A dasa sil mata (Sinhala: දස සිල් මාතා ) is an Eight- or Ten Precepts-holding anagārikā (lay renunciant) in

Buddhism in Sri Lanka Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2% of the population as of 2012. Practitioners of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be found amongst the majority Sinhalese population as well as among the minority ...

, where the newly reestablished bhikkhuni (nun's) lineage is not officially recognized yet. The status of dasa sil matas is in between an ordinary upāsikā (laywoman) and a fully ordained bhikkhuni. They are usually expected to work in viharas, essentially as maids to ordained

bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics (" nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

s, rather than receiving training and the opportunity to practice. However, some dasa sil matas have struggled and managed to establish monasteries of their own, where women have the opportunity devote themselves to spiritual training and practice. In

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

, Sri Lanka and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, they have established monasteries for anagārikās. Similar orders exist in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, Cambodia and in Myanmar. In Thailand, where it is illegal for a woman to take a bhikkhuni ordination, they are called

maechi Maechi or Mae chee ( th, แม่ชี; ) are Buddhist laywomen in Thailand who have dedicated their life to religion, vowing celibacy, living an ascetic life and taking the Eight or Ten Precepts (i.e., more than the Five Precepts taken by ...

. In Cambodia, they are called

donchee A donchee (Khmer: ដូនជី) is a pious Eight- or Ten Precepts-holding anagārikā laywoman residing in a pagoda in Buddhism in Cambodia, where bhikkhuni (nun's) lineage is not officially recognized. History A buddhist tradition of fe ...

s. In Burma, an eight precept nun is addressed as

thilashin A ( my, သီလရှင်, ,( mnw, သဳလ, ), "possessor of morality", from Pali '' sīla'') is a female renunciant in Burmese Buddhism; a Burmese Theravada Buddhist nun. They are not fully ordained nuns, as the full ordination is not ...

or sayalay, whereas a fully ordained woman is called a ''rahan-ma'' ("female monk"). Sri Lanka's dasa sil matas are recognized by their shaven heads and yellow robes.

References

Buddhist titles Buddhist religious occupations Buddhist monasticism Buddhism in Sri Lanka Ordination of women in Buddhism {{buddhism-stub

See also

References