Thai women have not been ordained as monks
for seven centuries – but one woman is trying to revive the tradition. Thai
women were among the first women in Asia granted voting rights, in 1932.
However, when it comes to religion, women in
Thailand continue to struggle for
equality and social acceptance.
Buddhist
bhukkhini (female monk)
Rhythmic chanting fills the air just before
dawn at the Songdhammakalyani Monastery in Nakhon Pathom, a provincial city
located about 56km outside of Bangkok in central Thailand.
New
Samaneris (Buddhist novice nuns) during the Almsround (a food-giving ceremony
that symbolizes humbleness) near Wat Songdhammakalyani, the first temple
gathering fully ordained nuns in Thailand since 1960. People from communities
around the monastery feed the Bhikkhunis (female buddhist monks).
Unlike the 33,903 Buddhist temples that house
an estimated 250,000 monks in Thailand, the Songdhammakalyani Monastery is the
first temple built for women by women. The abbess, Venerable Dhammananda
Bhikkhuni, is the country’s first fully ordained nun or Bhikkhuni in a
Theravada monastic lineage.
The temple’s roots stretch back nearly five
decades when Venerable Dhammananda’s mother, Venerable Voramai or Ta Tao Fa
Tzu, became the first fully ordained Thai woman in the Mahayana lineage in
Taiwan and turned their family home into a monastery.
“When
my mother became interested in Buddhism she realised that in the Buddha’s time
the Buddha gave ordination to women. Why were women never ordained in our
country?” Venerable Dhammananda tells IPS.
“It
was actually the Buddha who gave the ordination to his own stepmother and aunt
and the whole story is in the Dhamma for you to read.”
Women account for an estimated 51 percent of
Thailand’s population of nearly 68 million, according to a 2012 World Bank
report.
Compared to neighbouring countries, women
have made great strides in education and on the socio-economic front. However,
women still earn 74 percent less than their male colleagues and hold a minority
of high-level positions in business and politics. And when it comes to
religion, women remain absent.
“A lot
of the gender inequalities regarding salary and lack of female representation
among the top-ranking members of our parliament are due to deeply ingrained
cultural stereotypes of women,” Yad Prapar, associate professor of economics at
Ramkhamhaeng University, told IPS.
Samaneris,
or novice nuns, during a community work session at Wat Songkdhammakalayani, the
first temple gathering fully ordained nuns in Thailand since 1960. All nuns are
placed at the same level, regardless of their prior education or training.
“In
Thai culture, they view the buffalo as a stupid animal that is hard-working.
And they used to believe that woman was a buffalo while man was human. This is
why women’s status in Thai Buddhism is far inferior to men because they are
considered of less value.”
Under the current Thai constitution the
ordination of women is permitted. But the Thai Sangha Council, a
government-linked religious advisory group, maintains that only men can enter
the monkhood, citing the 1928 Sangha Act that forbids Thai monks from ordaining
women.
Women’s rights activists and religious
scholars argue that legally recognising bhikkhunis (female monks) not only
upholds the ‘Four Pillars of Buddhism’ but also provides a monastic community
where women from all walks of life can practice among women.
“Women
feel safer staying in a temple that is mainly run by women,” says Dr. Sutada
Mekrungruengkul, a lecturer at Nation University. “If I had a daughter I would
feel more comfortable sending her, during the summer months when there’s no school,
to be part of a bhikkhuni sangha where she could be a youth monk for about ten
days or one month without harassment.
“Also,
with bhikkhunis I can discuss issues pertaining to my personal life or the
Dhamma privately. Whereas with a male monk, people could accuse me of having an
interest in him because he’s handsome or claim that I want something more than
guidance. This is how women strengthen Buddhism.”
The Songdhammakalyani Monastery’s regular
12-week Dhamma courses and three-day retreats in Buddhist education fill a
major gap left by male-dominated sangha communities with a curriculum that is
geared towards a feminist approach to interpreting Buddhist texts.
Thai
Sangha, the religious authority in Thailand, does not recognize ordinations of
women.
“Despite
being a Buddhist all my life, I didn’t understand the Dhamma of the Buddha,”
53-year-old Venerable Dhammasiri, who received ordination four years ago in Sri
Lanka, tells IPS. “I didn’t practice from my heart because I was never told the
meaning of the chants, or the reasons we bow or abstain from certain foods. I
was merely a Buddhist by birth certificate.
“In
Thailand, the monks only teach from their point of view. I feel more empowered
after becoming a bhikkhuni because I’ve not only learned self-control but my
eyes have been opened to the historical role women played in Buddhism, like the
thirteen female arahants, the history of the bhikkhuni sangha and the respected
status we held during the Buddha’s time.”
Currently there are over 30 bhikkhunis and an
unknown number of samaneris or female novices living in monasteries throughout
Thailand.
To support the bhikkhunis’ movement of
establishing a thriving and legally recognised female sangha in Thailand, a
coalition of civil society members, scholars and legislators have put forth
several proposals to amend Thai laws. Their hope is that in five to ten years
the government and the religious clergy will restore the rightful heritage
granted to women by the Buddha.
“Women
have always contributed to Buddhism because it is actually women who feed the
monks. Go to any temple in Thailand, and 80 percent of the attendants are
women, so they are actually the foundation to keep Buddhism going in this
country,” adds Dhammananda.
“We
are laying the groundwork for more women to pursue the ordained life, so that
future generations don’t have to fight so hard.”