FROM LAṄKĀ TO LĀN NĀ:

REGIONAL BHIKKHUNĪ IDENTITY AND TRANSNATIONAL BUDDHIST NETWORKS

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Asian Studies

by Claire Poggi Elliot

August 2020 © 2020 Claire Poggi Elliot ABSTRACT

In 1996 the first public ordination of Theravāda bhikkhunī took place in India, spurring the creation of the first new lineage of female Theravāda monastics in a millennium. Despite debates about their legitimacy, this new lineage spread quickly within Sri Lanka, and then to Thailand in 2001. Because ordaining women remains illegal in Thailand, new bhikkhunī fly to Sri Lanka for their upasampadā ritual, resulting in a strong and continuing international network. This does not mean, however, that the bhikkhunī movement is a homogeneous or entirely harmonious one. Using data gathered from ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and publications by bhikkhunī in Sri Lanka and Thailand, I look specifically at how one of the largest Thai bhikkhunī communities, Nirotharam, centered in Chiang Mai, navigates their local and trans-local contexts. These bhikkhunī localize their practice in northern-Thai forms of Buddhist monasticism. This gains Nirotharam support from local northern monks, who use their patronage of the bhikkhunī as a form of criticism against the central Thai Sangha, though the women themselves vocally support the central Thai Sangha. This careful mediation between local and national support is further complicated by the Thai bhikkhunī's dependence on Sri Lankan monastics for ordinations. Nirotharam bhikkhunī are in constant communication with, and under surveillance by, Sri Lankan monastics thanks to modern technological developments. This novel extended relationship between a fraternity and its ordination source has altered both the Thai bhikkhunī’s and the Sri Lankan Monastics practices, beliefs, and narratives. This thesis argues that the Nirotharam fraternity identity is produced through that process of constant negotiation with their local, national, and transnational contexts. Furthermore, on a local, national, and trans-local level, Nirotharam has substantially altered their network in turn. This work explores what it means to be a monastic, the role of lineage, the self-conscious struggle to define the term “Theravāda,” and how regional Buddhist projects may develop differently as a result of local specificities.

i BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Claire Elliot was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She first became interested in Thailand and Thai Buddhism when she lived in Bangkok for a year as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student. Claire graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017, majoring in Religious Studies, and minoring in Architectural History. She then spent another year living in Southeast Asia, teaching English in a small elementary school in Na Hua Bo, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand, until she began working as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Pekan, Pehang, Malaysia. Claire will graduate from Cornell in 2020, with an MA in Asian Studies, focusing on South and Southeast Asia.

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As with all such works, this thesis was only possible thanks to abundant support from my advisors, friends, family and university. The list of people I will thank here is long, and still too short, as I have benefited from many kind words and favors. I would like to thank my advisor, the incomparable Anne Blackburn, who introduced me to Sri Lankan studies, and who inspires me with her precise and subtle thinking. I would also like to thank my other committee member,

Tamara Loos, who always made time for me, and who asked questions which cut to the core of the project. I am grateful to Justin McDaniel, who read proposals and drafts of this thesis, and who has always supported me on my academic journey, pushing me to think bigger.

I would like to thank the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and Cornell’s

Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) for the travel funds to complete my fieldwork. My language teachers, Bandara Herath and Ngampit Jagacinski taught me the language skills necessary to complete my interviews, and helped me to conceptualize my project from a more Lankan or Thai perspective. I am grateful to Catherine Appert, who advised me on multi-sited ethnographic theories and helped me prepare for field work, and to Julia Cassaniti, who advised me on how to approach my interviews, and shared with me some notes on Wat Tham Thong.

I would like to thank Martin Seeger, who Skyped with me to discuss obscure bhikkhunī rituals, Louis Gabaude, who helped clarify some points regarding “ordination” and translations, and Daniel Boucher, who frequently made himself available to discuss specific forest monastic practices. Orn, Kittipong, Bruno, and Anna all supported me emotionally, and gave me key advice on the practical aspects of completing this thesis. I am grateful to Cornell’s SEAP, SAP, and the nascent Buddhist Studies group for making Cornell such an intellectually productive

iii space to learn and talk about Buddhism, and South and Southeast Asia. Ayako Itoh, Nicola Delia,

Olivier de Bernon, and Todd Perreira all took the time to help me find documents which were important to my research, and which I could not find in the usual manner. Cornell’s matchless

Gregory Green helped me find many English and Thai-language documents, books, and articles, becoming even more vital to my research as COVID-19 restricted normal library access.

Daphne Weber and Tyler Lehrer, who have both completed MA theses focused on some of the same bhikkhunī communities, helped me organize my thoughts and ideas every step of the way. They, along with Susanne Mrozik introduced me to members of various bhikkhunī communities, helping me make the most of my short time in the field.

I would like to thank all the bhikkhunī and bhikkhu who opened their monasteries to me and took time out of their busy days to speak with me. Bhikkhunī Dhammananda and

Wimalajothi Thero both advised my generously, and gave me books to help in my research.

Bikkhunī Nanthayani, Bhikkhunī Vijithananda, and Bhikkhunī Dhammananda also fed me, offered to host me overnight, and made themselves available to me over the phone and over

Skype, even after I had returned to the US. They, along with Bhikkhunī Dhammacari and many other here un-named bhikkhunī are the backbone of this project. They inspire me with their friendship, kindness, and commitment to their ascetic practice.

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract i Biographical Sketch ii Acknowledgments iii Table of Contents v Style Notes vi Introduction 1 Terms of Interest 16 “Ordination” 16 Bhikkhunī versus “Nun” 18 Theravāda versus Mahāyāna 20 Thammayut versus Mahanikai 21 Nikāya versus Fraternity 22 Sorority versus Fraternity 23 Sangha 24 Lineage 24 Thai Bhikkhu versus Thai Bhikkhunī 25 Chapter One: The Local Context 27 Biography of Nanthayani 30 Reform and Critique 52 Nirotharam’s Active Role 63 Chapter Two: Training and Networks 71 2008 Bhikkhuni Ordination 74 Sāmaṇerī and Sikkhamānā 75 Training 77 Education and Examinations 78 Vuṭṭhāna Sammuti 84 Exams in Sri Lanka 91 Co-operatives and Contracts 98 Conclusion 106 Thai Language Bibliography 117 English Language Bibliography 117 Appendix 126 Appendix 1: Relocalization Oppositional Fields 126 Appendix 2: Table of Tamnan Bhikkhunī 127 Appendix 3: The ‘ordination hall’ at the Sakyadhita Training and Meditation Center 128 Appendix 4: An Email from Dhammacari to Nanthayani 129 Appendix 5: Cooperative Agreement 130

v STYLE NOTES

In this thesis, I discuss many Thai and Sri Lankan monastics who move between their native languages, English, and Pāli. My northern Thai Bhikkhunī informants, who are the primary focus of this thesis, rely heavily on Pāli and following their lead, I also employ the Pāli terms instead of the Thai ones, writing Theravāda, and bhikkhunī, rather than therawat (เถรวาท) and phiksuni (ภกษณ). Occasionally, when words are most commonly used in Thai, I will prefer the Thai transliteration, such as Thammayut (ธรรมยต) and Mahanikai (มหานกาย) rather than the Pāli Dhammayuttika Nikāya and Mahā Nikāya.

I write Pāli terms with diacritics for clarity and romanize Thai terms using the Royal Thai

General Style, except when some other spelling is common. I make an effort to include the Thai spelling of Thai words next to their first use, to reduce any further confusion. My use of Sinhala is limited to names, all of which already have standard transliterations.

Foreign language words are italicized and defined at their first use and then italicized on their first use in each subsequent sub-chapter, or for added emphasis.

vi INTRODUCTION

Since 1996, the Theravāda Buddhist world has been swept up with the newly revived bhikkhunī (fully ordained Buddhist nun) community. The new ordination lineage spread from Sri

Lanka to Thailand, Taiwan, India, and over ten other countries, with bhikkhunī growing rapidly in number, and becoming the subject of interest and debate at the highest levels of government and monastic orders.1 The validity of the ordinations has become a hotly contested topic. Many argue that it is impossible to revive the Theravāda bhikkhunī lineage, maintaining that without a full quorum of ordained Theravāda bhikkhunī and a pavattini (a senior bhikkhunī who has been ordained for at least 12 years and acts as preceptor to grant the ordination), all new ordinations are invalid. Within the community of people who accept the bhikkhunī ordinations as legitimate, however, the debate has shifted from “Can they be ordained?” to “Who can be ordained?” Since the first wave of ordinations in Thailand, spanning from about 2001 to 2008, a new series of rituals and bureaucratic steps of increasing formality has emerged as monastics negotiate who is an appropriate candidate for full ordination. In this thesis, I will examine the ways bhikkhunī in northern Thailand navigate local interests, national pressures, and foreign sanghas,2 while developing and stabilizing their unique independent fraternity3 identity. Building on Anne

1 There are an estimated 4000 bhikkhunī in Sri Lanka today, and about 270 in Thailand. Saroj Pathirana, “Sri Lanka's Bhikkuni Nuns and Their Fight for Identity Papers” BBC News. BBC, December 22, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49979978; Kakanang Yavaprabhas, “New Temporary Buddhist Ordination for Women and Social Change in Thai Society”, Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, July 1, 2018, https://kyotoreview.org/yav/thai-buddhist-ordination-women/#note-12558-4.

