Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

and could be dissolved by mutual consent without consulting an official institution. This disinterest of
the clergy led, as we said, to a certain independence among the women of Tibet, often exaggerated by
sensation-hungry western travelers. Extramarital relationships were common, especially with
servants. A wife nevertheless had to remain faithful, otherwise the husband had the right to cut off her
nose. Of course such privileges did not exist in the reverse situation.
The much talked about polyandry, discussed with fascination by western ethnologists, was also less of
an emancipatory phenomenon than an economical necessity. A wife served two men because this
spared the money for a further woman. Naturally, twice the work was expected of her. Male members
of the upper strata tended in contrast toward polygyny and maintained several wives. This became
quite a status symbol and having more than one wife was consequently forbidden for the lower
classes. In the absence of cash, a husband could pay his debts by letting his creditors take his wife.
We know of no cases of the reverse.
A liberal attitude towards women on behalf of the clergy arises out of Tantrism. Since the lamas were
generally viewed to be higher entities, women and girls never resisted the wishes of the embodied
deities. The Austrian, Heinrich Harrer, was amazed at the sexual freedom found in the monasteries.
Likewise, the Japanese monk, Kawaguchi Eikai, wondered on his journey through Tibet about „the
great beauty possessed by the young consorts of aged abbots” (quoted by Stevens, 1990, p. 80). A
proportion of the female tantric partners may have earned a living as prostitutes after they had
finished serving as mudras. There were many of these in the towns, and hence a saying arose
according to which as many whores filled the streets of Lhasa as dogs.
But there was a married priesthood in Tibet. For members of a monastery the relaxation of the oath of
celibacy was nonetheless considered an exception. These married lamas and their women primarily
performed “pastoral” work in the villages. As far as we can determine, in such cases the wife was
only very rarely the tantric wisdom consort of her husband. In the Sakyapa sect the great abbots were
married and had children. A proper dynasty grew up out of their families. We know of precisely these
powerful hierarchs that they made use not of their wives but rather of virgin girls (kumaris) for their
rites.
The “freedom” of the Tibetan women was null and void as soon as sacred boundaries were crossed —
for example the gates of the monastery, which remained closed to them. Only during the great annual
festivals were they sometimes invited, but they were never permitted to participate actively in the
performances. In the official mystery plays the roles of goddesses or dakinis were exclusively
performed by men. Even the poultry which clucked around in the Dalai Lama’s gardens consisted
solely of roosters, since hens would have corrupted the holy grounds with their feminine radiation. A
woman was never allowed to touch the possessions of a lama.
The Tibetan nuns do admittedly take part in certain rites, but have in all much more circumscribed
lives than those of lay women. Did not the historical Buddha himself say that they stood in the way of
the development of the teaching, and long hesitate before ordaining women? He was convinced that
the “daughters of Mara” would accelerate the downfall of Buddhism, even if they let their heads be
shaved. Still today the rules prescribe that a nun owes the lowliest monk the greatest respect, whilst
the reverse does not apply in any sense . Rather than being praised for her pious decision to lead a life
in a convent, she is abused for being incapable of building up an orderly family life. Despite all these
degradations, to which there have been no essential changes up to the present, the nuns have , without