This article focuses on Buddhism and resilience in the recovery process following the 2004 Boxing... more This article focuses on Buddhism and resilience in the recovery process following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand. It is based on an anthropological study and deals with how the disaster was handled on a local level and gives examples of Buddhist practices and counselling. The article emphasizes Thai Buddhist monks’ and nuns’ interactions with the survivors and Buddhism’s capacity to strengthen resilience building. It highlights the role of Buddhist temples in providing aid and taking care of survivors in the wake of the disaster, including the indispensable function of Buddhist monks to conduct funerals and other ceremonies, and their vital responsibility for helping the survivors overcome their suffering. The article also shows how the Thai sangha ’s institutional gendered structure negatively affected Thai nuns’ potential to help out after the disaster.
In Thailand gender determines access to Buddhist ordination and women have never been granted mem... more In Thailand gender determines access to Buddhist ordination and women have never been granted membership in the Buddhist congregation, sangha. In spite of the fact that women are excluded from the possibility of being ordained by the Thai sangha women are active in the Buddhist field both as supporters of the sangha and as female Buddhist leaders. The Thai Buddhist nuns, mae chi, have existed in Thailand for centuries but their position is in certain circumstances ambiguous and they have not gained formal religious authority. There are about 20 000 mae chis in Thailand and there are examples of individual mae chis that are venerated for their high level of Buddhist development. During the recent decades, sections of the mae chis, have increased recognition and authority and the mae chis have improved their position through education, strict Buddhist practice and establishment of self-governed nunneries (Falk 2007). Women are not given bhikkhuni ordination (female monks’ ordination) by the Thai sangha and bhikkhunis ordained abroad are not accepted by the sangha in Thailand. Since 2001 Thai women are receiving novice and full ordination as bhikkhuni with assistance from female and male Buddhist monks from abroad. The re-established female ordination lineage and the female Buddhist leadership with bhikkhunis’ in the Thai Buddhist field are creating new female Buddhist authority. This paper addresses the recent decades processes of change in the Thai Buddhist field with focus on female Buddhist authority. The paper is based on anthropological research and gives examples of how Thai Buddhist nuns interpret and deal with authority in their position outside the Thai sangha.
The global socially engaged Buddhist movement emphasis Buddhism’s engagement with society. It is ... more The global socially engaged Buddhist movement emphasis Buddhism’s engagement with society. It is a socially and politically active form of Buddhism that came into being in the twentieth century. Engaged Buddhism is a non-centralized movement that emerged in response to multiple crises in modern Asia. It has been described as a modern form of Buddhism, influenced by; modern, social, economic, psychological, and political forms of analysis of Western origin. Engaged Buddhism is, in a certain sense, a result of the great tension modern Buddhists have felt between theoretical and idealized concepts and the way these concepts have been used. Buddhism has been portrayed as otherworldly and unconcerned with the welfare of the people. That is an one-sided account that does not acknowledge that the Buddhist institutions at all times have been important actors in society. Buddhism has always been engaged and monks and nuns have been involved with the lay people as teachers, doctors, counsellors, advisers etc. However, the monks’ and the nuns’ roles have shifted over the centuries and in different contexts. Governments have taken over many of the social activities that were traditionally the responsibility of temples and monks. These include education, health care, social work, community support and development. (Less)
... to formulate her 98 Page 114. Gender and Religious Legitimacy in Thailand Figure 4.: Dhamman... more ... to formulate her 98 Page 114. Gender and Religious Legitimacy in Thailand Figure 4.: Dhammananada Bhikkhuni, the first Thai Theravada female monk (bhikkhuni). Photograph: Monica Lindberg Falk. mind. On the first full ...
This chapter focuses on girls who study at a Buddhist samnak chii (female Buddhist “temple”) in T... more This chapter focuses on girls who study at a Buddhist samnak chii (female Buddhist “temple”) in Thailand. The Thai education system has recently been reformed and today free basic education with free twelve years of schooling is provided to all Thai boys and girls. The reform has decreased the gender gap in education that previously favored boys’ education over girls’. However, the education reform has made other disparities more visible, such as economic inequality and lack of educational services for the poor. The Dhammajarinee School (Buddhist school for girls) in central Thailand has brought services to poor communities, and to girls in those communities in particular. This chapter investigates the makeup of the student bodies at these schools, why the children have chosen to study there, and how teaching, living, and learning at the Buddhist school are experienced by the schoolgirls and their teachers.
