To combat gender stereotypes and promote collaborative action for the environment, ladakh-based Drukpa nuns, now cycling across 2,500 kms across Nepal and India, reached Dehradun on Saturday.
Around 500 monks and nuns led by Gyalwang Drukpa of the ladakh-based Drukpa Order are participating in the cycle rally. The two-month-long yatra traverses through some of the most arduous routes in the Himalayan region.
From the quake-hit regions in Nepal to the monsoon- drenched towns in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Pathankot, Srinagar and Sonmargand Kargil (Jammu and Kashmir), the yatra will culminate at Hemis Monastery around 45 kilometres from leh. They say it being part of their mission, the arduous yatra never tires them.
The Drukpa Order, which has come to be known for its insistence on gender equality and celebration of diversity, regularly organises such events to highlight issues of global significance.
The Cycle Yatra, which commenced in Kathmandu (Nepal) on July 3 from one of the monasteries of the Drukpa lineage, has become an annual feature of the order’s efforts to promote awareness about the environmental crises confronting the region and inspire collaborative action to resolve it.
“The Himalayas have been the home of the Drukpa lineage for over 1000 years now. Recently, the region has faced several environmental disasters that caused unwanted and unprecedented loss of life and upset the natural ecosystem. Our aim through this journey is to inspire people to be one with nature instead of being in a constant state of war with it. The Himalayas and the earth were formed millions of years before we were and it is our duty to respect them,” said His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa – the 12threincarnation of the head of the Drukpa Order.
His Holiness has been leading the Cycle Yatra from Kathmandu from the front, shattering the conventional concept of the role of the spiritual Guru.
For his tireless efforts, His Holiness has been conferred the title of ‘Keeper of the Himalayas’ by the United Nations.
Notably, the Drukpa lineage (the “Dragon lineage”) is an integral part of Himalayan and Central Asian legacy and culture. Dating back to the Indian scholar-saint Naropa, the Drukpa lineage is woven into the history of Buddhism the geographic locales of India and Central Asia. It is strategically located along
some of the world’s most significant historical trading routes and has over 1000 monasteries in the region. Bhutan honours the Drukpa lineage as its state religion.