Power and Agency in the Lives of Contemporary Tibetan Nuns - An Intersectional Study - Mitra Härkönen
14. Compassionate Agency
Power and Agency in the Lives of Contemporary Tibetan Nuns - An Intersectional Study - Mitra Härkönen
Mitra Härkönen [+]
University of Helsinki
Mitra Härkönen is a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
Description
By acquiring the status of the compassionate bodhisattva a nun can benefit not only others but also herself through her actions. For Tibetan nuns, monastic life means the possibility to transform one’s position and status in this life, but it is also believed that monastic life can lead to a better rebirth (namely, release from a lowly female rebirth in the future). Thus it is a path, if not toward immediate enlightenment, at least toward a better rebirth.