2 Sangha broadly means monastic community. I gloss the ways I use the term sangha in the next section.

3 Fraternity is used here in a gender neutral way. I gloss my use of the term fraternity in the next section.

1 Blackburn’s model for localizing lineages,4 and Michael Burawoy’s nodes-networks theory,5 I propose to understand the identity of Thai bhikkhunī as produced through the constant negotiation of their local, national and trans-local network. Though only a comparatively small number of women currently live as bhikkhunī, they are implicated in, and influence, national and trans-national religious beliefs and politics. The true scope of the new bhikkhunī phenomenon’s importance can only be understood when taking this broader view of their context.

It is outside the purview of this thesis to recount a full history of the modern bhikkhunī phenomenon. However, a brief outline is necessary as many of those key actors and events remain integral to the current moment.6 In 1996, Bhikkhunī Kusuma and nine other women became the first largely accepted Theravāda bhikkhunī since the lineage disappeared in the 11th century.7 Male and female Korean Dharmaguptaka monastics and ten Theravāda monks conducted this ordination in Sarnath, India. The bhikkhunī were ordained in Korean-style robes

4 Anne Blackburn, “Localizing Lineage: Importing Higher Ordination in Theravadin South and Southeast Asia,” in Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia (New York City, NY: State University of New York Press, 2003), 131–49.

5 Michael Burawoy, “Manufacturing the Global,” Ethnography 2, no. 2 (2001): 147–59. 6 For more on pre-modern bhikkhunī, see Peter Skilling, “Nuns, Laywomen, Donors, Goddesses: Female Roles in Early Buddhism,” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 24, no, 2 (2001); R. Gunawardhane, “Subtile Silk of Ferreous Firmness: Buddhist Nuns in Ancient and Early Medieval Sri Lanka and their Role in the Propagation of Buddhism,” Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities 14, no. 1– 2 (1990), pp. 1–59 ; Nancy J Barnes, “The Nuns at the Stupa: Inscriptional Evidence for the Lives and Activities of Early Buddhist Nuns in India,” Women's Buddhism, Buddhism's Women: Tradition, Revision, Renewal, ed. Ellison Banks Findly (Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2000).

7 This is the first “largely accepted lineage” as other recorded ordination attempts resulted in the women disrobing, or did not result in continuing communities or lineages. There may be other unrecorded attempts which were more successful, but the unpublicized nature of such ordinations would take them outside the scope of being “largely accepted.” This 1996 ordination is frequently pointed to by both scholars and monastics as the beginning of the new Theravāda bhikkhunī phenomenon. For more on this 1996 ordination see: Ronjani De Silva, “Reclaiming the Robe: Reviving the Bhikkhuni Order in Sri Lanka,” Buddhist Women and Social Justice: Ideas, Challenges, and Acheivments, ed. Karma Tsomo, (Albany, NY: Suny Press, 2004). For a thorough modern history of bhikkhunī, see Nirmala S. Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice: In Search of the Female Renunciant (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).

2 and took a bodhisattva vow, which is not a feature of ordinary Theravāda ordinations. Another ordination followed in 1998, in Bodhgaya, India, by male and female Taiwanese Dharmaguptaka monastics, in which the Sri Lankan women were permitted to wear the orange robes of their own tradition.8 The 1998 ordination was immediately reconfirmed in Sarnath by a second ordination in the presence of Sri Lankan Theravāda bhikkhu (fully ordained monks). This allowed proponents of the 1998 ordination to claim these bhikkhunī have a unique Theravāda identity, and to disparage the 1996 ordination and that ordination lineage as Mahāyāna.9 Further ordinations followed in Sri Lanka, founding a bhikkhunī lineage that is still growing today.

Newly ordained bhikkhunī must navigate accusations of impurity and unorthodoxy, consciously defining what it means to be Theravāda (vs. Mahāyāna), and defending the necessity of establishing a bhikkhunī sangha as an alternative to the existing (non-monastic) female ascetic paths of dasa sil mata and mae chi.10

8 Wei‐Yi Cheng, Buddhist Nuns in Taiwan and Sri Lanka: a Critique of the Feminist Perspective (London: Routledge, 2010).

9 Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice, 161-181.

10 Dasa sil mata in Sri Lanka (දස මාතා; ten-precept mother) and mae chi in Thailand (แมช; mother chi- the etymology of chi is unclear, but may come from the Khmer word ji, which is used as an honorific) exist somewhere between the roles the Buddha put forth for his four pillared community of upasaka and upasika (lay people) and bhikkhu and bhikkhunī (ordained people). Their “liminality” makes them difficult to define, as they follow no specific set of rules or traditions. Mae chi usually wear white robes and dasa sil mata usually wear orange robes, though they may wear brown or pink. They may be young or old. They usually shave their heads and follow eight or ten precepts. They may live at home, in temples with monks or in small communities with other women. They spend their time studying the Dharma, meditating, cleaning and caring for temples, or following a range of ‘worldly’ pursuits- such as teaching, nursing, or working as activists. This variety in behavior earns varying degrees of respect from their fellow countrymen. For works on mae chi see: Monica Lindberg Falk, Making Fields of Merit: Buddhist Female Ascetics and Gendered Orders in Thailand (Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2008); Lisa J. Battaglia, “Becoming Bhikkhuni? Mae Chi and the Global Women’s Ordination Movement,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 22 (2015); and Steven Collins and Justin McDaniel, “Buddhist 'Nuns' (Mae Chi) and the Teaching of Pali in Contemporary Thailand,” Modern Asian Studies 44, no. 6 (Nov. 2010). For works on dasa sil mata see: Vanessa R Sasson, “Politics of Higher Ordination for Women in Sri Lanka: Discussions with Silmatas,” Journal for the Study of Religion 20, no. 1 (2007); and Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice.

3 Despite debates about their legitimacy, the new Theravāda bhikkhunī lineage spread quickly. In 2003, Chatsumarn Kabilsingh became the first bhikkhunī of Thai nationality with her full ordination in Sri Lanka, taking the name Bhikkhunī Dhammananda. The political situation for bhikkhunī in Thailand creates a dependence on foreign bhikkhu (monks) for ordinations. In

1928, the Thai government issued a decree against bhikkhunī ordination after a Thai monk ordained several young women as sāmaṇerī (female monastic novices).11 Notably, this decree prohibits Thai bhikkhu from performing ordinations, citing the Vinaya’s (the canonical text with monastic laws and regulations) requirement that a bhikkhunī of at least 12 vassas (rainy seasons, here meaning years ordained) act as pavattini (preceptor). Without an appropriate preceptor, this proclamation stated that bhikkhu performing ordinations are acting against the Buddha’s teachings.12

This stance has prevented monks belonging to the Thai Sangha, who wish to remain so, from ordaining bhikkhunī. In 2009, London-born Ajan Brahm, a member of the Thai Forest tradition and student of Ajan Cha Suphattho (ชา สุภัทโท), organized and conducted an ordination for four bhikkhunī at a Thai Forest temple in Perth, Australia, and was then expelled from his lineage.13 With this resistance at home, aspiring Thai bhikkhunī must travel to Sri Lanka for their higher ordination, where there is no unified sangha council, and the monastic sangha is independent of the government, allowing individuals greater freedom to dissent from central

11 The identity of this monk is still unknown, or rather, perhaps kept secret for his safety. Bhikkhuni Dhammananda [Chatsumarn Kabilsingh], Thai Women in Buddhism (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1991).

12 Kakanang Yavaprabhas, The Values of Ordination: The Bhikkhuni, gender, and Thai Society, PhD. Diss. (University College London, 2018), 33.

13 Bhante Sujato, “Ajahn Brahm on Why He Was Excommunicated,” Sujato's Blog (January 16, 2010). https://sujato.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/ajahn-brahm-on-why-he-was-excommunicated/.

4 monastic authorities. While this international option gives Thai women an opportunity for full ordination, it requires them to deal with the different monastic priorities and political interests of the Sri Lankan bhikkhu. Thus, the Thai bhikkhunī phenomenon is necessarily built upon this complex transnational network and the literal movement of people. There are further structural obstacles to this travel, such as raising the necessary funds and navigating passports, airports, and visas as a monastic.

The bhikkhunī phenomenon has now spread throughout Thailand, though the Thai government continues to not formally recognize these bhikkhunī. In 2014, the Thai Supreme

Sangha Council re-issued the 1928 ban on bhikkhunī ordinations after a group of Sri Lankan bhikkhu (including Venerable Waskaduwe Mahindawansa, who is in charge of

Dipadutthamarama temple, the only Thai temple in Sri Lanka14) performed a bhikkhunī ordination in Songkhla, Thailand.15 A spokesman for the Supreme Sangha Council further

14 The Royal Thai Embassy in Sri Lanka states that “The Dipadutthamarama Raja Maha Viharaya is a testament to the close relationship between Thailand and Sri Lanka. The Thai Prince who took on the ordination name of Phra Chinaworawong, was the chief-incumbent of the temple during 1905-1910. Phra Chinaworawong designed and built the Rattana Chedi of which the pinnacle was bestowed by His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) of Thailand. The temple also holds particular importance for Thai Buddhists since several Thai monarchs and members of the Thai Royal family have visited this temple. This includes His Majesty King Ananda Mahidol (King Rama VIII), His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX), Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol.” Tamara Loos writes that, in fact, King Chulalongkorn never managed to visit the Dipaduttamarama Temple, and that the pinnacle was instead funded by a “wealthy woman of Sino-Thai decent, Mrs. L. L. Cheak, who arrived soon after King Chulalongkorn left Lanka.” The Thai Embassy’s revision of temple’s history emphasizes the perceived Royal Thai connections with this temple, while Phra Chinaworawong’s (Prince Prisadang’s) complex exile in Lanka is not mentioned. “The Royal Kathina Ceremony at Dipadutthamarama Purana Thai Raja Maha Viharaya, Colombo,” News & Activities, Royal Thai Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka, (November 2, 2017) http://www.thaiembassy.org/ colombo/en/news/915/83556-The-Royal-Kathina-Ceremony-at-Dipadutthamarama-Pur.html; “Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Maha Nayaka Thero World-Renowned Dhamma Teacher and Lecturer,” Budart, https://www.budart.org/mahindawansa-maha-thero; Tamara Loos, “Chapter 6: British Ceylon and India: The Prince Priest,” Bones Around My Neck: The Life and Exile of a Prince Provacateur (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016).

