Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network – New Books in Buddhist Studies

Episode: Chandra Chiara Ehm, "Queens Without a Kingdom Worth Ruling: Buddhist Nuns and the Process of Change in Tibetan Monastic Communities" (Vajra Books, 2024)
Date: October 15, 2025
Host: New Books Network
Guest: Dr. Chandra Chiara Ehm

Episode Overview

This episode features Dr. Chandra Chiara Ehm discussing her new book, Queens Without a Kingdom Worth Ruling: Buddhist Nuns and the Process of Change in Tibetan Monastic Communities. Drawing on nearly a decade living as a nun at Kachö Gakyil Ling in Kathmandu, Dr. Ehm presents an incisive, deeply personal ethnography that investigates both the lived experience and the structural transformations facing Buddhist nuns today. The conversation covers institutional hierarchy, gendered obstacles, evolving educational opportunities, and the profound changes brought about by shifting demographics, secular education, and digital technology in Tibetan Buddhist nunneries.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Dr. Ehm’s Path into Monastic Life and Research

• Origin Story ([03:32]):
  • Began as an interpreter at a UNESCO conference in Mustang, Nepal.
  • Inspired by Professor Charles Ramble to pursue academic training alongside her monastic studies after noticing a disconnect between published research and her own nunnery experiences.

    "I thought there is a gap there between the actual research that was already published and the experiences I was able to collect in the nunnery itself." (Ehm, 04:32)

The Institutional Setting: Khachö Gakyil Ling Nunnery

• Location and Structure ([05:28]):
  • Sister nunnery to Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, a prominent center for Westerners’ Buddhist education.
  • Since 1994, has grown rapidly; 450 nuns in 2008.
  • One of few nunneries in exile offering the complete Geshe-ma scholastic curriculum.

"Queens Without a Kingdom": The Book’s Central Tension

• Title Significance ([06:38], [07:00]):
  • "Queens" reflects admiration for nuns’ inner strength and altruism.
  • Yet, these ‘queens’ lack real authority or autonomy—nunneries are administered and led by males.

    "Even the convents, which are female institutions, full of women, obviously are male institutions. They are led by men ... And henceforth, one can't say these are feminine communities." (Ehm, 08:45)

• Hierarchy in Tibetan Monastic Society ([08:45]):
  • Traditional hierarchy: monks at the top, nuns at the bottom—even below laymen and laywomen.

The Scholar-Practitioner Perspective

• Methodological Contribution ([11:07]):
  • Dr. Ehm critiques previous outsider-focused research, emphasizing the importance of long-term participant observation for authentic insight.

    "It took about two and a half years until the nuns began to speak to me ... talking wasn't outside talking, but inside talking. And it changed everything." (Ehm, 13:40)

  • Advocates for centering nuns’ voices and experiences.

Formation and Recruitment in the Nunnery

• Founding of the Nunnery ([17:33]):
  • Established at the urging of visionary leaders, amidst limited resources and persistent gender bias.
• Recruitment Process ([19:38]):
  • Joining was once competitive—requiring sponsorship, ritual offerings, and assignment to a personal tutor via divination.
  • Since mid-2010s, recruitment has become challenging due to shifting demographics and social roles. ([22:24], [23:50])

Forces of Change: Demographics, Technology, and Modernization

• Decline in New Nuns ([24:11]):
  • 2008 closure of the China-Nepal border sharply reduced influx of Tibetan postulants.
  • Broader social trends: increased preference for secular education, weakening of traditional monastic vocation.

    "The monastic sphere is something that has been shaken and troubled in terms of its purpose." (Ehm, 24:11)

• Impact of Technology ([24:11], [27:09]):
  • Mobile phones and the internet dissolved former strict boundaries between monastic and secular worlds.

