if there were no intention to have sex, there is nothing to forgive. Accidentally causing harm or even death is usually considered blameless, for example.
The assault occurred on June 24, and according to some news sources the alleged assailants, all bus drivers and their assistants, confessed to police. Yet they were not arrested until recently, and since they've been arrested bus drivers in eastern Nepal have gone on strike until the accused men are released.
The nun was unconscious for several days, and the most recent news stories say that she is still too traumatized to speak of the assault.
Barbara,
Thanks for informing us about this painful event and what this nun may be facing. I encourage everyone to help this woman with your prayers and with your willingness to pass this story along. It would be good if our concern could get to the right people in Nepal. Someone knows someone who can help.
While the linked story at Monsters and Critics say the strikers demand the release of the accused rapists, other stories say they are demanding the release of the bus, which has been impounded by the police. The story you cited my have misunderstood. This search reveals more stories: http://goo.gl/bMG1K
That is sad about the nun being expelled. Somebody needs to work on the compassion bit and gain some common sense, I think.
This initial story (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-11/south-asia/29760391_1_nun-buddhist-organisations-buddha) says:
“The woman belongs to the Tamang community, one of the worst victims of human traffickers and suffering from a high degree of illiteracy and abject poverty.”
So there appear to be some deep social issues here.
I tried to post with a URL, but I guess that doesn’t work.
A search of news stories indicates that the article at the cited Monsters and Critics site is the only one that says the striking workers are demanding the release of the accused. That may be mistaken. All other news stories I have found say they are demanding the release of the bus, which the police impounded.
There is an earlier article at the Times of India that says this of the nun:
“The woman belongs to the Tamang community, one of the worst victims of human traffickers and suffering from a high degree of illiteracy and abject poverty.”
There seem to be some deep social issues here.
I don’t know how Buddhist structure works there in that part of the world, but after thinking “it couldn’t hurt” I got a contact email address from the site of the Dalai Lama, and wrote to him expressing my sadness at this, and asking if there is anything he could do for this poor nun. Others might do the same, or as Deborah suggested, write to the “right people” if known.
It’s hard to stay quiet about something like this, you know.
Barbara, thanks for posting this news thanks to other friends for comments. I am a buddhist monk (from Nepal) and i know certainly that there is no offence unless the nun gives consent. She was raped and she has to disrobe !! It is a very painful story. I am not in Nepal now but i will try to see if my school can take her in as a nun or if there is anything that can be done to help her; and that the bad guys won’t go free. I know a community of Tamang people. I will ask them to speak for the nun. I feel so bad to read that she has to be forgiven for no bad thing she has done.
I am writing from Kuala Lumpur. I am in full sympathy with the nun. I think it is true that nuns are subjected to more rigorous restrictions than the monks.
For example, there is this story which I have copied and pasted from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/bmc1/bmc1.ch04.html (this is actually for monks) as follows:
“At that time a certain bhikkhu had gone to the Gabled Hall in the Great Wood at Vesālī to pass the day and was sleeping, having left the door open. His various limbs were stiff with the ‘wind forces’ (i.e., he had an erection) (§). Now at that time a large company of women bearing garlands and scents came to the park, headed for the dwelling. Seeing the bhikkhu, they sat down on his male organ (§) and, having taken their pleasure and remarking, ‘What a bull of a man, this one!’ they picked up their garlands and scents, and left.”
The bhikkhu incurred no penalty, but the Buddha gave formal permission to close the door when resting during the day.
However, another aspect of neglected responsibility I feel is on the family members of this nun. From the type of tribal and primitive atmosphere that seems to prevail in that area her relatives clearly failed by not providing a chaperone for the journey. And then again, this area is subjected to abject poverty as described by a forum member. Which means a chaperone would have been costly as it would even include the chaperones return journey.
So the important lesson to learn from this whole episode is that security is an important hidden cost in the training of nuns.
And as for those rapists, were they in this country they would have been subjected to a very painful type of flogging on their buttocks, 12 strokes each whose effects would have taken many weeks to heal plus permanent scars for life and long jail terms, possibly 10 years.
Meanwhile, may the welfare of the nun be properly taken care of.
_/♥\_ NAMO AMITABHA ༀམཎིཔདྨེཧཱུྃ། 南无阿弥陀佛
It is important to write letters of concern and complaint, to increase international pressure against violence toward girls and women in Nepal. We wrote supportive letters for the poor Buddhist nun in last 3 days: to Nepal Prime minister, UN secretary general, Sakyadhita internīl, Women org. in Nepal, HH Dalai Lama and others . Todays news says : Nepal under pressure : poor traumatized nun was accepted to state hospital in Kathmandu, only after protests from the Ministry of health, for free treatment. We also demand that the Nepal gov. pays her medical expenses for longer past hospital stay at Siliguri in India. She was not accepted at emergency in Kathmandu on June 27 ! We also demand that her stolen money (about 1300 in Nepal rupees) are given back from the state, together with compensation to her and poor family. Five criminals must not be released ! Bus drivers and ticket sellers in Nepal are mostly drunken, causing accidents daily. They also support trafficking mafia …Police is inactive . If you have Facebook account, please support this important cause on Yeshe Tsogyal Foundation . Together we can make change and difference . BUDDHA DHARMA-OBF INTERNATIONAL, European Union
u r right ,its a shameful incident,we all must help plz tell what I
can help?
I am so sorry to hear of this nun’s terrible ordeal. Perhaps the bus shouldn’t be impounded, but rather rolling down a mountainside with a load of drunken rapists aboard! Women are so precious, and do not “belong” to men, whatever the country may be. Thank you Barbara for pointing out this situation. May international pressure build to help this Nun recover physically and mentally, and continue her spiritual vocation. And may this point the world’s compassionate intention to all the women in developing, and “developed” nations, that they be afforded the respect they deserve.
Compassion requires that I speak out on this abuse on a victim of sexual violence.
To consider a woman tainted by the attacks she receives seems to be contrary to logic, to compassion and to common sense.
ALL religions are contrary to common sense.
There is no such thing as common sense. Most of what we think of as “common sense” is just bigotry and cultural programming. The Sri Lanka sangha appears to have been motivated by “common sense,” not dharma, when it thought of expelling the nun. It has since changed its mind, btw.
If you hate all religion, then why bother commenting here? Do you think you’re going to persuade anyone with your simple minded, ill-informed comments? If religion upsets you, then “common sense” would suggest you should just leave it alone. No one would mind.
idiot compassion is right. as a sabbath-keeping jew, i always felt christianity and islam were crazy. i thought there was some hope to judaism, tho i’m no longer sure, except for keeping sabbath. now the story of the gang-raped nun being ostracized from her order? quit sending these stupid emails. i am sick of buddhism, too.
ALL organized religion is crazy and the followers are all idiots. SICK, SICK, SICK.
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AS A U.S, CITIZEN I WOULD ASK OUR GOVT. TO OFFER HER POLITICAL ASYLUM IN U.S. AND ALL BUDDHIST SECTS SHOULD OFFER HER A PLACE TO LIVE AND WORSHIP AS SHE PLEASES.
How sad when this she needs compassion the most. I thought that Buddhism was all for RIGHT actions, right everything. How disappointing to find that this order is treating her like she committed the crime. Light, love and God’s healing to her.
Expelling nun from the Sangha is adding insult to injury. Monastic discipline cannot be interpreted mindlessly.She cannot be insulted twice, once by the molesters and later by the monks. Compassion is the very heart of the Buddha’s teaching. The Sangha shall keep this in mind while interpreting the Vinaya rules – anjaneya reddy