15 “Teacher of Dhammanikhom Vipassana-Meditationszentrum: Venerable Bhikkhuni Silavaddhani,” Dhammanikhom Vipassana-Meditationszentrum e.V. https://www.vipassana-dhammanikhom.de/english/ teacher/.

5 announced an attempt to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deny visas to foreign monks intending to perform bhikkhunī ordinations.16 While the new female monastics are not arrested and forced to disrobe (in contrast to the response to the 1928 revival attempt), neither are they supported with stipends, as are monks and mae chi who pass certain national Pāli tests.17

Bhikkhunī in Thailand, thus restricted by Thai laws, are forced to return to Sri Lankan bhikkhu for every ordination, creating a novel and difficult situation for the development of their sangha.

Many works on the modern bhikkhunī phenomenon focus on this tension between the government and the female ascetic, which is eloquently discussed by Bhikkhunī Dhammananda.

Scholars working on bhikkhunī in Thailand, however, need to be aware that Bangkok and its suburbs are an international hub and major economic center, and may foster different perspectives and methods for social and political action than would be typical in more peripheral or rural Thai areas. Furthermore, in addition to being aware of these regional differences, it is important to understand the experiences of bhikkhunī outside of Dhammananda’s fraternity

(which I consider to incorporate monasteries as far south as Songkhla). Bhikkhunī

Dhammananda’s centrality and visibility in international discussions on bhikkhunī have led to a disproportionately large representation of her experiences and opinions. I can say from experience that Dhammananda speaks fluent English, is exceptionally willing to give interviews and host foreigner scholars at her temples, and goes out of her way to be accessible. During my time at her monastery, she not only sat for interviews, but also provided helpful advice on the

16 Theodore Mayer and Somboon Chungprampree, “Chapter 5: Seven Proposals to Support Women’s Work for New Social Spaces", in Religion, Public Policy & Social Transformation in Southeast Asia: Religion, Identity and Gender 2, ed. Dicky Sofjan (Geneva: Globethics.net, 2017).

17 Collins and McDaniel, Buddhist 'Nuns' (Mae Chi) and the Teaching of Pali in Contemporary Thailand.

6 scope and structure of this thesis, as a doctoral mentor might advise an MA student, and provided me with books related to the subject. It is easy to understand how academic and journalistic work on Thai bhikkhunī might gravitate towards Bhikkhunī Dhammananda and her fraternity, but it is important to consider a broad range of experiences and political interactions, as no single individual or fraternity can represent them all. Finally, one needs to be wary of overly emphasizing anglophone publications, which are published by a limited number of women, and target a particular and often international audience. The messages received through such texts comprise only a part of the whole story.

When I began this project, my interest in examining the trans-local networks of Thai bhikkhunī made it necessary to choose a primary research focus. I settled on Nirotharam (นโร

ธาราม) because of its large size and its distance from Bangkok, both geographically and ideologically, as Nirotharam is not a part of Dhammananda’s fraternity.18 This paper focuses on the methods employed by the Nirotharam fraternity to construct a unique fraternity identity. The

Nirotharam bhikkhunī’s careful negotiation and balance of foreign, national, and local interests has allowed their sangha to grow successfully, despite the resistance they face. Their particular set of beliefs and practices also highlight the contingent regionality and diversity of bhikkhunī fraternities in Thailand.

In her model for localizing lineages, Anne Blackburn highlights the monastic strategy of framing new religious movements in local terms as traditional and reformist, instead of innovative. After importing their ordination lineage from Ayutthaya in 1753, the founders of the

Lankan Siyām Nikāya reframed their order’s roots from “foreign” to one associated with earlier

18 Occasionally romanized as Nirodharam.

7 respected local monastic movements from the Dambadeni period. These claims of local identity are visible in the structure of early Siyām Nikāya commentaries, biographies, historical narratives, and monastic curriculums, and the type of language used in the new lineage’s texts.19

Alexey Kirichenko argues further, that in this situation, “the ordination brought from Ayutthaya merely fulfilled ritual requirements for inaugurating a new monastic lineage.”20 Unlike the

Siyām Nikāya and other, earlier, Lān Nā lineages formed by obtaining upasampadā (ordination) in Laṅkā, however, the Thai bhikkhunī have not been able to fully dissociate from their foreign ordination source due to the ban on local ordinations in Thailand. Furthermore, modern technological developments such as air travel, email, Skype, and Facebook, allow not only for quick communication but also for constant mutual surveillance. Thus the foreign ordination source takes on new significance in the modern Thai context — able to exercise a degree of control over the development of the new lineage long after the first ordinations.

Michael Burawoy’s node-network theory states that the global is produced at the local level, not imposed from above. Each node exists in an interconnected chain — action taken in one node reverberates up and down to affect all the rest to differing degrees.21 With this node- network framework, we can understand a broad range of factors as influencing Nirotharam bhikkhunī tangentially, as well as maintain the possibility that this network takes on different meanings and shapes in different locales. Everything from the activities of other bhikkhunī around the globe, to Northern Thai bhikkhu relationships with the Central Thai Sangha, to global

19 Blackburn, Localizing Lineage, 131–49. 20 Alexey Kirichenko, “The Itineraries of “Sīhaḷa Monk” Sāralaṅkā: Buddhist Interactions in Eighteenth- Century Southern Asia,” Buddhist and Islamic Orders in Southern Asia: Comparative Perspectives, (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2018), 66.

21 Burawoy, Manufacturing the Global, 147–59.

8 Islamophobia, to Christian missionary activities in Thailand, to American NGO rice-farming initiatives in Sri Lanka, affect the context in which the Nirotharam bhikkhunī sangha is emerging.22 For these bhikkhunī, this network is both constructive and disruptive. It provides them the tools to grow as a fraternity but requires them to negotiate a variety of laws, and local and foreign interests. It is not the object of this thesis to describe this vast network, but to demonstrate how being embedded in such a global network has influenced the development of the Nirotharam sangha.

Taking the more localized perspective of the Nirotharam fraternity as one node in a network of possibly infinite, interrelated nodes, I propose we consider the development of their fraternity identity as the building of a house of cards. Whereas the Siyām Nikāya sought a single foundational card by the Ayutthayan monks and was then able to continue with relative liberty, the Nirotharam fraternity continually needs to adjust and stabilize its identity in reaction to both direct and indirect network activity. The Thai bhikkhunī are not just reactive, however. Together, the outside influence and Nirotharam’s reaction to that influence are constructive, so that the local fraternity identity that emerges has its core in Nirotharam’s reception and domestication of these influences. The metaphor of building a house of cards reminds us that these outside influences (cards) are constructive, and yet require the bhikkhunī to be active in balancing them.

Once balanced, however, the newly incorporated “foreign” features become truly integral to the

22 Each of these topics came up during my field work, my interlocutors easily understanding these diverse pressures as imminently relevant to their goals and beliefs in various ways. American NGO rice-farming initiatives in Sri Lanka, for example, were mentioned in passing as misleading Sri Lankans into farming in ways which my interlocutor perceived as destructive to Sri Lanka’s environment. Those American scientist’s lack of a proper Buddhist understanding was spilling, unwelcome, into his Buddhist land. It was important, therefore, to train bhikkhunī to reach into those communities and teach the Dhamma to those farmers, to save the environment. Though interesting and deserving of further attention, it is beyond the scope of my thesis to delve into these different tangential topics.

9 fraternity identity; just as we cannot remove cards from the center of a house of cards, so too do these “balancing acts” become foundational. This metaphor also brings to mind the precarious situation of this bhikkhunī fraternity, where failing to appropriately respond to their network could cause the whole “house” to collapse.

Most of the academic literature on the modern bhikkhunī phenomenon focuses on the ritual correctness of the 1996 and 1998 ordinations.23 Other works approach this topic from a variety of feminist24 or subaltern lenses.25 Some authors highlight the different reasons why a woman may still choose not to ordain,26 or public reactions to these monastics.27 Despite the contributions of this scholarship that investigates renunciant women's lives and motivations, far less attention has been paid to the ways in which these debates shape, and are shaped by, the experience of monastics at this nexus of conflicting local and transnational, historical and modern, and political and personal, dynamics. My research with Nirotharam bhikkhunī shows that the development of bhikkhunī fraternities is highly differentiated and deeply dependent on a fraternity’s placement, both geographically and within a broader network.

23 The World Abbots Meeting: Buddhist Scholars’ Response to the Validity of Bhikkhuni Ordination (Bangkok, 2009), Web: http://www.bhikkhuni.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Buddhist-Scholars- Response-to-the-Validity-of-Bhikkhuni-Ordination-071209.pdf; Thea Mohr, and Bhikṣuṇī Jampa Tsedroen, ed., Dignity & Discipline: Reviving Full Ordination for Buddhist Nuns (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2010).

