On International Women’s Day — a photograph of Khandro Déchen

In Bhutan, nakpas are rare — but ngakmas are rarer. In the face of this, however, there are over 30 ordained ngakmas in the Aro gTér Tradition. Ngakma (sNgags ma / སྔགས་མ་ / mantrini) refers to a woman ordained into Vajrayana. A Ngakma is the equivalent of a gélongma (fully ordained nun) in the Sutrayana system. Ngakmas are not renunciates — but maintain the Tantric samayas — the 14 Root vows and varying branch vows of the Linesge into which they are ordained. They have uncut hair and wear the white raiment of the gö kar chang lo’ dé (gos dKar lCang lo’i sDe / གོས་དཀར་ལྕང་ལོའི་སྡེ་།). They are non-celibate and non-abstemious — but hold more strenuous inner vows than monastics. They are the sangha of Guru Rinpoche and Yeshé Tsogyel.