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 ...

; ), is a novice male monk in a

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 ...

context. A female novice nun is in , and in or . In

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

, a female novice nun is known by the

Tibetan language Tibetan language may refer to: * Lhasa Tibetan or Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect * Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard * Any of the other Tibetic languages See also * Ol ...

term , and a male novice monk is a ."Ordination in the Tibetan Tradition"
''Kopan Monastery''.

Etymology

The is a Pali language diminutive equivalent to the Sanskrit term , which indicates an ascetic practitioner. Therefore, might be said to mean "small or young renunciate (ascetic)". In some South and Southeast Asian Buddhist traditions, the term refers to someone who has taken the initial pravrajya vows but not the upasampada or full ordination. The

pratimokṣa The Pratimokṣa () is a list of rules (contained within the ''vinaya'') governing the behaviour of Buddhist monastics (monks or '' bhikṣus'' and nuns or '' bhikṣuṇīs''). '' Prati'' means "towards" and '' mokṣa'' means "liberation" f ...

rules do not apply to them and they do not take part in the recital of the rules on

uposatha An Uposatha () day is a Buddhism, Buddhist day of observance, in existence since the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind, ...

days. The Sanskrit word is the feminine form of .

History

The account provided in the literature of South Asian Buddhism (and adopted by other Buddhist traditions) is that when

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

's son

Rāhula Rahul (Pāli) or Rāhula (Sanskrit; born ) was the only son of Siddhārtha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha, and his wife, princess Yaśodharā. He is mentioned in numerous Buddhist texts, from the early period onward. Accounts about R ...

was seven years old, he followed the Buddha, saying "Give me my inheritance." The Buddha called Sariputta and asked him to ordain Rāhula, who became the first sāmaṇera.

Overview

In the Vinaya (monastic regulations) used by many South Asian Buddhist sects, a man under the age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikṣu (monk) but can be ordained as a . (and the equivalent term for girls) keep the Ten Precepts as their code of behaviour and devote themselves to the religious life during breaks from secular schooling, or in conjunction with it if devoted to formal ordination. In other cultures and Buddhist traditions (particularly Northeast Asia, and those in the West that derive from these lineages), monks take different sets of vows and follow different customary rules. The Ten Precepts upheld by are: #Refrain from killing or harming living things. #Refrain from stealing. #Refrain from unchastity (sensuality, sexuality, lust). #Refrain from lying. #Refrain from taking intoxicants. #Refrain from taking food at inappropriate times (after noon). #Refrain from singing, dancing, playing music or attending entertainment programs (performances). #Refrain from wearing perfume, cosmetics and

garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times ...

(decorative accessories). #Refrain from sitting on high chairs and sleeping on luxurious, soft beds. #Refrain from accepting money. Ordination differs between and .

Transition to full ordination

After a year or at the age of 20, a will be considered for the upasampada or higher ordination as a bhikṣu. Some monasteries will require people who want to ordain as a monk to be a novice for a set period of time, as a period of preparation and familiarization.

Ordination of women

The novice ordination of women, according to the traditional

vinaya The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...

, is conferred by monks, and by nuns when possible. Novice nuns (, or and ) honor their vows of the Ten Precepts as their code of behaviour. After a year or at the age of 20, a novice nun can be ordained as a full (). The ordination rituals depend on the nun's specific tradition of Buddhism, while the number of their precepts increases substantially.

In Myanmar

In Myanmar (Burma), are known as ''shin thamane'' (ရှင်သာမဏေ) or ''thamane'' (သာမဏေ). In

Burmese culture The culture of Myanmar (Burma) ( ) has been heavily influenced by Buddhism. Owing to its history, Burmese culture has significant influence over neighboring countries such as Laos, Siam, Assam in India, and Xishuangbanna regions in China. It h ...

, young Buddhist boys traditionally ordain as for a period of time, as a

rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisa ...

called

shinbyu Shinbyu (; , also spelt shinpyu) is the Burmese term for a novitiate, novitiation ceremony (pabbajja) in the tradition of Theravada, Theravada Buddhism, referring to the celebrations marking the Śrāmaṇera, sāmaṇera (novitiate) monastic or ...

; this is considered one of the

Twelve Auspicious Rites The Twelve Auspicious Rites (, , and ) are a series of worldly rites of passage recognized in traditional Burmese culture, particularly by the Bamar and Rakhine peoples. These are distinct from the Thirty-eight Buddhist Beatitudes described in t ...

. In 2016, Myanmar had 252,962 .

References

External links

''The Bhikkhunis' Code of Discipline (''Bhikkhunī Pāṭimokkha') Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhuthe website of Bhante Sujato's Writings contains several (ancient and modern) texts on the role and ordination of women in Buddhism.''Bhikkhuni committee of the ASA''
includes a large resource of articles regarding Bhikkhunis

by Dhammacaro (07/23/2005).
"Vinaya Pitaka"
brief description includes "Order of ordination for men and women...." {{Buddhism topics Buddhist titles Beginners and newcomers Buddhist monasticism Women's rights in religious movements Pali words and phrases Buddhism and children