24 Falk, Making Fields of Merit.

25 Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice; Ayako Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand: Contexts, Strategies and Challenges (Ph.D. diss., École Pratique des Hautes Études, 2013).

26 Sasson, Politics of Higher Ordination for Women in Sri Lanka; Emma Tomalin, “The Thai Bhikkhuni Movement and Women’s Empowerment,” Gender and Development 14, no. 3 (2006); Battaglia, Becoming Bhikkhuni?

27 Susanne Mrozik, ““We Love Our Nuns”: Affective Dimensions of the Sri Lankan Bhikkhunī Revival,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 21 (2014): 57–95; Kakanang Yavaprabhas, The Values of Ordination.

10 I understand the Nirotharam sangha as Virginia Yans, Rogers Brubaker, and others suggest we understand groups, that is, as “historically contingent and continually changing formations developed within the context of the nation-making and immigration process.”28

Looking at monastic communities, in this case, we might understand the “immigration process” as the process to ordination. The women of Nirotharam not only recognize their own

“groupness,” but are invested in defending the boundaries of this group. Belonging, as I will show, is clearly defined and ritualized. To what, then, do these women belong? When I speak of the Nirotharam Sangha’s identity, I mean the emerging characteristic features of practice and vocational orientation, which are primarily guided by the decisions of the sangha’s founder and abbess, Bhikkhunī Nanthayani (นนทญาณ).29 Individual members have different backgrounds, beliefs, or preferred meditation techniques, but Nirotharam, as a community, prioritizes certain features and presents itself in a certain way. This groupness and collective identity is something the women subscribe to with their ordination and perpetuate as members of the sangha. It is also related to the community’s public relations or marketing strategies. These are self-conscious and not un-motivated self representation. This work focuses on the development of this fraternity identity— the ways these “self understandings may harden, congeal, and crystallize,” and the ramifications of those developments.30

28 Virginia Yans, “On “Groupness,”” Journal of American Ethnic History, 25, no. 4 (Summer, 2006): 119-129.

29 Romanized here according to RTGS. Alternatively romanized Nandayanee, or Nandayani in various English-language publications and websites. 30 Rogers Brubaker and Frederick Cooper, “Beyond “Identity,”” Theory and Society 29, no. 1 (Feb, 2000), 1-47.

11 Based on fieldwork conducted between December 18th, 2019 and January 28th, 2020, alongside more prolonged research using online resources such as the bhikkhunī’s Facebook pages and websites, and pamphlets and video publications by the renunciants, I look at the strategies Nirotharam bhikkhunī use to localize and stabilize their identity. While trans-local networks and many of the strategies the bhikkhunī employ are not entirely new to monastic process of localization, they take new forms owing to the particular contextual circumstances of the Thai bhikkhunī phenomenon and modern technological developments.31

Chapter one investigates how Nirotharam bhikkhunī succeeded in finding support from local monks. Actively embedding themselves in traditional northern monastic practices and an extended local Lān Nā history, they have become a vehicle for Northern monks to critique the

Central Thai Sangha. Furthermore, in helping northern monks to claim Lān Nā excellence,

Nirotharam carefully uses the subtle political dynamics of their network to aid their sangha’s growth.

Chapter two looks at negotiations with the broader international network and demonstrates how Nirotharam bhikkhunī have, through training, ritual, and contracts, codified their relationships with Sri Lankan monastics. This bureaucratization has stabilized and transformed the Nirotharam identity as we see the Nirotharam bhikkhunī preserve and reify existing elements of their practice and occupation while incorporating and redefining new elements.

31 I use the term “technology” in this thesis to encompass not only machine and cyber advancements but also ritual and bureaucratic innovations.

12 Throughout the thesis, I also examine the role and definition of lineage. Scholars of

Theravāda or Pāli Buddhism examining historical trans-local lineage importations have debated what was truly “imported” in various historical circumstances. Placing these models for importation along a spectrum, we see a range of possible relationships from shallow (meaning a restricted, not superficial or unimportant) to deep and wide reaching. At the shallow end is

Kirichenko’s model, in which ordination importation fulfills only a ritual necessity and nothing more.32 In the middle of that spectrum would be the models suggested by Peter Skilling, Anne

Blackburn, and Jason Carbine, who see lineage importations beyond the simple ordination.33 In these cases, the ordination source and lineage are used by the new community to make arguments about their purity and potency. Occasionally, new exterior forms practice, such as chanting or dress are also imported, which serve to distinguish the new community from the old.

At the deep end of this spectrum, I place the model presented by this thesis of the Nirotharam fraternity. Not only is the lineage’s source substantially implicated in arguments about the fraternity’s high quality, the source is also continuously involved in choosing and educating future candidates. This deep involvement with the Thai bhikkhunī in turn materially alters the ordination source, as the Sri Lankan monastics make plans and argue new opinions beyond the scope of their previous interests. Thus, this thesis expands our understanding of the possibilities available for monastic interaction, importation, and inter-dependence including the ways in

32 Kirichenko, The Itineraries of “Sīhaḷa Monk” Sāralaṅkā. 33 Peter Skilling, “Theravāda in History,” Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist studies, third series, 11 (2009); Anne M. Blackburn, “Sīhaḷa Saṅgha and Laṅkā in Later Premodern Southeast Asia,” in Buddhist Dynamics in Premodern and Early Modern Southeast Asia, ed. D. Christian Lammerts (Singapore: Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, 2015); Jason A. Carbine, “How King Rāmādhipati Handled His Boundary Case: Sīmā, Sāsana, and Buddhist Law,” Buddhism, Law, and Society 1 (2016-2015).

13 which ordination relates to other forms of monastic collective identification. Nirotharam bhikkhunī make clear practical and ritual distinctions between their fraternity (song สงฆ), and their ordination lineage (sai, สาย).34 Finally, this work considers the consequences of the relationship between the new fraternity and its ordination source from both sides, suggesting these models for lineage importation are reflective of lineage exportation as well.

In addition to examining lineage and the processes of localization and growth within networks, this thesis addresses developments in the field of Theravāda Buddhist studies,35 as we see the Nirotharam bhikkhunī self-consciously struggle to define the term Theravāda, and create new narratives for their community. This thesis also contributes to the field of gender studies, which calls for work that, beyond simply researching the lives of women, shows how “gender is dynamic and it articulates with other axes of differentiation in complex ways.”36 My focus on

Nirotharam bhikkhunī not only demonstrates novel ways of negotiating gendered hierarchical

Buddhist dynamics, but also reveals that male monastic orders and national politics are indeed implicated in, and transformed by, the development of these female orders. Finally, this work

34 The Thai word song, or sangha, is used to refer to monastic communities at many different scales. For this reason, I’ve chosen the more specific English word fraternity to denotes the specific Nirotharam sangha. The word sai is most often used to refer to lineage today, but wong, (วงศ, Pāli vaṃsa) is also sometimes used, especially in reference to lineages in pre-modern history, or when discussing royalty. 35 In recent years, the field of Theravāda Buddhist studies has been moving towards examining and complicating the very category and conception of “Theravāda Buddhism.” Since 2010, anthologies such as How Theravada Is Theravada?, Theravada Buddhism in Colonial Contexts, and Theravāda Buddhist Encounters with Modernity, have explored questions relating to the etymology, history, uses, and political and social ramifications of the term “Theravada.” Peter Skilling et al., eds., How Theravāda Is Theravāda?: Exploring Buddhist Identities (Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books, 2012); Thomas Borchert, ed., Theravada Buddhism in Colonial Contexts (New York, NY: Routledge, 2018); Juliane Schober and Steven Collins, eds., Theravāda Buddhist Encounters with Modernity (London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018). 36 Sarah J. Mahler and Patricia R. Pessar, “Gender Matters: Ethnographers Bring Gender from the Periphery toward the Core of Migration Studies,” The International Migration Review 40, no. 1 (Spring 2006): 29.

14 shows that regional Buddhist projects may develop differently as a result of regional specificities, highlighting the need for attention to local, and not just national hegemonic, narratives.

15 TERMS OF INTEREST

This brings me to several terms which I believe need some clarification as they have either been used ambiguously in the past, or I will be using them in possibly unfamiliar ways. I will clarify my use of: “Ordination”; bhikkhunī vs. “nun”; Theravāda vs. Mahāyāna; Thammayut vs. Mahanikai ; nikāya vs. fraternity; fraternity; sangha; lineage; and Thai bhikkhu vs. Thai bhikkhunī.

“Ordination”

As Louis Gabaude pointed out, how can we discuss the ordination of bhikkhunī “without knowing and without asking ourselves what is an ordination!”37 It is common practice to refer to pabbajjā, the ritual to become a sāmaṇeras or sāmaṇerī (novice), as “lower ordination,” and upasampadā, the ritual to become a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī, as “full ordination” or “higher ordination.”

Gabaude and others have pointed out the misleading Christian roots of the English (and

French) term ordination when applied to Buddhist monastics. For Catholics and Protestants, the

“ordination” of priests and pastors ensures the correct transmission of theology from religious leaders of one generation to the next— that is, the ordination transmits authority and orthodoxy.

Gabaude argues that Buddhist monastics, who are concerned with orthopraxy and the transmission of the vinaya, are not “ordained.” Illustrating this distinction is that early Catholic priests could get married, while early Catholic monks “took vows” and didn't necessarily study theology. The rise of celibacy and orthodoxy among both priests and monks in the modern

37 “sans savior et sans se demander qu’est une ordination!” Louis Gabaude, “Note sur l“ordination” sans ordre des arbres et des forêts,” Aséanie 25 (July 2010): 116.

