Some 250 Buddhist nuns of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism have embarked on an ambitious 2,200-km (1,367-mile) yatra, or pilgrimage, by bicycle, cycling from Kathmandu to New Delhi through the northern Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh with the aim of raising awareness about women’s empowerment and environmental conservation.
The famed “kung fu nuns” hail from Druk Gawa Khilwa Nunnery at Druk Amitabha Mountain in the hills of Kathmandu and Naro Photang Nunnery on the outskirts of Leh, Ladakh, and are accompanied by fellow monastics from West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh. Divided into 10 teams, the intrepid group has so far covered about 2,000 km on behalf of Live to Love, an international network of non-profit organizations. They are under the leadership of His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of the Drukpa Kagyu order and founder of Live to Love, who is also responsible for organizing the “Eco Pad Yatra”—a similar journey on foot.
“The cycle yatra points to the independent and collective will power of women and their equivalence with men; the use of a vehicle that is environment-friendly sends a strong message of conservation and environment friendliness,” said the Gyalwang Drukpa. An active environmentalist and proponent of gender equality, he added that the pilgrimage was also significant as…
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