For those who want clarification
I started my day with this comment on my blog for my story on the 21-year-old raped nun: “To be honest, I do not believe that any such “traditionalists” exist. I believe it is a fabrication.”
I don’t think I need to be clarifying my story based on some random comment, but I stick true to my story, my research and my editor’s decision.
There have been comments from people who are stuck with their traditional beliefs, they exist in every religion. This one is only an example.
A news story in Republica on August 3 quotes the President of Nepal Tamang Ghedung Kumar Yonjan as saying, “The religious dictum requires a nun to be virgin. So, it will be difficult to take her back. But we will lobby for her reinstatement as it is a unique incident.”
Again, at various instances, in different media, Norbu Sherpa, an official of Nepal Buddhist Federation, said, “Such a thing never happened in the Buddha’s lifetime. … So he did not leave instructions about how to deal with the situation. Buddhists all over the world adhere to what he had laid down: that a person can no longer be considered ordained in case of having a physical relationship. It’s applicable to both men and women.”
He further added, “A vessel that is damaged once can no longer be used to keep water. … Buddhism all over the world says this. Even the Dalai Lama says you can’t be a monk or nun after marriage.”
I tried to talk to Mr. Sherpa, but he was unavailable.
While these hard-headed people are supposedly blindfolded by their traditional beliefs, they tend to forget the human sentiments and values attached to the person.
All this time in the media, people have been focusing on these people who have negative things to say, who want to impose their religious and traditional beliefs.
So I thought it is a good opportunity to bring out facts–those not adhered to false traditional beliefs–and let people know what is in fact true.
I wonder when it’s something positive, people always seem to question and raise queries about facts and statements. But when there is any false alarm, any allegations, they tend to believe it. I mean, why didn’t people raise questions when the some people in the society were questioning her status? Why didn’t people ask them to clarify their statement–on which grounds they made their statement?
Well, here, I am certainly not trying to justify myself; I don’t need to. It’s just a small gesture from my side, personally, for all those people who live in the world of clarifications when it comes to positive and true statements and tend to blindly believe and follow after a quote that don’t hold much weight.
Thank you very much for your reply. However I fail to see how the two quotes you refer to substantiate the claim in question.
Please note that Kumar Yonjan, according to the quote given, states that his own position is the opposite of the one you attribute to “some traditionalists”.
And in the case of Norbu Sherpa, according to a Nepali Times article from over a month ago: “Although there were initial reports that the nunnery where she studied in Pharping had excommunicated her, the Nepal Buddhist Federation (NBF) has denied this. ‘I was misquoted in the Indian media, she was never expelled, there is no provision in Buddhism for excommunication,’ said the NBF’s Norbu Sherpa.” Here is a link to that piece by Dewan Rai: http://nepalitimes.com/issue/2011/07/22/Nation/18400
It is also relevant to note that the “initial reports” referred to in the Nepali Times article claimed that “15 Buddhist organisations said that as a result [of being raped], she had lost ‘her religion’ and could be no longer regarded as fit to be a nun.” Has anyone ever seen this statement? What exactly does it say, if it actually exists (which I strongly doubt)? Has anyone ever bothered to name these “15 Buddhist organizations”? It sounds to me like the whole idea that the nun ever faced expulsion was, at best, simply a rumor that through repetition has been mistaken for a proven fact.
Apuleius Platonicus
August 26, 2011 at 10:27 am