Thai TV anchor turned monk fights for women's right to be ordained
In Thailand, where women are forbidden from being ordained, a former TV anchor turned 'bhikkhuni' is shaking up the old guard. Carol Isoux reports. Pictures by Dario Pignatelli
"Thank you for giving me life and please forgive my mistakes," says Sunanta, 29, weeping at her mother's feet. She is taking part in a ceremony that would-be clergy must go through as part of their ordination.
Today, 28 women, between the ages of 13 and 69, have come to Songdhammakalyani temple, on the outskirts of Bangkok, to affirm, under a scorching sun, their vows and their desire to become bhikkhunis, the ancient Pali term for the female equivalent of a monk.
After having their heads and eyebrows shaved, and taking on the saffron robe, they gather around Venerable Dhammananda, the female abbot of the temple, a very young looking 71-year-old with a serene, radiant face. Together they recite the sacred precepts of Buddhism: "I shall not kill, I shall not lie, etc …" in Pali and Sanskrit, the ancient Hindu languages reserved for the clergy. They have been studying and training for this day - for up to two years in the case of those attaining the highest degree of ordination.
According to senior monks in Thailand, however, all their efforts have been for nothing; bhikkhunis are "illegitimate".
"It is not a question about fair or unfair," says Phra Tepvisutthikawee, the abbot of the Wat Rajadhives Viharn temple and secretary-general of the Buddhism Protection Centre of Thailand, "it is just not permitted under the dhamma vinaya [rules to be followed by monks and nuns] to ordain women."
samaneris (novices) existed in the time of the Buddha, according to several historical sources. In the scriptures, the Buddha, reluctant at first, finally ordains his foster mother, Queen Mahapajapati, along with 500 other women, among whom is his own wife, Yasodhara.