    "Since 2012 or 13, when 3G or mobile Internet came about... you could connect to the outside world much easier and much more. And that really changed the core of monastic living to a certain extent." (Ehm, 24:11)

Daily Life, Ritual, and Scholastic Study

• Typical Day in the Nunnery ([27:09]):
  • Early rising, extended morning prayers, memorization, secular and religious classes, debate sessions, and communal rituals.
  • Immersive sensory experience described by Dr. Ehm:

    "You would hear this humming of prayers and texts ... There would be the smell of incense ... It was very immersive..." (Ehm, 27:09 – 28:38)

• Ritual as Core Duty ([31:03]):
  • Rituals and prayers take precedence over studies; nuns are expected to serve religious and community needs.
  • Heavy ritual obligations limit time for scholastic advancement.

Monastic Education and the Geshe-ma Degree

• Scholastic Opportunities ([33:15]):
  • Since 2016 nuns can officially earn the Geshe-ma degree (17+ years of intensive philosophy/study, previously only for monks).

    "We have about 73 kishimas today ... the speed, how we went from no studies at all before 59 to being on the same level than men ... is something one really has to credit Tibetan Buddhist monasticism for." (Ehm, 33:15)

• Challenges with the Curriculum ([34:48]):
  • Debate-heavy pedagogy favors "male" styles of argumentation; some nuns find the culture of debate less appealing or suited to their strengths.

    "For example, the debate. I mean, the loudest person wins, the strongest person wins ... within the nuns community, I didn't see that so strongly. Sometimes they looked like choirs. They would try to find harmonies ..." (Ehm, 34:48)

Gender, Hierarchy, and the Limits of "Equality"

• Structures of Power ([38:28]):

  • Progressive changes stemmed from Western and Tibetan advocacy, but reforms occur within a deeply patriarchal system.
  • Equality in education doesn’t always translate into genuine respect, authority, or institutional power for nuns.

    "Sometimes when I speak to the nuns on the inside, I see that people lost interest in their well-being... because things look fairly equal from the outside. And this doesn't always reflect how it feels from the inside." (Ehm, 38:28 – 41:20)

• Memorable Moment: The Two-Faced Teacher ([44:00]):

  • Anecdote about a philosophy teacher who gave progressive answers to Western scholars, but voiced very traditional, patriarchal views to the nuns.

    "Usually he said that we as nuns could be happy if we could study at all. The quality wouldn't matter. It would really set the seeds, karmic seeds, so that we could be reborn as men ... And then when this Western scholar came ... he was extremely Empowering and very, very positive about nuns and their perspectives. And I must say I was rather petrified when I translated for him." (Ehm, 44:00 – 46:15)

Profound Social Change in Nunnery Life

• Demographic Shift ([47:50]):
  • Transition from adult Tibetan women with strong Buddhist motivation to much younger, largely Nepali girls whose motivations are frequently more pragmatic (education, security, etc.).

    "...We transitioned from a Tibetan population to a Nepalese population ... younger postulants with less Tibetan Buddhist background ... might be very interested in Buddhism, but not in a Tibetan Buddhist way..." (Ehm, 47:50 – 51:03)

• Changing Attitudes Toward Monastic Education ([52:07]):
  • The old expectation to memorize 400 pages of prayers is now droppe о, as newcomers seek practical education and English skills, not lifelong religious study.

The Debate over Secular Education

• Tensions and Resistance ([55:34]):

  • Younger nuns increasingly desire formal secular education (school, university), but senior male officials often resist, fearing nuns will outpace monks or dilute monastic tradition.

    "My feeling has been...these monks are afraid the nuns would surpass them. And henceforth the nuns were denied ... opportunities of education out of the beaten track..." (Ehm, 55:34)

• New Models for Monastic Life ([58:26], [59:24]):

  • Is the nunnery a place for spiritual formation, ritual service, or general education?
  • Secular education increasingly competes with the traditional Geshe-ma track, raising questions about identity and mission.

