Temporary Ordination For Character Transformation

Temporary Ordination for Character Transformation: A Diasporic Practice with

Transnational Connections

D. Mitra Bhikkhu

Abstract

This essay explores an appropriation of the practice of temporary ordination in Toronto. For the last

decade or so, Bangladeshi Buddhists have regularly congregated at a Sri Lankan temple to maintain

their Buddhist identity. Their practice of temporary ordination distinguishes them from Sri Lankan

Buddhists who are amused with the practice, which is not a part of the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition. In

recent times, however, some Sri Lankan monks inspired by diasporic experience in Malaysia, have

introduced temporary ordination to Sri Lanka with a new emphasis: character transformation. This has

challenged, but not disrupted, the long-held Sri Lankan Buddhist discourse of "ordination for life."

Analyzing temporary ordination in Toronto in relation to its counterparts in Sri Lanka and in the Sri

Lankan diaspora in Malaysia, this essay argues that temporary ordination, a ritual traditionally practiced

for the benefit of others, has been appropriated for the benefit of oneself in the diaspora. This

appropriation facilitates the transmission of the Buddhist tradition to the second generation, but it also

redefines what Theravada Buddhism is in the context of the Sri Lankan diaspora as well as in their

country of origin, Sri Lanka.

full text: http://www.globalbuddhism.org/12/mitra11.pdf