16 Catholic church, and the Protestant lack of a monastic order has led, Gabaude argues, scholars to blur the language of the monk and the priest or pastor.38 This distinction is clear again when we look at the grammar of “ordination,” which is given by another (transitive), and “taking vows.” which is performed by oneself (intransitive). In both the original Pāli, (upasampadā and pabbajjā) and in Thai (buat, บวช), the verb is intransitive: one is not ordained by another, one goes forth.39

Having illuminated the dangers of using the term ordination, I hope my readers can put their preconceived ideas about priests, pastors and Christian monks aside, and think instead of the Buddhist monastic roles, as my interlocutors do. Today, Sri Lankan and Thai monastics refer to upasampadā and pabbajjā as “ordinations” when writing in English. Language evolves and belongs to its living community of speakers— my Thai and Sinhala interlocutors know very well the particulars of the upasampadā and resulting status as bhikkhunī when they call it “full ordination.” It is with this community of speakers and with their definition and use of

“ordination” in mind that I write. Furthermore, despite pabbajjā, upasampadā, and buat being intransitive verbs in Pāli and Thai, in contrast to the transitive “ordain” in English, the status of novice or monastic is indeed conferred. Thus, a transitive construction is not misleading as the aspirants are dependent on the cooperation of others to attain their new status.

I will therefore continue to use the term ordained because it is common practice among relevant academic and religious communities, and because it highlights that power dynamic at the center of this thesis, between the “ordained” and the “ordainers.”

38 Louis Gabaude, in an email to the author June 2020, and in: Gabaude, Note sur l“ordination” 39 Gabaude, Note sur l“ordination.”

17 Bhikkhunī versus “Nun”

Among Sri Lankans and in scholarship on Sri Lanka, there is a trend to call bhikkhunī

“Buddhist nuns,” which is helpful in making the material less repetitive and more accessible to the English-speaking public.40 As a result, dasa sil mata (DSM), and when applicable mae chi,

(non-monastic renunciant women in Sri Lanka and Thailand respectively) are sometimes called

“lay nuns.” In Thailand, where a feminist narrative is more pronounced, there is a resistance to the English word “nun.” Some worry that because Christian nuns are not equal to the clergy, using the word “nun” will place bhikkhunī in an imported European hierarchical relationship with the monks, who might be considered clergy. This is perhaps related to the lack of a

“preaching class” of monastics, and the ambiguous use of the Thai word “buat” which can be translated to “ordain” or “take vows.” Thus, in Thai, one would say Buddhist and Catholic monastics, as well as Catholic priests buat.41 Instead, authors concerned with these power dynamics sometimes call bhikkhunī “monks” to place all monastics on the same level.

Though I am not worried my reader will confuse the hierarchical relationships between

Buddhist “monks” and “nuns” with the Christian ones, I find neither of these English terms specific enough to elucidate the situation among female Buddhist monastics. I will be referring to both male and female renunciants, and it is critical that my readers can follow the identities of the various actors, as their roles are highly gendered and also hierarchize in relation to their training and aspirations. Thus, there is not simply one class of “nun” but a spectrum of bhikkhunī

40 One Sri Lankan bhikkhunī explained to me that “Normally we can say Buddhist monk or Buddhist Nun…[but] we can address [them] as ‘Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni.” Bhikkhunī Vijithananda, WhatsApp conversation with the author, February 15th 2020.

41 Gabaude, Note sur l“ordination,” 108.

18 (a “fully ordained” monastic, and a full member of the women’s monastic community), upasampadā pekkha (one awaiting their upasampadā or “full ordination,” having fulfilled their two years of probation),42 sikkhamānā (a probationary novice, intending to become a bhikkhunī), and sāmaṇerī (a novice who does not currently intend to become a bhikkhunī, either because she is too young or too old to be allowed to become a sikkhamānā, or because she does not have that aspiration).43 Finally, I worry that calling mae chi and dasa sil mata “lay nuns” may minimize their level of devotion and ascetic practice.

At the risk of becoming repetitive, I will be referring to female monastics by the Pali terms as listed above. These Pāli terms are also the words most-frequently used by female Thai monastics to describe themselves, as there is no convenient vocabulary in Thai either. The notable exception is “venerable mother” or “luang mae” (หลวงแม) which parallels the male term

“venerable father” or “luang pho” (หลวงพอ) “Monastics” will be used as a gender inclusive term for all bhikkhu, bhikkhunī, upasampadā pekkha, sikkhamānā, sāmaṇeras, and sāmaṇerī.

“Renunciants” will be used as a gender inclusive term which is expanded to also include mae chi, DSM, and other recluses. This term does exists in Thai as nak buat (นกบวช) or “ordained” person/people. The terms “order,” and “monastery” will also be used in a gender inclusive way.

42 This term is central to my discovery of training practices in northern Thailand, and will be explained fully in chapter two. 43 Temporary ordination is common for men in Thailand, and increasingly for women. These women become sāmaṇerī for a short period of time, usually two weeks or nineteen days, before returning to their jobs and families.

19 Theravāda versus Mahāyāna

Broadly, Theravāda refers to the forms of Buddhism popular in Southern Asia (which encompasses South and Southeast Asia),44 which share a Pāli canon, and Mahāyāna to the forms of Buddhism found most commonly in Eastern Asia, Central Asia, and the Himalayas, which have a wider body of canonical texts oriented particularly by Sanskrit and Classical Chinese works. While these are both terms used to describe major movements in the history of

Buddhism, in this thesis, I use the words Theravāda and Mahāyāna in the ways they are used by my informants. That is, I aim to describe my informant’s modern emic perspectives and ideas regarding these categories, not impose my own.

I reflect on the way claims of Theravāda identity, or accusations of Mahāyāna influence, appear in the bhikkhunī’s struggle for authority. For instance, the emerging international

Theravada Buddhist Co-operative “Revival of the Buddha’s Sangha Association” composed of both male and female monastics, has used the terms Theravāda and Mahāyāna to create a distinct unified sense of self, against a unified other.45 There is a dynamic interplay between the academic uses of Theravāda and Mahāyāna, and those communities who would define themselves with these terms. I probe the ways Buddhists in Thailand and Sri Lanka, having aligned themselves with “Theravāda Buddhism,” define and re-make themselves in their

44 For more on “Southern Asia,” see Anne Blackburn and Michael Feener, “Sufis and Saṅgha in Motion: Toward a Comparative Study of Religious Orders and Networks in Southern Asia,” Buddhist and Islamic Orders in Southern Asia: Comparative Perspectives, ed. R. Michael Freener and Anne M. Blackburn, (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2019). 45 This association began to emerge in January 2019, led by Sri Lankan and Indian monks. This co-ed Buddhist Cooperative imagines itself as a Theravāda Sangha (though certainly excluding many Theravādin fraternities) and takes a firm stance against what it describes as “Mahāyāna.” This group is discussed in Chapter 2.

20 understanding of that “Theravāda,” re-defining “Theravāda” along the way. These claims and definitions are further interwoven with ideas of nationalism and exceptionalism.

Thammayut versus Mahanikai

Most works on Thai monasticism consider the two main orders within the Thai Sangha as the Thammayut (ธรรมยต) and Mahanikai (มหานกาย): Thammayut being the order founded by

Prince Mongkut in the mid 19th century; and Mahanikai being the lineages which existed before the foundation of the Thammayut.46 However, one would more accurately describe the existing

Thai orders as “Thammayut” and “non-Thammayut” as there was not one single order before the creation of the Thammayut, but many.47 It is important to keep this in mind as we find a great variety of practice in northern Thailand. Understanding the non-Thammayut as a multitude of small semi-independent fraternities (as Thai monastic laws still bind all Thai monks) allows us to better understand the Nirotharam bhikkhunī fraternity as just another one of these many, instead of as a lone small sangha in an otherwise monastically unified Thailand. Furthermore, when the bhikkhunī negotiate their relationships with local monks, they do so, not once with one group to one end, but repeatedly, with independent groups, to varying degrees of success.

46 For more on the origins of the Thammayut and the administration and history of the dual Thai Sangha, see Peter A. Jackson, Buddhism, Legitimation, and Conflict, (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 1989), 63-93.

47 Kamala Tiyavanich, Forest Recollections:Wandering monks in twentieth-century Thailand, (University of Hawai’i Press: Honolulu, 1997), 5-7; Craig J. Reynolds, “The Buddhist Monkhood in Nineteenth Century Thailand” (Ph.D. Diss., Cornell University, 1972), 90.

21 Nikāya versus Fraternity

Sven Bretfeld defines the term nikāya as “an institutionalized monastic lineage primarily defined by a specific system of ritual and legal regulations for monks and nuns (the vinaya).”48

In this sense, the term is used to distinguish between various early “sects,” and to denote monastic groups which shared the same vinaya and ordination lineages, such as to identify the

Dharmaguptaka or the Mahāvihāravasin.

