Female Monks Revive Buddhist Tradition

[sabaijai]

Female Monks Revive Buddhist Tradition After 1,000 Years

Radio Free Asia, March 21, 2006

BANGKOK (Thailand) Women in the Buddhist monastic tradition known as bhikkhuni, or female monks, are gradually reviving the order which has lain dormant for almost a millennium, but their efforts are meeting with scant enthusiasm in Burma, Buddhist practitioners say.

"When I did research on becoming a bhikkhuni, I found indications in all of the research that it was possible to recreate bhikkhunis, and I was greatly pleased," Burmese Bhikkhuni Daw Gunasari said in an interview at a U.N. award ceremony in Bangkok in honor of International Women’s Day.

In December 2004, Burmese authorities detained another Bhikkhuni, Daw Thissawaddy, on her return to the country after she wrote to the top Buddhist authority, the Sangha Nayaka Council, asking for the practice of female monks -- known as bhikkhuni and accepted in Sri Lankan traditions of Theravada Buddhism -- to be reinstated in Burma, citing historical precedent.

Asked about her government's attitude to the order, Daw Gunasari said: "When they said we were destroying the teachings of Buddha, we don't have any intention to cause any disharmony in the monastic community. We just look at the rules of conduct and believe that we are right."

"Actually, all the abbots, if they had really looked, they would see that all other people have become bhikkhuni. Only this country are there no bhikkhuni. Sri Lanka has them now. Thailand is starting now. And so, only Burma will be the only one without them."

"It's really sad if you look at these things. What we are doing now is not to destroy the teachings of Buddha. You can find them if you search history. And so, we don't want to argue much. We don't want to say anything. History will show that we are doing the right thing," she said.

"Bhikkhu" was the name given to followers of the Buddha during his lifetime, without regard to the person's gender.

Later traditions evolved into separate monastic traditions for Buddhist monks and nuns, with nuns generally accorded a lower status and barred from leading others in religious activities.

Daw Thissawaddy, 40, had been studying for a Ph.D in religious philosophy in Sri Lanka and been ordained there as a bhikkhuni, a fellow nun told RFA's Burmese service.

She was detained after returning to the Burmese capital, Rangoon, in December 2004 to attend the World Buddhist Summit, attended by Buddhists from all over the world.

A Burmese abbot living and practicing religion in Thailand said the practice of female ordination as monks shouldn't be allowed.

"It is not due to gender distinction," he said. " It's like this -- for one thing, the order of bhikkhuni disappeared…Their mentor no longer exists."

"It's because the order was destroyed. I'm looking at it according to the rules of conduct. It's not my opinion. It's the Buddha's opinion," the abbot said.

Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, Thailand's only ordained Bhikkhuni, said the lineage was unbroken, however. "A group of bhikkhuni went from Sri Lanka to China and they established another ordination of bhikkhuni," she said. "The lineage is alive."

Daw Gunasari said many in Burma were uninterested in the revival of female monks due to lack of awareness of the issue, rather than informed judgment.

"Since these people do not know any historical evidence, if I talk to them, I need to show them the evidence and tell them about it. If we don't get an opportunity to do so, we can't do anything."

"However, we can only explain to those within our reach from here, from this country, from a Western country, as much as we can. We don't feel anything against them. I just believe that this is happening only because they don't know about this," she said.

[jdinasia]

Thailand has NO ordained female monks in the Thai Sangha

There are some (not equal in status to men) in the Santi-Asoke sect. There are also a few Thai women that are ordained members of the Sri-Lankan Sangha (you can find them in Nakhon Phatom)

[sabaijai]

Thailand has NO ordained female monks in the Thai Sangha

There are some (not equal in status to men) in the Santi-Asoke sect. There are also a few Thai women that are ordained members of the Sri-Lankan Sangha (you can find them in Nakhon Phatom)

Here are some other threads in this forum that address the topic of Thai bhikkhunis. They do exist, having been fully ordained elsewhere. Whether they are recognised in Thailand is another question.

[jdinasia]

uh huh ... like I said ... None in the Thai Sangha ... others exist

[sabaijai]

I see your point, you mean not accepted by the Thai Sangha, or belonging to either the Thammayut or Mahanikai orders. You could argue that the Sri Lankan and Thai sangha are the same, as the Sri Lankan monastic order is called the Siamupalivamsa or Siam-Upali Lineage (Upali Thera was the Thai monk who revived the Theravada ordination tradition in Sri Lanka after it was destroyed by the Chola invasion).

Wat Songdhamma Kalayani near Bangkok currently has four Thai Theravada bhikkhunis, I believe, one of whom was ordained on Thai soil in 2002, Ven. Dhammarakita Samaneri.

