Ayya is a

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

word, translated as "honourable" or "worthy". It is most commonly used as a veneration in addressing or referring to an

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

female

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monk, most often of the Theravādin tradition in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. It is sometimes mistaken as equivalent to Christian use of the word, "sister." Ayya can refer to either a

Bhikkhunī A bhikkhunī (, ) is a fully ordained Buddhist nun. Bhikkhunīs live by the Vinaya, a set of either 311 Theravada, 348 Dharmaguptaka, or 364 Mulasarvastivada school rules. Until recently, the lineages of female monastics only remained in Mahay ...

(fully ordained and usually wearing orange or yellow robes in Southeast Asia), a Samaneri ( shramanerika) ten-precept novice renunciant, or a Sikkhamana (wearing white, brown or sometimes pink), but not to non-ordained precept-holders.

References

{{Reflist Pali words and phrases Thai Buddhist titles Ordination of women in Buddhism Buddhism in Thailand Buddhist titles

See also

References