Rules, Regulations, and Renunciation: Constructing Traditions among Theravada Buddhist Nuns in Sri Lanka

Nirmala S. Salgado

In this paper I explore interpretations of two significant markers of female renunciation in Theravada Buddhism, viz., the ten precepts and the eight chief rules. While these two sets of prescriptions or "regulations" speak to somewhat different contexts (the former being associated with lay as well as monastic renunciation and the latter primarily with fully ordained nuns), they both contribute to the construction of renunciant identities among Buddhist women today. I investigate the meaning of textual interpretations of these regulations as well as their relevance and authority in forging renunciant identities in contemporary practice. I demonstrate that the actualities of female renunciation today challenge the textual presentations of these regulations that serve, albeit quite differently, in contributing to the construction and reconstruction of traditions among Theravada Buddhist women in Sri Lanka.