From Common Hall to Temple: Women's Traditions in Tibetan Culture
Is there a clear "female tradition" within the Tibetan cultural and narrative traditions? In the traditional texts of the Tibetan region, women are indeed cast in stereotyped roles, and overlooking this would oversimplify any discussion of local women's status and representation. As for traditional femininity, those texts place women in a fixed role. Luce Irigaray (1931-), in "Magi Langjun," a mural in the Tibetan region, observes that women's joy is plural compared to the "singular tradition" of the male, and that their thoughts and writings are even more intricate and subtle.
Women in the native culture gain their power by serving as pacifiers and integrators of various disorders, which are frequently instigated by male deities. At the same time, because of the combined influence of native culture and esoteric elements, female practitioners—often writers and philosophers—as well as female artists and female politicians have formed lineages that are usually depicted as separate within a history shaped by the male gaze. So the answer is still yes.
In early historical sources—such as the verse exchanges contained in ancient Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang—and in religious writings alike, the generation of chaos and the subsequent act of calming it carry equal weight. This is especially true when considering the organization of small family households, where both seizing an opening and working out remedies are essential. Indeed, without the safeguarding and support of female deities, the conflicts and errors in judgment within the celestial domain could bring ruin upon the earthly homes of humankind.
Female practitioners occupy a central place in the Tibetan "female tradition" due to the promotion of the "cult of the goddess" and its related "feminine forces." Their life experiences differ, as biographies highlight. While their primary mentors are almost always male practitioners, these women consistently display a distinctive way of thinking, described as "feminine wisdom"—often considered accessible through experience yet difficult to achieve.
Xiongse Jizun, Qu Ying Sangmu （ཤུག་གསེབ་རྗེ་བཙུན་ཆོས་དབྱིངས་བཟང་མོ། 1853-1950） was born contrary to her father's expectations, as he had hoped for a healthy son. In her biography, "Father" serves as a composite male figure that persists as a presence throughout her life. Thanks to her compelling voice, she became widely recognized for her teachings on Buddhist scriptures. When engaging with those in power, she frequently donned male attire.
Exile was a daily reality for Xiongse Jizun, Qu Ying Sangmu. In debates, she often responds with a smile, endeavoring to convince the other side. She serves as a mediator in community conflicts in the capacity of a practitioner, and she refuses all so-called titles of honor. Facing doubt and physical harm, she did not give way; instead, she held to her beliefs and highlighted the mistakes that others made in their practice.
Xiongse Jizun, Qu Ying Sangmu, has restored the ancient Xiongse Temple (ཤུག་གསེབ་དགོན།) to life through her leadership, and is derisively referred to by some male practitioners as the "Goddess Among the Living." She has consistently declared that her resolve is rooted in the insight of earlier female practitioners, the most significant of whom was Machig Labdron (མ་གཅིག་ལབ་སྒྲོན། 1055-1149), called the "Goddess Buddha." All of them were practitioners.
Unlike the constructed 'female tradition,' the 'female tradition' in the Tibetan area is corroborated by literary and visual evidence. Existing apart from male narratives, it surpasses the 'body' discussion—which simply hovers between 'sex' and 'gender'—and is marked by materiality (reflecting individual life histories) and imagination (the intellectual achievements of this tradition).
Most women must actually confront ordinary scenes that are fraught with pitfalls and crises; yet these may be missed if we continue to dwell on the 'female tradition.' Nevertheless, I would caution everyone against reducing that long-standing 'female tradition' to merely a facet of Tibetan women's lives.
At the Rubin Museum, a 19th-century artwork titled "Portrait of Maggie Lang, Approaching Biography" portrays a female practitioner from the 11th and 12th centuries. She resurrected an unconventional approach to practice that involved "cutting off" attachments. After becoming a student of Solang Lama (བསོད་ནམས་བླ་མ།), she later studied under Padampa Sangye and built a family with a yogi. The pain and unease she encountered while confronting male mentors and male partners transformed into a wellspring of resilience. Inspired by her example, women progressively rose to lead religious communities and local organizations.
In the Tibetan narrative that constructs a "women's tradition," women are shown as the main agents in advancing and observing Buddhism, serving as exemplars for all practitioners and philosophers. The Rubin Museum holds an 18th-century work, "The Authorized Biography of Marjilang," which addresses meditation and contemplation in the cemetery and graveyard; it recounts the life of a female practitioner and connects it to the legend of the "Twin Queens of the Tubo Period" in Tibet.
According to the blog post by Sorang Wangqing, this piece recounts the tale of Marjilang and his female followers, centering on the "Double Princesses and Double Buddhas" narrative from the Tubo era.