Wat Songdhamma Kalayani

Thai Bhikkhunis

[jdinasia]

Since the Thai sangha has a distinct leader seperate from sri lanka .....

Note my mention of Nakhon Pathom in my initial post ... (met the ordained Nun there 2 years ago ... on a long weekend out studying there and at the Thai MaeChi foundation and at Santi Asoke (Pathom Asoke community).

[sabaijai]

Since the Thai sangha has a distinct leader seperate from sri lanka .....

Note my mention of Nakhon Pathom in my initial post ... (met the ordained Nun there 2 years ago ... on a long weekend out studying there and at the Thai MaeChi foundation and at Santi Asoke (Pathom Asoke community).

I missed your reference to Nakhon Pathom, got it now. What was Wat Songdhammakalyani like?

Sri Lanka has two sangharajas and three monastic sects, I believe (don't understand why one sect doesn't have a patriarch)

[jdinasia]

Am not 100% sure it was at that wat I met her (think it was ... but I most remember the Women in Buddhism Foundation sign .... and the Big chinese style Buddha.

[bankei]

The situation in Sri Lanka is interesting. Initially the ordination lineage was reintroduced from Thailand, but the monks restricted the ordination to people of high caste only. People of other castes were not happy with being excluded, and so some went to Burma to seek ordination. The Thai lineage was called Siyam Nikaya, and the other from Burma was called the Amarapura Nikaya - named after the area in Burma in which the ordination came. Later others went to Burma seeking ordination, and a third Nikaya came into existance, called the Rammanya Nikaya.

All of these 3 Nikaya underwent further division. The Siyam split into 2, over a dispute invloving the validity of ordinaiton. These sub nikayas are also called 'nikaya' which makes it confusing, but this is sometimes translated as 'chapter'.

Further splits have occurred, and there are now something like 30+ chapters (nikaya) in existance. I think the Rammanya is the onlly Nikaya without division at the moment, a split occured, but the 2 parties rejoined togther in the 1950s.

The monks of the Siyam Nikaya are more numerous and are considered more lax in their practice. Monks are the other 2 nikaya are less numerous, but more strcit in their practice.

I beleive the chapters have leadership, and then each Nikaya has a overall leader - forget what they are called now. As far as I know, there is no overall leader of the whole Sangha in Sri Lanka comparable to the Sangharaja in Thailand.

For those interested there is a interesting article by Steven Kemper, "Reform and Segmentation in Monastic Fraternities in Low Counry Sri Lanka." Journal of Asian Studies, Vol 51/1, 1980, pp. 27-41.

Bankei

[sabaijai]

The situation in Sri Lanka is interesting. Initially the ordination lineage was reintroduced from Thailand, but the monks restricted the ordination to people of high caste only. People of other castes were not happy with being excluded, and so some went to Burma to seek ordination. The Thai lineage was called Siyam Nikaya, and the other from Burma was called the Amarapura Nikaya - named after the area in Burma in which the ordination came. Later others went to Burma seeking ordination, and a third Nikaya came into existance, called the Rammanya Nikaya.

All of these 3 Nikaya underwent further division. The Siyam split into 2, over a dispute invloving the validity of ordinaiton. These sub nikayas are also called 'nikaya' which makes it confusing, but this is sometimes translated as 'chapter'.

Further splits have occurred, and there are now something like 30+ chapters (nikaya) in existance. I think the Rammanya is the onlly Nikaya without division at the moment, a split occured, but the 2 parties rejoined togther in the 1950s.

The monks of the Siyam Nikaya are more numerous and are considered more lax in their practice. Monks are the other 2 nikaya are less numerous, but more strcit in their practice.

I beleive the chapters have leadership, and then each Nikaya has a overall leader - forget what they are called now. As far as I know, there is no overall leader of the whole Sangha in Sri Lanka comparable to the Sangharaja in Thailand.

For those interested there is a interesting article by Steven Kemper, "Reform and Segmentation in Monastic Fraternities in Low Counry Sri Lanka." Journal of Asian Studies, Vol 51/1, 1980, pp. 27-41.

Bankei

I was in Sri Lanka recently, and in the 'Vatican' of Sri Lankan Buddhism, Kandy, there were two Sangharajas in residence, one for the Siamupalivamsa (Siam Nikaya) and one from the Amarapuravamsa (Amarapura Nikaya). These are the majority sects, from what I could find out, the rest being rather small.

I wonder if the Rammanya nikaya is related in any way to Thailand's Thammayut nikaya, which was also founded on Mon (Rammanya) principles?