Undoing a 90 year ban on female monks

STORY & PHOTOS: Kate Geraghty

Perspective from Sydney Morning Herald writer Kate Geraghty. It’s not only western religions that bar woman from participation in religious teachings.

It’s 4am and the odd rooster is crowing in the cool hours before day breaks and three saffron-robed monks from the all-female Songdhammakalyani Monastery are making their way through the back streets of Nakhon Pathom, 56 kilometres west of Thailandʼs capital Bangkok.

Walking in single file, the oldest goes first. They are doing the rounds of the neighbourhood, receiving alms or food offerings from laypeople – devout residents and local business owners.

Alms are not regarded as charity in Theravada Buddhism, the predominant form of the religion in Thailand, but are seen as a spiritual connection between the monks and the lay community.

This may all seem quite normal for a majority Buddhist country like Thailand. Yet every footstep taken, every chant, prayer or ceremony performed by these female monks, or “bhikkhunis” as they are formally known, is in defiance of a 90 year old ban on women being ordained in Buddhist monastic orders.

In 2014, the Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand, the governing body that oversees approximately 250,000 monk, reiterated the 1928 ban.

Following their direction, Thai authorities have also banned the ordination of women on Thai soil, forcing the women to travel to Sri Lanka and India for ordination.

“Our temple is a unique place for socially engaged Buddhists. We are international and provide access to international women who are interested in practice and offer first-hand monastic experiences.”

Read the rest of this excellent article from Kate HERE.