By Khenmo Drolma,
Often when we tell the life story of the Buddha we begin with Buddha/Siddhartha leaving his family, just after his child was born, to find enlightenment. As westerners, we hear this story through the lens of our culture and conflate it with the classic “hero’s journey” or see it as abandonment, lacking in compassion. One of four major holidays in the Tibetan tradition, Lha Bab Duchen, depicts Buddhas return to our realm after teaching his mother in the Tushita heaven realm. On Lha Bab Duchen, we understand that we are telling a family story.
As we expand our picture of Buddha’s spiritual life, we see that it also includes his aunt, Mahaprajnapati, his wife Yasodhara among his most accomplished disciples. Both attained enlightenment and they represent the realities of many women’s lives. Yasodhara, his wife, knowingly supported the unique conditions that allowed Siddhartha to achieve his potential, enlightenment. Understanding the benefit for all beings, she let him go. Mahaprajnapati, his aunt, raised Prince Siddhartha as a child (before he became the Buddha) and accepted the responsibility of ruling the country as queen after her husband died. She accepted a life of responsibility due to compassion. Completing worldly responsibilities, Mahaprajapati became the first nun and Yasodhara followed her. They became enlightened practicing within the nun’s community.
These women became enlightened, equal in spiritual understanding. The subtle teaching of this holiday is non dual understanding of spiritual capacity among genders and differences. There is no lesser Enlightenment, there is realization and nonrealization. We are all the hero journeying in our own unique way towards recognizing our inner perfection and we are at the same time interconnected.
Abbess of Vajra Dakini Nunnery, Ven. Khenmo Konchog Nyima Drolma has studied with the foremost Buddhist teachers of our time. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1997 after a distinguished career at the Maine College of Art as a professor of sculpture. After completing philosophy studies and solitary retreats, she was given the responsibility of abbess. She teaches the Buddha Dharma internationally, with an emphasis in the practical application in daily life. In addition, she has created a Tibetan Nun Leadership Program and is the International Chair of a historic monastic gathering in India in 2020. www.VajraDakiniNunnery.org
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