Development in religious women's renunciation style and restoration of bhikkhuni sangha : Thailand and Sri Lanka

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This study has examined and compared the movements for restoring bhikkhuni sangha in the two major Theravada Buddhist countries : Thailand and Sri Lanka, both of which did not inherit the successive female orders to the present, but only recently attempted the new launch since the end of the 1990s. In Sri Lanka, many renowned female practitioners have ordained as bhikkhunis, and the bhikkhuni ordination has already become a new norm in the society, whilst in Thailand, there are still only a few dozens of Thai women who have taken the new option for their renounced Buddhist practice. This study has explored the reasons of rapid expansion and limited growth of bhikkhuni ordination in the two countries. As a result, the study has revealed that in Sri Lanka conventional female practitioners were not only considered relatively lower in their religious and social status compared to fully ordained monks called bhikkhus, but they also had a significant gap in financial status and social standi … More ng among themselves. On the one hand, female practitioners of high social standing have had their own nunneries independent from male bhikkhu monasteries, trained their own young female disciples, and performed their religious roles for the neighboring lay Buddhist communities. Their religious activities have been not so much different from those of male bhikkhus. On the other hand, financially deprived female practitioners were forced to live as beggars in the premises of famous large monasteries where many lay Buddhists visited for their alms giving. In the background of rapid expansion of bhikkhuni ordination in Sri Lanka, there was a group of well-established female practitioners who were ready to take the new option for their religious life. Whilst in Thailand, even the most consolidated group of female practitioners are under the strong religious authority of bhikkhu sangha, so most of them have to maintain careful attitudes toward male monks. It is only a limited numbers of highly motivated individual Thai women independent from bhikkhu sangha's authority, who can take the courageous step forward to become ordained as bhikkhunis. Therefore, in Thailand transition to bhikkhuni ordination is not as smooth as in Sri Lanka. Less