''Thero'' (commonly appearing in the masculine and feminine forms ''thera'' and ''therī'' respectively) is an

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

term in

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 ...

for senior

bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok� ...

s and bhikkhunis (Buddhist monks and nuns) in the Buddhist monastic order. The word literally means "elder". These terms, appearing at the end of a monastic's

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

, are used to distinguish those who have at least 10 years since their '' upasampada'' (higher ordination). The name of an important collection of very early Buddhist poetry is called the '' Therigatha'', "verses of the ''therīs''". The terms ''mahāthera'' and ''mahātherī'' (the prefix ''mahā'' meaning 'great' in both Sanskrit and Pali) are used to refer to very distinguished elderly and venerable monks and nuns considered to have reached a higher level of spiritual development. Usage of these terms varies according to the Buddhist tradition and culture. In

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, these terms are widely used. Some prominent theras and therīs: * Ananda Thera * Rerukane Chandawimala Maha Thera *

Katukurunde Nyanananda Thera Ven. Kaṭukurunde Ñāṇananda Mahāthera (10 July 1940 – 22 February 2018) (sometimes spelled Nyanananda or Nanananda in English, sometimes called Gnanananda in Sinhala: පූජ්‍ය කටුකුරුන්දේ ඤාණ� ...

* Narada Mahathera * Nyanatiloka Mahathera * Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero * Mahapajapati Gotami therī * Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero * Ayya Tathaaloka Mahātherī * Gangodawila Soma Thero * Nyanaponika Thera * Nanavira Thera

References

See also