NUNS

Buddhist nuns, like nuns and monks of other religious orders, renounce sexual activity, marriage, and household life. As renunciants, they voluntarily make a commitment to abide by a given number of precepts, or rules of conduct. To regulate their involvement with the affairs of the world, they agree to accept a subsistence standard of food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. The lay community provides these requisites; in return, the nuns provide teachings, advice, and a model of discipline and contentment.

To leave the household life (pravrajya) and become a member of the Buddhist order (saṄgha), a woman must first obtain the permission of her parents, husband, or guardian. There are four stages in the process of becoming a fully ordained nun (Sanskrit, bhikṣuṇī; Pāli, bhikkhunī). The first three stages of the process are administered by, and at the discretion of, the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha. Candidates first receive the ten precepts of a śrāmaṇerikā (novice), then the precepts of a śikṣamāṇā (probationary nun), and finally the precepts of a bhikṣuṇī (fully ordained nun). The purpose of the two-year probationary period as a śikṣamāṇā, a stage that is not required for monks, is twofold. First, it ensures that candidates for bhikṣuṇī ordination are not pregnant and, second, it allows time to provide the candidates with thorough training. The final stage in the process of becoming a fully ordained nun involves receiving the bhikṣuṇī precepts for a second time from the Bhikṣu Saṅgha. It is unclear whether this second bhikṣuṇī ordination indicates that bhikṣus have the final authority for bhikṣuṇī ordinations or whether they simply confirm the ordination the candidates have already received from the bhikṣuṇīs.

Precepts and practice

Bhikṣuṇīs and those in training abide by the precepts of the Bhikṣuṇīprātimokṣa-sūtra. The first five categories of the precepts are common to both bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs. Arranged according to the seriousness of the transgression, they are: (1) pārājika (defeats that entail expulsion from the saṅgha); (2) saṇghāvaśeṣa (remainders that entail suspension); (3) niḥsargikāpātayantikā (abandoning downfalls that entail forfeiture); (4) pātayantika (propelling downfalls or lapses); and (5) śaikṣā (faults or misdeeds). An additional category, the pratideśanīya (offenses requiring confession), prohibits bhikṣuṇīs from begging for specific foods, unless they are ill. There are also seven adhikaraṇa-śamatha (methods of resolving disputes) for both bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs.

In all schools of vinaya (monastic discipline), there are considerably more precepts for bhikṣuṇīs than for bhikṣus. Because the Bhikṣu Saṅgha was already quite well organized by the time the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha was established some years later, the bhikṣuṇīs were expected to follow most of the bhikṣu precepts. In addition, approximately one hundred precepts were formulated on the basis of wrongdoings that occurred among the nuns. The four pārājikas, which are common to both bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, are to refrain from:(1) sexual intercourse, (2) taking what is not given, (3) taking a human life, and (4) telling lies, especially about one's spiritual attainments. There are four additional pārājikas that bhikṣuṇīs are required to refrain from:(5) bodily contact with a lustful man; (6) arranging to meet a man with amorous intentions; (7) concealing a pārājika of another bhikṣuṇī; and (8) obeying a bhikṣu who has been expelled from the saṅgha. (For a bhikṣu, to touch a woman, sit in a secluded place with a woman, or follow an expelled bhikṣu is an offense in the next suspension category.) In the second category of precepts, saṅghāvaśeṣa, there are seventeen for bhikṣuṇīs in the Dharmaguptaka and TheravĀda schools and twenty in the Mūlasarvāstivāda. The saṅghāvaśeṣas in the Dharmagupta school prohibit bhikṣuṇīs from such actions as matchmaking, baselessly accusing someone of a pārājika, making an accusation against a layperson, knowingly ordaining a thief, absolving a suspended bhikṣuṇī without permission, traveling alone, refusing to accept admonishments, creating a schism in the saṅgha, and so on.

Bhikṣuṇīs, like bhikṣus, are required to hold three primary ritual observances: (1) poṣadha, the bimonthly recitation of the prĀtimokṢa; (2) pravāraṇā, the invitation at the end of the rains-retreat (vārṣa); and (3) kaṭhina, the distribution of robes that concludes the rains-retreat. Traditionally, bhikṣuṇīs primarily devoted themselves to teaching, meditating, and other means of mental cultivation toward the goal of liberation. In modern times, they have also become active in translating, publishing, and a wide variety of other social welfare activities.

