The Bon religion is often seen as a part of Tibetan Buddhism but its bond is actually far more complex and has its own origin in the history of Tibet. The role of women worshipping in Bon and in Tibetan Buddhism is quite different. And although there are studies on Buddhist nuns, there is hardly any research available on nuns in the Bon tradition. This pioneering study vividly portrays the nuns of the Redna Menling monastery in Dolanji (India), the headquarters of the Bon religion, in exile. It focuses on the developments of the Bon in exile, the specific context in which Bon nuns live and how the monastic tradition takes shape. It provides interesting insights into the monastic community in exile, the historic context of the Bon religion as well as the personal motives to become a nun.

Joke van de Belt (1961) completed her Master's Degree in Religious Studies at the Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands) in 2008. With her fieldwork among the nuns of the Redna Menling Monastery, she strikes new paths in researching the women of the Bn religion. Van de Belt is now preparing a dissertation on the same subject and is working as a psychotherapist. 125p (Sidestone Press 2010)

Contents: Ani-La: the nuns from Rena Menling by Joke van de Belt
Acknowledgment	7
The use of Tibetan Terminology	8
Summary	9
1 Preamble | the Nuns of Redna Menling	11
1.1 Preamble	11
1.2 Problem Area	12
1.2.1 The Tibetan History of the Bon	12
1.2.2 Bon and Buddhism	13
1.2.3 Scholarly Research into the Bon	15
1.2.4 Scholarly Research into Nuns and Women in the Bon	17
1.3 Objective of Research	19
1.4 Research Questions	20
1.5 Methods and my Role as a Scholarly Researcher	20
2 The Bon | A Community in Exile	23
2.1 Introduction	23
2.2 The Bon Community in Dolanji	23
2.2.1 The Community of Nuns in Dolanji	30
2.3 The Set-up of the Project	32
2.3.1 Observations	33
2.3.2 Interviews with Nuns and with Informants	35
2.4 The Group in Research	36
2.4.1 Composition, BAckgrounds and Daily Life	36
3 Reasons to profess | What makes a young woman become a nun?	43
3.1 Introduction	43
3.2 Personal and Social Background in the Country of Origin	44
3.3 Connections between Biography and Motives to Profess	47
3.3.1 Practical Considerations	48
3.3.2 Inspired by Religion	49
Portrait of Ani Kunsel Wangmo	50
3.3.3 A Choice Forced by Political Reality	51
Portrait of Ani Monlam Sangmo	52
Portrait of Ani Yangzo Dolmo	54
3.4 The Ties between Daily Life and the Expectations of Daily Life and the Expectations of Life as a Nun	55
3.4.1 Theoretical Intermezzo: Communitas	62
4 The Community of nuns | Interaction with its surroundings	65
4.1 Religious Praxis and Integration in Daily Life	65
4.1.1 The Aim of Religious Praxis	65
4.1.2 Gender, the Body and the Religious Praxis	69
4.1.3 Theoretical Intermezzo: Gender and the Physical Body	74
4.1.4 The Impact of the Research	77
5 Conclusion | The Nuns of Redna Menling	79
5.1 Introduction	79
5.2 Macro Level: The Nuns Place inside the Bon	80
5.3 Meso Level: Reasons to Profess and Life in a Monastic Community	81
5.4 Gender, Celibacy and Ritual Praxis	83
5.5 Epilogue	85
Appendix 1: Glossary	87
Appendix 2: Letter	89
Bibliography	91