In the academic field of modern Buddhist history, the term has also been applied to “sub- nikāya” to identify groups with different applications of that same vinaya, such as the Thai

Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Thammayut) and Mahā Nikāya (Mahanikai, or as previously discussed, the many non-Thammayut sub-nikāya), and the Sri Lankan Rāmañña Nikāya, Siyām Nikāya, and

Amarapura Nikāya. Though these various nikāya all share the same vinaya, it is possible that they chant, wear robes, accept gifts, eat, conduct rituals, and live in distinct ways. These sub- nikāya communities maintain separate ordination lineages, which functions to ensure members behave according to each the sub-nikāya’s standards of daily practice. However, having separate ordination lineages also allows the sub-nikāya to develop regionally, and thus these sub-nikāya frequently reflect other political and social differences.49

We can identify emerging Thai bhikkhunī groups with distinct practices and intellectual orientations, much as we might identify the Thai Dhammayutika Nikāya (Thammayut) as a distinct group. The bhikkhunī communities in Panadura, Sri Lanka, and Chiang Mai, Thailand,

48 Sven Bretfeld, “Theravāda Buddhism - Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion,” Oxford Research Encyclopedias, (July 17, 2019). https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/ 9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-561?rskey=jjdQcu&result=3. 49 Anne M. Blackburn, Locations of Buddhism: Colonialism and Modernity in Sri Lanka (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2010); Kitsiri Malalgoda Buddhism in Sinhalese Society 1780-1900: A Study of Religious Revival and Change, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976)

22 for example chant differently, eat differently (the northern Thai eat once a day, the Sri Lankan women take a second meal before noon), hold different ritual priorities (the Sri Lankan bhikkhunī at Panadura perform their rituals within the boundaries of a water sima, the northern

Thai do not), and hold different cosmetic ideals (though they wear their robes in the same manner, Thai monastics shave their eyebrows, and the Pandura bhikkhunī do not).

However, the term “sub-nikāya” cannot be applied between these two groups as every individual bhikkhunī in Chiang Mai was ordained by Panadura bhikkhunī: their ordination lineages have not diverged, and cannot until Thai law changes. Further complicating the bhikkhunī ordination lineages is the male role in the dual upasampadā (higher ordination).

Monks of both the Sri Lankan Siyām Nikāya and Amarapua Nikāya have cooperated at times in bhikkhunī ordination rituals, meaning that female ordination lineages do not descend from any single male lineage. By using the term fraternity instead of nikāya or sub-nikāya to refer to these distinct groups of bhikkhunī, I hope to be more precise, and to remind my reader of this tangled web of ordination lineages, practice, and vinaya.

Sorority versus Fraternity

Why not use “sorority”? The term sorority has the same latin roots of fraternity, soror and frater meaning sister and brother respectively. In many ways, sorority it is the obvious choice, and fraternity may seem incongruent with my previous precision in choosing gendered terms.

However, the term sorority emerged in popular English attached to American college Panhellenic

“Greek” life, and as an author embedded in a cultural context in which this is still the dominant use of “sorority,” I feel uncomfortable applying the term to serious professionally renunciant women. There is also precedence for calling co-ed groups, and groups of women “fraternities,”

23 as the term sorority only rose to the public in the late 1800s.50 I discuss a limited number of fraternities in this project, and the gender identity of these groups should not be confusing to my reader.

Sangha

Similar to the term nikāya, the term sangha (Pāli: saṅgha; Thai: song, สงฆ), meaning community, will be applied at numerous different scales. There are various bhikkhunī sanghas, which are composed of the fully ordained bhikkhunī belonging to a fraternity, and which form a governing body that makes decisions about the affairs of their monasteries. I will also use the term sangha to discuss the male national Thai Sangha, which falls beneath a clear hierarchical and bureaucratically administered structure, tied to the Thai government.

Finally, as mentioned above, I will be referring to an imagined, internationally unified

“Theravāda Buddhist Sangha” which encompasses all monastics who “read” the Pāli Tipiṭaka.

Those who make reference to this imagined community do so to create a sense of a large unified

Buddhist community.51

Lineage

As discussed above, for the new bhikkhunī, the term lineage must be awkwardly divorced from both fraternity and ordination. Many female monastics have male and female teachers

(monastics or otherwise) whose instruction is formative, and in whose lineage they might be said to belong. These intellectual and practice-oriented “lineages” are particularly important for Thai

50 Fran Becque, “Women’s Fraternities, Sororities, and Dr. Frank Smalley,” Fraternity History (2003). https://www.franbecque.com/womens-fraternities-sororities-and-dr-frank-smalley/ 51 Benedict R. Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, (London: Verso, 1983).

24 bhikkhunī as they allow the female monastics to tie themselves in with the existing Thai

Buddhist landscape. The biographies and autobiography of the founder of the Nirotharam

Fraternity, Bhikkhunī Nanthayani, are filled with mentions of famous Thai monks and meditators.

Thai bhikkhunī are also ordained and held accountable by their Sri Lankan preceptors.52

Maintaining good relationships with these Sri Lankan monastics is important for the fraternity’s continued access to higher ordination. These ordination lineages, however, do not necessarily reflect habits of practice or intellectual orientations of its monastic members. Furthermore, a Thai bhikkhunī may find herself in ordination lineages with other Thai bhikkhunī who are not members of her fraternity, or in different ordination lineages from other members of her fraternity. While all the Nirotharam bhikkhunī were ordained in Panadura, Sri Lanka, members of Bhikkhunī Dhammananda’s fraternity have been ordained in Panadura, Dekanduwala, and

Dambulla Sri Lanka, by different sets of preceptors. This separation of ordination lineage and fraternity is addressed in chapter two.

Thai Bhikkhu versus Thai Bhikkhunī

I wish to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that while the terms “Thai bhikkhu” and

“Thai bhikkhunī” seem parallel, they are not. Works discussing Thai Buddhism frequently speak of Thai bhikkhu without necessarily clarifying whether they mean a member of the Thai Sangha or a member of another sangha, of Thai nationality. This is possible because nearly all Thai

52 In the early days of Thai bhikkhunī ordinations, Sri Lankan pavattini would actually go and live with (or occasionally visit) their “disciples” in Thailand for two years while they completed their probationary period. Now, surveillance takes place online, over the phone, Facebook, and monthly Skype calls.

25 bhikkhu are both Thai in nationality and members of the Thai Sangha. However, “Thai bhikkhunī” can only refer to those of Thai nationality, as no bhikkhunī are members of the Thai

Sangha. It is important to be clear about whether one speaks of nationality or membership to a sangha, as laws, practices, and academic work cut across these categories in specific and interesting ways. For example, certain Thai laws against bhikkhunī seem to only apply to Thai citizens. When Bhikkhunī Dhammananda attempted to enter the Grand Palace through the monastic’s side entrance to pay respect to the late King Bhumibol, she was famously barred at the door. The officer who stopped her, a professor at the Buddhist monastic university

Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya, Teerapak Chaichana, defended his actions by saying “All this is a matter of rules and regulations, not discrimination.”53 “This rule, he [Chaichana] adds, applies to Thai nationals only. Foreign monks and bhikkhuni with passports can attend the ceremony.”54 This implies that bhikkhunī are seen as inappropriate, not because they are

Theravāda bhikkhunī, or women in orange robes, but because they are Thai. The “foreignness” of their lineage has not superseded their Thai nationality. What would have occurred if a

Singaporean or German member of a Dhammananda’s fraternity had attempted to pay respects to the late king?

53 Michael Jerryson, If You Meet the Buddha on the Road: Buddhism, Politics, and Violence (New York City, New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 97.

54 Melalin Mahavongtrakul, “Monks of a Different Gender,” Bangkok Post (January 17, 2017). https:// www.bangkokpost.com/print/1182233.

26 CHAPTER ONE: THE LOCAL CONTEXT

Nirotharam bhikkhunī have succeeded in finding support from local monks and lay people by localizing their lineage. These methods of localization and re-localization look a lot like the models put forth by Anne Blackburn, and Michael Parnwell and Martin Seeger,55 with

Nirotharam bhikkhunī using Lān Nā monastic history and familiar Thai forms of Buddhist thought to present their movement as traditional instead of new and innovative. Yet innovation is clearly present as the bhikkhunī take these patterns of practice and belief and reframe them to defend their spiritual potential (as fields of merit, with the ability to reach enlightenment) and their position as ordained monastics. Furthermore, Nirotharam bhikkhunī carefully use the subtle political dynamics of their network to further their sangha’s growth. By actively embedding themselves in traditional northern monastic practices and as part of a narrative of Lān Nā excellence, Nirotharam has made it possible for northern monks to use their support of the bhikkhunī as a critique against the central Thai sangha.

I use the term “Lān Nā excellence” to consider the various rhetorical moves which celebrate Northern Thailand’s independent history as a source of regional greatness. These arguments seek to demonstrate the superiority of Northern religion and culture, and historically have been used to argue for Northern separatism as I will demonstrate. Today, the goals of such arguments are less seditious. Monastics use the idea of Lān Nā excellence to push for greater local autonomy and independence from Bangkok’s political and monastic administrative structures, while still accepting, and sometimes celebrating, their “Thainess.”

55 Michael Parnwell, and Martin Seeger, “The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 29 (Jan 2008).

27 Bhikkhunī Nanthayani, formerly Mae Chi Rungduean Suwan (รงเดอน สวรรณ), is the abbess of Nirotharam Arama and the founder of the Nirotharam fraternity.56 As a charismatic leader and well respected meditator and dharma teacher, many of the contexts surrounding

Nirotharam seem to be dependent on Nanthayani’s personal history and relationships. As with

Dhammananda’s fraternity, it is difficult to predict how things may change in the future when the founder is no longer present. What I describe, therefore, are nascent networks and traditions, which reflect this period of development and settling since Nirotharam’s founding as a mae chi arama57 in 1995, and the first bhikkhunī upasampadas in 2008.