The lineage of full ordination for women

According to Buddhist accounts, the order of Buddhist nuns began five or six years after the order of monks when MahĀprajĀpatĪ GautamĪ, Buddha Śākyamuni's maternal aunt and foster mother, requested admission to the saṅgha. After the Buddha refused her request three times, she and a contingent of five hundred noblewomen shaved their heads, donned mendicants' robes, and walked barefooted to Vaiśālī to demonstrate their determination. When the Buddha's attendant Ānanda pressed their case and asked whether women were equally capable of achieving the fruits of the dharma, the Buddha confirmed that they were. He consequently granted Mahāprajāpatī's request to join the order, purportedly on the condition that she agree to accept eight special rules (gurudharma): (1) a bhikṣuṇī ordained even one hundred years must rise and pay respect to a bhikṣu even if he was ordained that very day; (2) bhikṣuṇīs must not hold their rainsretreat in a place where there is no bhikṣu; (3) bhikṣuṇīs must request instruction from the bhikṣus twice each month; (4) at the conclusion of the rains-retreat, bhikṣuṇīs must declare the faults they have seen, heard, and suspected before the order of bhikṣus; (5) suspended bhikṣuṇīs must be reinstated before a quorum of twenty bhikṣus and twenty bhikṣuṇīs; (6) the ordination of bhikṣuṇīs must be conducted by both orders (first by ten bhikṣuṇīs and then by ten bhikṣus); (7) bhikṣuṇīs must not revile bhikṣus; and (8) bhikṣuṇīs must not admonish bhikṣus, although bhikṣus may admonish bhikṣuṇīs. Although it is unlikely that these eight rules were actually imposed by the Buddha, they are cited as the source of the unequal status of nuns and monks in Buddhist societies.

Accounts indicate that, following Mahāprajāpatī's ordination, thousands of women became nuns. Among these early nuns, many were renowned for their extraordinary attainments: Khemā for wisdom, Dhammadinnā for teaching, Paṭācārā for monastic discipline, Kisā Gautamī for asceticism, Nandā for meditation, Bhaddā for past-life recall, and Uppalavaṇṇā for supernormal powers. During the Buddha's time, many nuns were said to have achieved the fruits of practice, including the state of an arhat, or liberation. Examples of their songs of realization are included in the Therīgāthā (Verses of the Bhikṣuṇī Elders).

There is evidence that the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha continued to exist in India until about the tenth century, though in dwindling numbers and with less support than the order of monks. According to the Sinhalese chronicle Dīpavaṃsa, the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha in Sri Lanka was established in the fourth century b.c.e. when Saṅghamittā, daughter of King AŚoka, traveled from India especially to transmit the bhikṣuṇī precepts to Queen Anulā and hundreds of Sinhalese women. Around the eleventh century, the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha died out in Sri Lanka due to droughts and the Chola invasions from India. Before that time, however, in the fifth century c.e., the bhikṣuṇī lineage was transmitted from Sri Lanka to China. Sri Lankan bhikṣuṇīs headed by a bhikṣuṇī named Devasarā traveled in two delegations to Nanjing, where they administered the ordination to Jingjian and several hundred other Chinese nuns. From China, the bhikṣuṇī lineage was gradually

transmitted to Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan, where it still thrives.

Buddhist nuns in contemporary society

In 2003 there were an estimated 125,000 Buddhist nuns, including at least 35,000 bhikṣuṇīs. Nuns in China, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam follow the Dharmagupta lineage school of vinaya, which is the only bhikṣuṇī lineage in existence today. In these traditions, a woman who wishes to become a nun first requests the rite of leaving home (pravrajya), shaves her head, dons the robes, and receives the ten precepts of a śrāmaṇerikā (novice nun). After a period of training, a śrāmaṇerikā who is at least twenty years old may then request bhikṣuṇī ordination. The two-year probationary period as a śikṣamāṇā is currently observed only in stricter monasteries. According to the vinaya, nuns are required to receive their novice ordination and monastic training under the guidance of qualified bhikṣuṇī masters; in Taiwan, however, it is not uncommon for women to receive ordination and train under bhikṣu masters. Ideally, bhikṣuṇī ordination is conducted by a full quorum of ten bhikṣuṇīs and ten bhikṣus, in rites supervised in the morning by the bhikṣuṇīs and in the afternoon of the same day by the bhikṣus. Occasionally, bhikṣuṇī ordinations are conducted by high-ranking bhikṣus without the formal participation of bhikṣuṇī ordination masters and such ordinations are accepted as legitimate, if not technically correct.

As far as is known, the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha was never officially established in Cambodia, Japan, Laos, Mongolia, Thailand, or Tibet. Although there is evidence to document that bhikṣuṇīs existed in earlier times in Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, these orders unfortunately died out long ago. In countries where bhikṣuṇī ordination is not currently available, nuns do not have the same status, nor do they receive the same patronage or access to religious education as monks. In recent years, inspired by an international Buddhist women's movement, conditions for nuns in all countries have begun to improve markedly.

In the Theravāda countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and in Theravāda communities in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, nuns receive eight, nine, or ten precepts. These nuns are celibate, shave their heads, take no solid food after noon, and generally maintain the lifestyle of a bhikṣuṇī, but are not regarded as members of the saṅgha. Nuns in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand wear white robes; in Cambodia they are known as donchee, in Laos as maikao, and in Thailand as maechee. Nuns in Myanmar wear pink robes with an orange underskirt and brown shawl over the left shoulder, and are known as tila shin (possessors of morality). Nuns in Sri Lanka wear orange or brown robes, and are known as dasasīlāmātā (ten-precept mothers). In these traditions, emphasis is placed on monastic discipline, meditation practice, and dissemination of the Buddha's teachings.

