The lady and the monk

In their leafy, secluded enclave, away from the wholesale market bustle of Dambulla, they will learn to meditate, to sleep on a straw mat and to control desire, including hunger — except for one cup of tea or coffee and water, the aspiring Bhikunis (monks of the Bhikuni order) are not allowed to eat anything between 12 noon and 7.30 a.m.

After three months of training, the batch of 20 women currently undergoing training will receive "higher ordination" and will become members ofthe country’s influential Buddhist clergy.

That sounds simpler than it actually is. The revival of the Bhikuni order in Sri Lanka, the first time since the 11th century, has not met with the approval of the majority of the country’s clergy and may even lead to further divisions in the high priesthood, which is already split into many streams, not just by theological differences, but also by the country’s politics.

According to Buddhist historians, the order of the Bhikunis was first set up in Sri Lanka about 300 BC by Sanghamitta, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka who was sent to Sri Lanka by her father to spread the teachings of Buddha. But due to numerous social upheavals, the order disappeared completely by the 11th century. Attempts to revive it failed as they came up against the might of the all-male clergy.

Since the latter half of the last century, however, women have been admitted to a spiritual order lower than that of monks, called Silamata. Their numbers estimated at 3,500, the Silamata does notform part of the clergy and has no religious role. When Inamaluwe Sri Sumangala Nayaka, the controversial head priest of an important Buddhist temple in Dambulla, decided to revive the Bikhuni order, he chose his recruits from the ranks of the Silamata. The ordainment of the first 20 women monks had to be done at Bodh Gaya in India.

Rules prescribe that a woman monk must be ordained by 10 women monks and 10 Bhikuni male monks, but Sri Lanka did not have any. To get around this practical problem, Sumangala took his first batch of trainees, 20 in all, to Bodh Gaya.

There, Chinese monks and nuns conducted the "higher ordainment" ceremony this February. The newly ordained women monks returned to Sri Lanka and in turn, presided over the ordainment ceremony of another batch of 22 trainees. Even two weeks after the ordainment, this landmark development in Sri Lankan Buddhism has elicited no reaction from the two all-important priests of Sri Lanka, the mahanayaks of the Kandy-based Malwatte and Asgiriya chaptersof the Siam nikaaya (a sect of Buddhism). The total absence of comment is in itself being seen as significant.

It is learnt, however, that they may break their silence after a meeting next week. However, while most members of the clergy are awaiting the line from Kandy, some have already spoken their minds, giving an indication of the theological battles ahead. Sri Lanka practises Theravada Buddhism, in common with Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. According to Gangodevela Soma of the Maharagama Bikhu training centre, Bhikunis have a place only in Mahayana Buddhism practised in Korea, Japan and other countries of east Asia.

"Those who are encouraging the revival of the Bhikuni order are selling out Theravada Buddhism to the Mahayanists," charged Soma. Acording to him, their main motive in reviving the order was to solicit temple funds from the more affluent Mahayanist practitioners at the cost of diluting Theravadism.

With Dambulla head priest Sumangala maintaining that he has gone strictly by the teachingsof Buddha, the theological hair-splitting has already begun. "Buddha taught that the Bhiku, Bhikuni (male and female monk), Upasaka and Upasika (male and female believer) are the four wheels of Buddhism. So far, it has been a three-wheeler, but we are restoring the fourth," he said.

While the high priests argue over the dhamma, feminists, welcoming the development, said the real challenge that faces the Bhikunis lies in persuading the ordinary Buddhist to accept them as priests. "It is important for these people to invite these nuns for religious services at their homes and recognise them as part of the clergy," said women’s rights activist Sunila Abeysekera.

Describing it as a major victory by women for equal status in the Buddhist hierarchy, she was, however, not optimistic. "I doubt if that will happen," she said.

It seems more likely that the women monks may play a role not unlike that of Roman Catholic nuns, who take the same vows as their male counterparts but do not lead religious services,focussing instead on education and health care. That may not be a bad idea. For ordinary Buddhists, disenchanted by priests driving in Mercedes-Benz cars, social service is a much-neglected aspect of Buddha’s teachings. In fact, it may be the best way to social acceptance.