There is currently very little published work on Nirotharam. I am indebted to Ayako

Itoh’s dissertation58 and Nicola Delia’s master’s thesis,59 completed in 2013 and 2012 respectively, for their work outlining Nanthayani’s personal history and beliefs, and the local relationships which contextualize Nirotharam today.60

When I was first brought before Venerable Bhikkhunī Nanthayani, I was told to genuflect three times before a statue of the Buddha, and then another three times before the abbess, as is customary before monks. I was then instructed to wait outside, on a bench by the back door of the Dharma hall, where meals and many Dharma talks are given. The monastery was quietly

56 Occasionally romanized Rungduan Suwan, or Roongduan (Suwan).

57 An arama is place for renunciants who might not be monastics to live and practice together.

58 I am thankful to Kakanang Yavaprabhas, Nicola Delia, and Olivier de Bernon for helping me contact Ayako Itoh, who kindly sent me a copy of her dissertation.

59 I am thankful to Kakanang Yavaprabhas for helping me to contact Nicola Delia, who kindly sent me a copy of her thesis.

60 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand; Nicola Delia, Mediating between Gendered Images of ‘Defilement’ and ‘Purity’: Continuity, Transition and Access to Spiritual Power in a Northern Thai Buddhist Monastic Community for Women, MA Thesis, (Universität Hamberg: 2014).

28 busy, with monastics and mae chi cleaning up after the meal, and some lay-women laying cement nearby.

After about ten minutes, Bhikkhunī Nanthayani met me outside, and began to walk.

“What are your questions” she asked without preamble. Somewhat flustered, I struggled to pull out my notebook as we walked. She then noticed I was still barefoot, and sent me for my shoes, saying she would wait. Moments later, I returned with my shoes to find her gone. I wandered the grounds of Nirotharam and eventually found her speaking with some sikkhamānā. We proceeded again at a fast clip, and I asked her how she first came to learn about the Dharma. In interviews with other monastics, this question had spurred an hour-long monologue, leading my interlocutors to discuss their family upbringing and formative Buddhist teachers. “That’s too broad” said Bhikkhunī Nanthayani.

Bhikkhunī Nanthayani exudes calm energy, clarity, and competence. I discovered later that she sees talking about herself as frivolous speech, and is much more comfortable speaking at length about the Tripitaka, the Pāli canon. I eventually learned to catch pockets of Nanthayani’s free time, when she was not trying to get anything else done, instead of scheduling interviews like appointments. I would sit in the gazebo outside the kutis, and wait with a good book.

Sometimes, Nanthayani would come join me and drink warm water and chat for fifteen to twenty minutes before continuing with her day.

My interviews with Nanthayani were conducted half in Thai and half in English, with us both switching mid-sentence when we couldn’t remember a word. Occasionally, Nanthayani might flag over one of the sikkhamānā with better English to translate a more difficult concept, or to fetch some documents she had mentioned. A few times, she took my notebook, and

29 carefully wrote out terms in Thai when she saw me struggling with the spelling. When I wasn’t speaking with Nanthayani, other monastics would also come by and sit and talk with me, offering me a sweater for the chilly 85º weather, and advising me that my academic life is full of suffering.

Biography of Nanthayani

The following biography is mainly based on the work of Ayako Itoh, which she pieced together from: many short interviews conducted over the course of her extensive ethnographic research at Nirotharam in 2007, a short autobiography begun by Nanthayani herself but never published, and the work of Faith Adiele, who met Nanthayani when she was a mae chi. This is supplemented by notes from my own interviews, and two different short online biographies of

Nanthayani and descriptions of Nirotharam now available on the Nirotharam website (in

English), and the Nirotharam Facebook page (in Thai). These last are important, as they indicate what Nanthayani and her followers have chosen to highlight for various audiences.

This biography is useful as it demonstrates the roots of Nanthayani’s practice, her early associations with Lān Nā’s Lankan monastic lineages, and her position as a “relocalizing reformer.” Parnwell and Seeger write that, in response to what some see as the rise of transactional and commodified Buddhism,61 “the disenchanted have sought either to return to

61 “This path of change is manifest at its most extreme in the pro-capitalist Thammakai movement that is based in Pathum Thani (described, inter alia, by Zehner 1990; Swearer 1991; Aphinya Fuengfusakul 1993a; 1993b; McCargo 2004; Aphinya Fueangfu- sakul 2541 B.E.), monks’ increasing material greed (Jackson 1997:83), the rising commercial acquisitiveness and grandiosity of popular Buddhist monasteries in and beyond Bangkok, and what Rigg (2003) has described as “credit card carrying and amulet-selling monks” and Jackson (1997:83) the “commodification of clerical personalities.” Parnwell and Seeger, The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand, 81.

30 core fundamentals or to seek and develop religious niches that move away from what they see as

Buddhism’s contaminated core.”62 In Parnwell and Seeger’s usage, the term relocalization refers to the process of returning Buddhism in Thailand to the “hands of the people.”

These relocalizing monastics, who have emerged since the 1970s in response to what they see as “the increasingly secular, materialist ethos of Thai society” are in conversation with earlier “teachings and specific hermeneutics of influential Buddhist thinkers like Buddhadāsa

Bhikkhu (1906-1993), Phra Payutto (1939- ), and Samana Phothirak (1934- ).”63 As such, these relocalizing monastics are in debate about their proper role and duties using a set of modernist oppositional tensions derived from these thinkers, but which can also exist, as suggested by

Keown, as “complementary and compatible points along a continuum.”64

Parnwell and Seeger, in their study of relocalization, identify seven such axes of oppositional ideals on a continuum, on which re-localizing monastics in Thailand and their practice can be located. They are: pluralism/populism vs. fundamentalism/puritanism65;

62 Ibid, 82. 63 Ibid, 92, 84. 64 “By using his hermeneutical dichotomy of everyday language and Dhamma language, Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu demythologizes canonical teachings and accounts of supernatural phenomena…In contrast to this, Phra Payutto’s hermeneutical approach to the Pāli canonical texts accepts these supernatural things both in their literal and metaphorical meaning as being authentic Buddhism…For him it is even possible that the belief in spirits, demons, and deities and the incorporation of amulets can be justified from a Buddhological point of view.” Parnwell and Seeger, The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand, 104-105. Damien Keown, The Nature of Buddhist Ethics, (Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001).

65 The term “Puritanism” is used by Parnwell and Seeger in reference to monks who reject ritual, ceremony, superstition and “god-ism,” which many such monks see as modern and wealth-seeking “corruptions.” Ibid, 16, 64.

31 apotropaic Buddhism vs. nibbanic Buddhism66; saiyasat (ไสยศาสตร, beliefs and practices concerning supernatural phenomena) vs. phutthasat (พทธศาสตร, Buddhology; science of the

Awakened one); social vs. spiritual; wat ban (วดบาน, village monastery) vs. wat pa (วดปา, forest monastery); social development vs. individualist salvation; and engagement vs. renouncement.67 These terms and tensions are useful in my discussion of Nanthayani as she, too, is a relocalizing monastic informed by those same influential Thai Buddhist thinkers, and is engaging in debate about the role of monastics using these same categories. Nanthayani locates herself distinctly in the second of each of these sets of axes, though not all “relocalizing reformers” do. This biography describes the choices which led to Nanthayani’s development as a particular kind of ascetic, and which later facilitated her fraternity’s growth.

Bhikkhunī Nanthayani was born in 1954 and raised in Thakamnuea (Ban Pae) sub- district, Chomthong, where her first monastery would eventually be founded. She went to a public elementary and middle school, before attending the Sathit Demonstration High School, a boarding school that feeds into Chiang Mai University. Reflecting on her youth, Nanthayani points to this time as when she first learned the value of self-discipline and routine, though she

66 The relationship between proximate and distant ritual goals, and of various supernatural elements is the subject of many books. While these apotropaic/nibbanic and saiyasat/phutthasat distinctions are useful, the lines between such categories are not always so clear. However, while in Chiang Mai, it was apparent that my interlocutors believed in many of these ritual distinctions. To them, any non-nibbanic or phutthasat practice seemed a “distraction” from the path to liberation. One of Nanthayani’s students told me she thinks Nanthayani must have reached a certain level of supernatural power, because she is such a strong samadhi meditator and has surely mastered some of the jhānas. However, “of course,” the student told me, “the Venerable Mother never says so, or use her powers.” Anonymous sikkhamānā, in conversation with the Author, January 2020. For more on these categories, see Melford Spiro, Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and its Burmese Vicissitudes (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); Keown, The Nature of Buddhist Ethics.

67 Parnwell and Seeger, The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand, 103. See Appendix 1 for a reproduction of the figure of Parnwell and Seeger’s research framework.

32 only realized this later, when she found herself missing the structure of boarding school while at

Chiang Mai University. Nanthayani joined the Buddhist Club of Chiang Mai University

(BCOCMU), and was inspired after reading Buddhadasa’s “the Four Noble Truths and the

Twelve Links of Dependent Origination” in her second year at university, to take some time off.

Reading this text is cited on her English-language website as the “starting point in her path toward the end of misery as instructed by the Buddha.”68 She spent the following year at Kao

Suan Luang Meditation Center (สนกปฏบตธรรมเขาสวนหลวง), in Ratchaburi (to the west of

Bangkok) run by Upāsikā Ki Nanayon (ก นานายน).69

While Nanthayani continues to this day to support the Kao Suan Luang Meditation

Center with occasional visits and donations, she told Itoh that there was not enough financial support— the ascetics were forced to buy their own food. Nanthayani also speaks of the intense discipline she learned there, once spending three days in walking meditation without sleeping, eating, or bathing. In hindsight, while this experience highlighted the value of sīla, or discipline,

Nanthayani does not think this intensity of practice is necessary.70

After a year, she returned to university to finish her degree, staying at the forest monastery Wat Umong (วดอโมงค) in Chiang Mai, under the abbot and forest monk Luang Pho

Singha.71 Wat Umong sits only about a half-mile from Chiang Mai University’s main campus, at

68 “The Founder,” Where the Misery Ends, Nirotharam, November 9, 2019. https://www.nirodharam.org/ founder.

