In other Tibetan Buddhist regions, a lama may not marry. But at Lugu Lake, a Mosuo (摩梭) lama chants by day and, by night, still goes on Walking Marriage visits.
This is not a plot from a novel; it is a tradition that has truly existed for centuries. Why did it come about?
What Mosuo Lamas Are Like
Mosuo lamas are not like lamas in other Tibetan Buddhist regions.
They do not abstain from alcohol or meat. Mosuo lamas may drink and may eat meat. This is utterly unlike the monastic rules of Tibetan regions.
They may leave the monastery. Being a lama is not a lifelong commitment. After a few years as a lama, if you no longer wish to be one, you may go home, marry, and walk — no one stops you.
They are educated. In the past, Mosuo people had almost no chance to go to school, and the lamas were the only literate people in the village. They could chant, keep accounts and treat illness; they were the most learned people in the village.
Precisely because they were educated, respected and had money, Mosuo lamas were especially sought after in the Walking Marriage "market." Young Mosuo women were happy to take a lama as an axia (阿注).
Why Lamas May Walk
The answer is simple: if lamas could not marry, no one would want to be a lama.
Mosuo society needs lamas — every village needs someone to chant, perform rites and save the dead. If, strictly by Tibetan Buddhist rules, a lama must remain single and celibate, who would want to take vows?
Lugu Lake is too remote, the life too hard. Young people all want a normal life, want an axia, want children. If being a lama means you cannot marry, they would rather skip the scriptures and go home to farm.
So the Mosuo reached a compromise: a lama may marry, may walk, as long as he does the temple's work properly by day.
This compromise is unthinkable in other Tibetan Buddhist regions. But at Lugu Lake, it is the reality.
How a Lama's Walking Marriage Differs from an Ordinary One
In truth, it does not differ at all.
The lama chants and does his duties in the temple by day; in the evening he tidies himself up and goes to visit his female axia, returning to the temple the next morning.
Whatever an ordinary man on a Walking Marriage visit does, the lama does. The only difference is that the lama wears monastic robes while the ordinary man wears civilian clothes.
The Consequences of Lamas Walking
Not everyone accepts lamas walking.
Lamas from elsewhere — from Tibet or Qinghai — are astonished to see Mosuo lamas heading out on Walking Marriage visits at night. To them this plainly violates the monastic rules.
But the Mosuo do not care. They feel that Tibetan Buddhism came from outside, and the Mosuo must practise it in their own way. Your Tibetan lamas have your rules; our Mosuo lamas have ours.
This attitude is, in fact, the very core of Mosuo culture: do not follow blindly, do not copy wholesale; foreign things must be localised.
Do Mosuo Lamas Still Walk Today?
Less and less.
On one hand, today's young lamas, influenced by formal Buddhist education, follow the rules more strictly than the older generation. On the other hand, since tourism development, the Mosuo way of life has changed, and Walking Marriage itself is in decline.
But many of the older lamas still keep the Walking Marriage habit. If you ask local elders at Lugu Lake, they will tell you which lama had how many axia — an open secret in the past.
How to Think About Mosuo Lamas Walking
Do not look at this through the lens of moral judgement.
For a Mosuo lama to walk is neither "breaking the rules" nor "religious corruption." It is the Mosuo people's localised adaptation of religion, in a particular geographical setting and social structure.
The Mosuo needed lamas, but did not want lamas to give up a normal family life. They found a middle way: let a lama be both a religious person and a person living a normal life.
It is not a perfect system, but in the special environment of Lugu Lake it has run for centuries.
When you travel to Lugu Lake and see a lama in monastic robes, do not assume he is simply a "man of the cloister." Among the Mosuo, he may at the same time be a husband, a father, and an uncle.