Davina Delor (born Martine Lahary; 1952) is a French dancer, choreographer, writer, and famous for her popular TV show ''Gym Tonic'' who adopted monkhood as a
Buddhist nun
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gr ...
in 2004 after meeting the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
. After ordination, she changed her name to Gelek Drolkar. She converted her country home at Haims into a Buddhist monastery, and along with three other nuns, teaches
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
to students and lay persons. She has published a number of books on yoga and Buddhism, one of which is titled ''Le bonheur selon Bouddha'' (''The Happiness according to Buddha'') which explains the precepts of Buddhism.
Biography
Davina Delor was born in France in 1952. In her formative years in Haims, a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.department in the
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of western France, under the guidance of her mother, she was provided a Parisian Catholic religious education, and studied yoga and Hindu dance forms from India in addition to classical and contemporary dance. She took up a career of dance, yoga, and creative gymnastics. Together with her friend Veronique de Villele, she presented a popular TV show titled ''Gym Tonic'' from 1981 to 1987, viewed by millions, and the two were known by their first names as ''les filles'' (the girls).
Concurrent with her career, she pursued studies in traditional
Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
under the direction of Dr. Trinh Quan Ngoc and became a certified
acupuncturist
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
at the Asian Acupuncture Centre in Paris. She did research in psychopathology and graduated from the College of Health-Medicine and Human Biology of Paris XIII with a degree in alcoholism and drug addiction.
Delor experienced personal tragedies. At age 17 her father committed suicide and in later years her son, aged 23, died of a ruptured
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ( ...
.
In 2003 Delor's career took a dramatic turn when she met the Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism at
Bercy
Bercy () is a neighbourhood in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, the city's 47th administrative neighbourhood.
History
Some of the oldest vestiges of human occupation in Paris were found on the territory of Bercy, dating from the late Neolithic ...
and was influenced by his teachings. She took her vows of celibacy at the 15th-century Golok Monastery in Tibet and became a nun in 2004 with the ordained name as Gelek Drolkar, in the
Gelug
240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...
order of Tibetan Buddhism.
Following her Buddhist monastic conversion, Davina reformed her 18th-century home in Haims into a monastic centre and called it the Chökor Ling in 2007, with the objective of raising funds for helping poor children of Tibet and Tibetan families residing in India. She started teaching the precepts of Tibetan Buddhism, meditation, and yoga to monks, students, and lay people, holding workshops and seminars. She is supported in this activity by three other nuns. She also built a stupa in the precincts of her estate. During this time, she wrote the book ''Le bonheur selon Bouddha'' (''The Happiness according to Buddha'') on Buddhist teachings.
Publications
Delor has authored several books on
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...
and the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism. Besides her ''Le bonheur selon Bouddha'', published in 2012, in which she says that "to be happy, we must first learn to suffer less" and to "free ourselves of our sorrows by dealing with our failings", her other books are:
*''Vivre Sans Dépendance'' (1999)
*''Qi gong, santé parfaite'' (1993)
*''Madhevi Le Roman Du Corps'' (2002)