A ( my, သီလရှင်, ,( mnw, သဳလ, ), "possessor of morality", from

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

sīla Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...

'') is a female renunciant in

Burmese Buddhism Buddhism ( my, ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ), specifically Theravāda Buddhism ( my, ထေရဝါဒဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ), is the State religion of Myanmar since 1961, and practiced by nearly 90% of the population. It is the most re ...

; a Burmese Theravada Buddhist nun. They are not fully ordained nuns, as the full ordination is not legal for women in Burma ('' bhikkhuni''), but are closer to ''sāmaṇerīs'', 'novice nuns'. According to 2016 statistics published by the

State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee The State Saṅgha Mahā Nāyaka Committee ( my, နိုင်ငံတော် သံဃာ့မဟာနာယကအဖွဲ့, abbreviated Mahana or in Burmese, SSMNC in English) is a government-appointed body of high-ranking Buddhis ...

, there were 60,390 in Myanmar (Burma). Like the ''

maechi Maechi or Mae chee ( th, แม่ชี; ) are Buddhist laywomen in Thailand who have dedicated their life to religion, vowing celibacy, living an ascetic life and taking the Eight or Ten Precepts (i.e., more than the Five Precepts taken by ...

'' of neighbouring

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and the ''

dasa sil mata A dasa sil mata (Sinhala: දස සිල් මාතා ) is an Eight- or Ten Precepts-holding anagārikā (lay renunciant) in Buddhism in Sri Lanka, where the newly reestablished bhikkhuni (nun's) lineage is not officially recognized yet. ...

'' of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, occupy a position somewhere between that of an eight-precept lay follower and a fully ordained monastic. However, they are treated more favourably than , being able to receive training, practice meditation and sit for the same qualification examinations as the monks. observe the ten precepts and can be recognized by their pink robes, shaven head, orange or brown shawl and metal alms bowl. would also go out on alms round on ''

uposatha The Uposatha ( sa, Upavasatha) is a Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind ...

'' days and receive uncooked rice or money. are addressed with the

honorifics An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), ho ...

(, , 'little teacher') and (, ). These are attached to the

Buddhist name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

given. often reside in either separate quarters or in segregated ''

kyaung A ''kyaung'' (, ) is a monastery ( vihara), comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Buddhist monks. Burmese ''kyaungs'' are sometimes also occupied by novice monks (samanera), lay attendants (''kappiya''), nuns (''thilashin''), and you ...

'' (temple-monasteries). They do not have to look after the monks, but may help cook if required. Although ranked lower than the monks, they are not subservient to them, but form their own communities.

Ordination

are not fully ordained members of the

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

. The full lineage of

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

died out, being preserved only in the Mahayana tradition, and for various technical and social reasons was therefore absent, leaving the lay practice of living as a the only option for women who wish to renounce in Burma. As a result, in many respects the lifestyle of resembles that of an ordained , even to the extent of making a daily alms-round. There have been efforts by some to reinstate the lineage, although there are serious reservations and legal obstacles from the government, monks and general populace. A new Theravada sangha was first convened in 1996, and since then many more have taken the full vows. However, in Myanmar, remain the only monastic option for women at this time and ordaining as a is an offence punishable by imprisonment.

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External links

Burmese Buddhist titles Ordination of women in Buddhism Buddhist religious occupations Buddhist monasticism {{Buddhism-stub

Ordination

See also

References

External links