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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   "Daughters of Wisdom" Struggle: An eye-opening introduction to the world of Buddhist nuns high on a plateau in Tibet. The movie is a look at their spiritual journeys, but also their struggle to fit into a male-dominated tradition of holy people. (In Tibetan, with English subtitles.) Rated: not rated; probably PG for subject matter Now showing: Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St., Seattle; 206-523-3935   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, May 16, 2008 'Daughters of Wisdom': High drama among Buddhist nuns By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic At an altitude of 14,000 feet, the mind probably has to stay focused. Maybe that's why the Buddhist monasteries of Tibet have withstood even the aggression of the Chinese government all these years. The documentary "Daughters of Wisdom" takes a novel approach to exploring this world, by looking not at mystic monks but at the women who take up the practice and become nuns. (Larger political issues are not much engaged.) The monastery of Kala Rongo, in the district of Nangchen, is home to something like 300 nuns. Filmmaker Bari Pearlman gets to know some of these women in the course of the shooting. At 68 minutes, the movie doesn't exhaust its subject (you sort of want a return trip, just to see how the nuns have progressed over the last few years), but it's an eye-opening introduction. The drama of the movie is twofold: The women make their spiritual journeys, of course, but they also live in a system of male-centered tradition. There's nobody here that could be described as an agitator, but clearly the women are ready to take on more authority at Kala Rongo. A visit from a Western-based spiritual leader, Lama Norlha Rinpoche, seems to nudge the process along a bit. He founded the monastery for the women of the area. The film does not try to evoke the Buddhist practice of these nuns, the way "Into Great Silence" attempted to conjure up meditation and solitude. But we hear descriptions from them, including the practice of sitting in a meditation box for hours on end. One nun cheerfully notes that it took about a year to get used to that. Just as interesting are the glimpses of the Tibetan life from which these women came. We visit one family of subsistence farmers whose world revolves around their herd of yaks: They live on the milk and the meat, they use the hides, and they trade their yak goods for flour and rice. (Harvesting yak dung, for its fertilizing qualities, is also shown.) Considering this hard life, the practice of Buddhism must be something of an escape. Although pretty much everything looks hard at this altitude.

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