Nuns are good at sword dancing and practicing qigong to build strength.

(Dan Tri) - More than a dozen nuns performed martial arts moves and swung swords in front of hundreds of tourists and devotees cheering to celebrate the reopening of the Drukpa Amitabha Monastery in Nepal.

In early January, the Drukpa Amitabha Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, marked its reopening after a five-year closure with a martial arts and sword dance performance by more than 10 nuns. In front of hundreds of tourists and devotees, the nuns demonstrated their martial arts skills.

In their performance, the nuns demonstrate qigong movements, sword dances, and footwork. The nuns, aged between 17 and 30, are members of the 1,000-year-old Drukpa lineage.

Nuns practice martial arts to improve their physical fitness (Photo: AFP).

It is known that nuns in Nepal are usually assigned to cleaning and cooking, and do not participate in any form of martial arts. However, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, one of the highest figures in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, decided to improve the mental health and well-being of nuns by training them in martial arts.

He opened the monastery in 2009. It currently has 300 nuns ranging in age from 6 to 54.

"We let the nuns practice kung fu to maintain their health and improve their physical and mental fitness. Our goal is to promote women's empowerment and gender equality," said Jigme Jangchub Chosdon, 23, a nun from Ladakh in India.

Nuns are good at sword dancing and practicing qigong to build strength ( Video source: News).

Accordingly, nuns from Bhutan, India and Nepal are all trained in kung fu, a Chinese martial art for self-defense and strength.

"With the confidence I learned from kung fu, I want to support the community so that young girls can build their own strength," said nun Jigme Yangchen Gamo, 24, from Ramechhap in Nepal.

The monastery currently has more than 300 nuns practicing (Photo: China Daily).

The nun said her goal at the monastery is to achieve enlightenment like Buddha, who founded Buddhism 2,600 years ago.

Amitabha Monastery is located on the top of Druk Amitabha Mountain overlooking the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The monastery has a hall that can accommodate up to 2,000 people, a library, the administrative offices of the Drukpa lineage, as well as accommodation for 300 nuns and a medical clinic.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/nhung-ni-co-gioi-mua-dao-luyen-khi-cong-de-xay-dung-suc-manh-20250107150531734.htm