Recently, the standards of Buddhist education among Theravāda nuns have improved considerably and the contributions that nuns have made and continue to make to society are being more widely recognized. Interest in achieving equal opportunities for full ordination for women has increased, both among nuns and laypeople. In Sri Lanka, an estimated four hundred nuns have become bhikṣuṇīs since 1988, first by attending ordinations held in Los Angeles, Sārnāth, and Bodh GayĀ, and more recently in ordinations held in Sri Lanka itself. Many nuns in Theravāda countries hesitate to press for bhikṣuṇī ordination for two primary reasons. First, bhikṣuṇīs are prohibited from handling money and are expected to maintain themselves by a daily alms round. Thus, their survival literally depends on receiving sufficient support from the lay community. Judging by the history of nuns in India and Sri Lanka, where the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha may have died out due, in part, to famine, sufficient support for nuns is never certain. Second, according to the stipulations of the eight gurudharmas, bhikṣuṇīs are subordinate to the bhikṣus in a number of ways. Some nuns have very legitimate fears that the independence nuns presently enjoy may be compromised if the bhikṣuṇīs are beholden to, or come under the domination of, the Bhikṣu Saṅgha.

In Japan, nuns receive the bodhisattva precepts of the Fanwang jing (BrahmĀ's Net SŪtra), which are similar to the ten precepts of a śrāmaṇerikā, and they follow a celibate monastic lifestyle. In 590 c.e., three nuns named Zenshin-in, Zenzo-ni, and Kenzen-ni traveled from Japan to the Paekche kingdom of Korea, where they received the śrāmaṇerikā, śikṣamāṇā, and bhikṣuṇī ordinations successively. These nuns returned to Japan, but were unable to conduct a bhikṣuṇī ordination there because they did not constitute the required minimum of five bhikṣuṇī precept masters. When the Tiantai monk Ganjin (Jianzhen) came to Japan in 754 c.e., three bhikṣuṇīs accompanied him, but they were also too few in number to conduct a bhikṣuṇī ordination. Thus, the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha was never established in Japan. Nevertheless, numerous nunneries and several thousand nuns exist throughout Japan today, primarily in the Jōdo, Tendai, Shingon, Nichiren, Sōtō, and Rinzai Zen schools. Together with several million devoted laywomen, they play essential roles in preserving and disseminating Japanese Buddhist culture.

In Tibet and, more recently, in Mongolia, nuns take thirty-six precepts, which are a detailed enumeration of the ten precepts of a śrāmaṇerikā. Although there is mention of bhikṣuṇīs in Tibetan historical records, there is no evidence that a Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha was ever established in Tibet. In the Tibetan tradition, which is followed by nuns throughout the Tibetan cultural region, nuns wear robes identical to those of the monks. These nuns are recognized as members of the saṅgha but, as novices, they do not generally receive the same education, esteem, or material support as do monks. Nuns and devoted laywomen nevertheless receive the bodhisattva precepts, receive teachings on both the sūtras and tantras, and engage in a variety of practices, including prostrations, meditation, maṆḌala offerings, and mantra recitation.

Conditions for study and practice seem to be most conducive for nuns in those traditions that have living bhikṣuṇī lineages. In Korea, the training for a prospective bhikṣuṇī lasts up to six years, and places a high value on sūtra studies, vinaya studies, and meditation. The monastic year is divided into four seasons. Summer and winter are spent in intensive meditation and retreat; spring and autumn are spent cultivating, harvesting, and preparing the food needed during the meditation seasons, as well as performing other tasks required to maintain the monastery. Educational standards among Korean nuns have improved dramatically in recent decades and nuns are increasingly taking leading roles in Buddhist education, youth activities, and other social welfare programs.

Nuns are also prominent in the resurgence of Buddhism that is currently taking place in Taiwan. Full ordination and a wide range of educational opportunities are available to Taiwanese nuns, including Buddhist studies programs in several hundred colleges, institutes, and universities. Nuns in Taiwan are active in social service activities, health care, and the arts. In addition to founding and directing numerous temples and institutions for Buddhist education and training, nuns have founded and maintain libraries, museums, orphanages, medical centers, care homes, and women's shelters. Although nuns substantially outnumber monks in Taiwan, monks generally hold the

leadership positions in Buddhist organizations. Nevertheless, nuns in Taiwan are widely respected for the exemplary work they do to propagate Buddhism and benefit society.

The unequal status of nuns in Buddhism has become a topic of concern in recent years, especially as Buddhist teachings gain popularity in Western countries and encounter modern ideals of gender equality. Although only a few hundred Western women have become Buddhist nuns so far, the subordinate status of women in Buddhist societies has stimulated efforts to improve conditions for women within the various Buddhist traditions by providing more equitable opportunities for religious education, ordination, and meditation training. With improved facilities, nuns will undoubtedly assume more positions of spiritual and institutional leadership in the years to come. As nuns gain greater representation within the various Buddhist traditions, a reevaluation and restructuring of hierarchically ordered institutions is inevitable.

See also:Ascetic Practices; Monasticism; Women

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Karma Lekshe Tsomo