Sri Lankan Buddhist Nuns in Transition: From Religious Rights to Social Power

Hema Goonatilake

Sri Lankan Buddhist women have been striving for nearly a hundred years to win back their lost legacy of full ordination as bhikkhunis. After a slow but sustained struggle, they regained full ordination in 1998. Since then, although bhikkhuni ordination is yet to be granted official acceptance, the bhikkhunis have been working towards asserting their religious rights and, in most instances, have worked in close collaboration with the monks who are sympathetic to their cause. These bhikkhunis have been successful in achieving most of their religious rights, such as the bi-monthly monastic observance of reciting the Patimokkha rules within a sima malaka (a hall with a demarcated boundary especially constructed for the purpose), partaking of sanghika dana (alms offered to a group of five or more members of the Sangha in order to gain full merit), and officiating at funeral ceremonies. Although the community of bhikkhunis is still relatively small in terms of numbers (approximately 500), their visibility is high and their religious status is being increasingly accepted in the communities where they live.

In the recent years, a number of bhikkhunis have explored the path of Buddhist social action with unprecedented confidence and ease. Teaching and counseling women and children have always been socially sanctioned paths for nuns. What is new is that a few bhikkhunis are venturing into community development activities such as poverty alleviation, environmental programs, and projects to build roads and bridges. In conducting these activities, they participate in a wider social and political arena, especially with local authorities, and consequently gain more social power. So far, they have gained social recognition as advisors and presidents of various community development organizations at the village level. However, effective social action on any scale could potentially involve them in situations of power and conflict. It is yet to be seen how the nuns will face such challenges and make a contribution to the community through compassionate social action without being tainted by power and conflict.  

This paper presents examples of bhikkhunis engaged in a variety of social action programs and examines the extent to which the nuns are able to strike a balance between community development and religious practice.