Concluding Reflections

• Multivocality & Scholarly Purpose ([61:18], [63:07]):

  • Dr. Ehm emphasizes the importance of broadening scholarship to integrate diverse female voices—not as marginal, but as essential to understanding Tibetan Buddhism.

    "Women and gender are still treated as something marginal and bit uncomfortable perhaps ... And still Tibetan women, Buddhist women are a big part of Buddhist societies, of Buddhist cultures, and ... contribute ... a very unique and valuable piece of the puzzle..." (Ehm, 61:18)

• Next Steps in Research ([64:01]):

  • Dr. Ehm’s next project connects textual scholarship to embodied practice, examining how nuns and monks practice and embody philosophical texts in daily life.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the core tension of the book:

  "One would expect that a queen has a queendom or there is a kingdom that she is in charge of. And that's the interesting part ... Even the convents ... full of women, are male institutions ... one can't say these are feminine communities ... it's very difficult to coin them queendoms henceforth." (Ehm, 08:45)

• On long-term participant research:

  "It took about two and a half years until the nuns began to speak to me ... there was a clear shift where talking wasn't outside talking, but inside talking. And it changed everything." (Ehm, 13:40)

• On the impact of digital technology:

  "...Since 2012 or 13, when 3G or mobile Internet came about ... you could connect to the outside world much easier and much more. And that really changed the core of monastic living ..." (Ehm, 24:11)

• On lived gender inequality, despite formal progress:

  "It's nice to achieve these degrees for nuns, but is the work really, is this achievement really trickling down in the communities? And ... from the inside ... things look fairly equal from the outside. And this doesn't always reflect how it feels from the inside." (Ehm, 38:28 – 41:20)

• Translating between worlds:

  "...when this Western scholar came ... he was extremely Empowering and very, very positive about nuns and their perspectives. And I must say I was rather petrified when I translated for him ..." (Ehm, 44:00)

• On the aims of the book:

  "The main aim of the book was really to give the nun some spotlight and to value their existence and their contribution to a monastic tradition ... I thought it would be nice to offer a perspective that adds to a picture which happily includes also female perspectives and female experiences ..." (Ehm, 61:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Topic / Quote | |:-------------:|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:32–04:51 | Dr. Ehm's entry into monastic life and academic research | | 05:28–06:38 | Setting: The founding, structure, and special role of Khachö Gakyil Ling nunnery | | 07:00–08:45 | The meaning behind "Queens Without a Kingdom," gendered hierarchy | | 11:07–13:40 | Insider/outsider perspective, centering nuns’ voices | | 17:33–19:38 | The founding of the nunnery, recruitment process | | 24:11–27:09 | Demographic and technological change, waning of traditional monastic vocation | | 27:09–30:34 | Daily schedule in the nunnery, immersive ritual life | | 31:03–32:37 | Ritual versus study, nuns’ duties | | 33:15–34:48 | Geshe-ma degree: equal opportunities and deep-rooted inequalities | | 38:28–41:20 | Lobbying for equality, persistent patriarchy | | 44:00–46:15 | Anecdote: contrasting messages to Western scholars and to nuns | | 47:50–51:03 | Post-2008 demographic shifts: younger, non-Tibetan postulants | | 55:34–58:26 | Debates about secular education; male resistance to change | | 59:24–60:26 | Competing models: Spiritual vs. secular raison d’être for nunnery | | 61:18–63:07 | Concluding reflections: aiming for inclusion, multivocal perspectives | | 64:01–64:50 | Next projects: connecting textual study and embodied practice |

Final Reflections

This episode offers sweeping, nuanced insight into the lived experiences, structural constraints, and ongoing transformation of Tibetan Buddhist nunneries in exile. Through vivid ethnography and clear-eyed analysis, Dr. Ehm highlights not only gendered obstacles but also the agency, adaptability, and diverse aspirations of Buddhist nuns. The discussion challenges listeners to question the shape of "progress," the meanings of equality, and the very nature of tradition under conditions of rapid social and technological change.