This article focuses on Buddhism and resilience in the recovery process following the 2004 Boxing... more This article focuses on Buddhism and resilience in the recovery process following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand. It is based on an anthropological study and deals with how the disaster was handled on a local level and gives examples of Buddhist practices and counselling. The article emphasizes Thai Buddhist monks’ and nuns’ interactions with the survivors and Buddhism’s capacity to strengthen resilience building. It highlights the role of Buddhist temples in providing aid and taking care of survivors in the wake of the disaster, including the indispensable function of Buddhist monks to conduct funerals and other ceremonies, and their vital responsibility for helping the survivors overcome their suffering. The article also shows how the Thai sangha ’s institutional gendered structure negatively affected Thai nuns’ potential to help out after the disaster.
In Thailand gender determines access to Buddhist ordination and women have never been granted mem... more In Thailand gender determines access to Buddhist ordination and women have never been granted membership in the Buddhist congregation, sangha. In spite of the fact that women are excluded from the possibility of being ordained by the Thai sangha women are active in the Buddhist field both as supporters of the sangha and as female Buddhist leaders. The Thai Buddhist nuns, mae chi, have existed in Thailand for centuries but their position is in certain circumstances ambiguous and they have not gained formal religious authority. There are about 20 000 mae chis in Thailand and there are examples of individual mae chis that are venerated for their high level of Buddhist development. During the recent decades, sections of the mae chis, have increased recognition and authority and the mae chis have improved their position through education, strict Buddhist practice and establishment of self-governed nunneries (Falk 2007). Women are not given bhikkhuni ordination (female monks’ ordination) by the Thai sangha and bhikkhunis ordained abroad are not accepted by the sangha in Thailand. Since 2001 Thai women are receiving novice and full ordination as bhikkhuni with assistance from female and male Buddhist monks from abroad. The re-established female ordination lineage and the female Buddhist leadership with bhikkhunis’ in the Thai Buddhist field are creating new female Buddhist authority. This paper addresses the recent decades processes of change in the Thai Buddhist field with focus on female Buddhist authority. The paper is based on anthropological research and gives examples of how Thai Buddhist nuns interpret and deal with authority in their position outside the Thai sangha.
The global socially engaged Buddhist movement emphasis Buddhism’s engagement with society. It is ... more The global socially engaged Buddhist movement emphasis Buddhism’s engagement with society. It is a socially and politically active form of Buddhism that came into being in the twentieth century. Engaged Buddhism is a non-centralized movement that emerged in response to multiple crises in modern Asia. It has been described as a modern form of Buddhism, influenced by; modern, social, economic, psychological, and political forms of analysis of Western origin. Engaged Buddhism is, in a certain sense, a result of the great tension modern Buddhists have felt between theoretical and idealized concepts and the way these concepts have been used. Buddhism has been portrayed as otherworldly and unconcerned with the welfare of the people. That is an one-sided account that does not acknowledge that the Buddhist institutions at all times have been important actors in society. Buddhism has always been engaged and monks and nuns have been involved with the lay people as teachers, doctors, counsellors, advisers etc. However, the monks’ and the nuns’ roles have shifted over the centuries and in different contexts. Governments have taken over many of the social activities that were traditionally the responsibility of temples and monks. These include education, health care, social work, community support and development. (Less)
... to formulate her 98 Page 114. Gender and Religious Legitimacy in Thailand Figure 4.: Dhamman... more ... to formulate her 98 Page 114. Gender and Religious Legitimacy in Thailand Figure 4.: Dhammananada Bhikkhuni, the first Thai Theravada female monk (bhikkhuni). Photograph: Monica Lindberg Falk. mind. On the first full ...
This chapter focuses on girls who study at a Buddhist samnak chii (female Buddhist “temple”) in T... more This chapter focuses on girls who study at a Buddhist samnak chii (female Buddhist “temple”) in Thailand. The Thai education system has recently been reformed and today free basic education with free twelve years of schooling is provided to all Thai boys and girls. The reform has decreased the gender gap in education that previously favored boys’ education over girls’. However, the education reform has made other disparities more visible, such as economic inequality and lack of educational services for the poor. The Dhammajarinee School (Buddhist school for girls) in central Thailand has brought services to poor communities, and to girls in those communities in particular. This chapter investigates the makeup of the student bodies at these schools, why the children have chosen to study there, and how teaching, living, and learning at the Buddhist school are experienced by the schoolgirls and their teachers.
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