69 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 194-202.

70 Ibid, 201. For more on the Kao Suan Luang Meditation Center and its founder, see: Thanissaro Bhikkhu “Upasika See Nanayon and the Social Dynamics of Theravadin Buddhist Practice” An Unentangled Knowing: Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Laywoman (Barre: Dhamma Dana Publications, 1995). Web: https://www.nku.edu/~kenneyr/Buddhism/lib/thai/kee/dynamic.html 71 “Singha” is Itoh’s romanization, and I have not been able to find other mentions of this abbot.

33 the foot of Doi Suthep. Having lain abandoned for almost 400 years before being re-established as a monastery in 1948, the foundations of the temple are said to date back to the time of King

Mangrai, who founded and enlarged the independent northern kingdom of Lān Nā in the late twelfth and thirteenth century and who is said to have established the city of Chiang Mai and made it his capital. Wat Umong’s website says that King Mangrai (1239–1311) founded the temple for the Lankan monks invited from Sukhodaya to spend their rain retreat.72 Later, this website says, King Kuenā (1339–1385) invited Laṅkāvaṃsa monks (Pāli; Thai: langkawong,

ลงกาวงศ; monks from a Lankan lineage, but not necessarily Lankan themselves), ordained in

Burma, to live at Wat Suan Dok. With this renewed interest in Lankan Buddhism, King Kuenā restored Wat Umong.

The history of Buddhism in Lān Nā is somewhat obscure. A major source of evidence in reconstructing the premodern history of Lān Nā Buddhism is histories of lineage and sāsana.

However, these were composed from divergent institutional and authorial perspectives, sometimes appearing to serve polemical functions. According to one version of the Tamnān

Mūlasāsanā Wat Pā Daeng, there was an early Lankan lineage, founded by a Mahā Thera

Saddhammālaṅkācariya, who traveled independently to Lanka and then returned to “ayōdhiyā”73 and “propagated Buddhism there until it flourished throughout Dvāravatī, the seven Lān Nā

72 “ประวตวดอโมงค สวนพทธธรรม.” ประวตวดอโมงค สวนพทธธรรม – วดอโมงค สวนพทธธรรม. www.watumong.org/web/ประวตวดอโมงค. 73 Though Ayutthaya was “officially founded” in 1351, there are clear records of it as a substantial port town and trading center before that, called Ayōdhiyā, Ayodayapura, Ayudhya, Ayojjhā or Xian in early chronicles and documents. Chris Baker, and Pasuk Phongpaichit, “Chapter 2: Ayutthaya Rising,” in A History of Ayutthaya: Siam in the Early Modern World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2017) 43–84.

34 cities, and every place and neighborhood.”74 According to the Jinakālamālī chronicle, however, the earliest monks from a Lankan monastic lineage to arrive in Chiang Mai came after Mangrai’s death (1311),75 under the reign of King Kuenā in the late fourteenth century.76 According to this text, this first Lān Nā lineage with ties to Lanka was founded by Thera Sumana from Sukhodaya, who traveled to Martaban (in present day Burma), to be re-ordained by Udumbara-mahāsāmi, a

Laṅkāvaṃsa araññavāsī (forest-dwelling) monk.77 After returning to Sukhodaya, Sumana departed to Haripunjaya (Lampun) and then Chiang Mai, to take residence at the Pupphârāma

Monastery (now Wat Suan Dok) in 1373 and establish the araññavāsī lineage in Lān Nā.78

It is notable that Wat Umong claims to be related to King Mangrai and King Kuenā, and to both an earlier Lankan lineage, and the “later” famous forest-dwelling Wat Suan Dok lineage.

74 Sommai Premchit, and Donald K. Swearer, "A Translation of Tamnan Mulasasana Wat Pa Daeng : the Chronicle of the Founding of Buddhism of the Wat Pa Daeng Tradition,” The Journal of the Siam Society 65, no. 2, (1977): 77. This event is not mentioned by the version of the Pādaeng chronicle translated by Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi. Sao Saimong Mangrai, The Pādaeng chronicle and the Jengtung state chronicle translated, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1981).

75 N. A. Jayawickrama, The Sheaf of Garlands of the Epochs of the Conqueror, Being a Translation of Jinakalamalipakaranam of Ratanapanna Thera of Thailand (Luzac & Company, LTD: London 1968), xxii.

76 Sometimes also spelled Kilanā, or Kuenā. Ibid, 119.

77 Ibid, 117. The Jinakālamālī reads: “At that time a Mahāsāmi ‘Great Sage’ by the name of Udumbara had come to the Rammaṇa Country, from the Island of Laṅkā.” Jayawickrama writes in a note that Udumbara likely “belonged to the Araññavāsī Fraternity of Udumbaragiri (Dimbulagala), Ceylon.” From this however, we only know that the Udumbara-mahāsāmi was in Laṅkā before he came to Martaban. In the Tamnan Mulasasana Wat Pa Daeng translated by Swearer and Premchit, there are hints that the “Mahā Udumbaraswāmī” was originally from Martaban. There is still some confusion as a Mahā Matimā Thera goes to Laṅkā, and a Mahā Tissa Thera returns and is renamed Udumbaraswāmī. Finally, in the Pādaeng chronicle translated by Saimong Mangrai, it is a Lord Mahā Anumati (of equally unknown origin) who brings the sāsanā from Laṅkā and is renamed Udumbara Sāmī Thera. Furthermore, in this version, Sumana himself also goes to Laṅkā before studying with Udumbara in Bandharaṭṭha (Martaban). Premchit, and Swearer, A Translation of Tamnan Mulasasana Wat Pa Daeng, 80; Mangrai, The Pādaeng chronicle and the Jengtung state chronicle translated, 102.

78 Jayawickrama, The Sheaf of Garlands of the Epochs of the Conqueror, 126-127.

35 According to the Wat Umong website, these “Lankan monks who came [to Wat Umong] for the rainy season had good knowledge of the Dhamma and Vinaya.79 They had a lot of talent in teaching the Dhamma. They behaved properly and followed their code of conduct strictly. More than other monks.”80 We begin to see here how Laṅkāvaṃsa monks are remembered, not for any particularly Lankan feature, but rather as icons of generally good monasticism. In addition to these icons of good monasticism, Wat Umong associates itself with two icons of Lān Nā greatness and self-sovereignty. King Mangrai is famous for his military victories: he expanded the borders of his kingdom to what would be known as Lān Nā, and established Chiang Mai as his capital and as a local power. King Kuena is famous as a patron of Buddhism, and for sponsoring large architectural projects, several of which still stand. Thus, even before graduating university and taking any vows, Nanthayani was associated with claims of Lān Nā excellence founded in a history of Lankan and araññavāsī superiority.

By the time Nanthayani was living in the temple in the mid 1970s, Jao Chuen Sirorot (เจา

ชน สโรรส), a wealthy patron from a noble Chiang Mai family (said to descended from the

Mangrai dynasty) had rehabilitated Wat Umong, and it had become famous for its forest monks,

“talking trees,” and historical Lankan and Lān Nā connections. While there, Nanthayani formed a close relationship with Sirorot. He would later continue to help her follow her ascetic ambitions, supporting her with meals and introducing her to key forest monks. While living at

79 I’ve translated this to “Dhamma and Vinaya,” but it can also more generally mean “Buddhism”. In either case, they were considered well rounded monks.

80 “พระลงกาทมาจพรรษาอยมความรในธรรมวนยด มความสามารถในการแสดงธรรมมาก มความ ประพฤตเรยบรอย และเครงครดในระเบยบวนยมากกวาพระอนๆ.” “ประวตวดอโมงค สวนพทธธรรม.” ประวตวดอโมงค สวนพทธธรรม – วดอโมงค สวนพทธธรรม. www.watumong.org/web/ประวตวดอโมงค.

36 Wat Umong, Nanthayani also began to give dharma talks to the BCOCMU (Buddhist Club of

Chiang Mai University), and was popular enough that the police suspected her of fermenting the spread of communism among students. During the 1960s and 1970s, many regional separatist movements were associated with communist sympathy, as relocalization was (and in many ways, still is) a response to an increasingly consumerist economy that put economic pressure on villagers, (often leading to debt), and increasing state intervention in local affairs.81

Furthermore, though perhaps not purposely resisting anti-communist agendas, relocalizing monks resisted the Thai Sangha’s centralizing projects, which had elements of these anti-communist agendas. Buddhadasa himself never fully condemned communism, and was thus labeled a communist sympathizer by many.82 Some monks, like Phra Khru Suphajarawat (พระคร

สภาจารวฒน), actively sought to ameliorate their community’s economy and morality, fighting the spread of “individualism, consumerism, materialism, social atomization, competitiveness, the weakening of paternal authority, acquisitiveness, and greed.”83 Aware of the economic difficulties his community faced, Suphajarawat tied his localization projects to developmental projects, championing “the revival of community spirit, communal institutions, and community self reliance, using traditional [local] culture, Buddhist doctrines and moral leadership as his principal tools.”84 Nanthayani’s “socially disengaged” view that renunciants should be removed

81 Parnwell and Seeger, The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand, 101.

82 For more on Buddhadasa and communism, see Peter Jackson, Buddhadasa: Theravada Buddhism and Modernist Reform in Thailand, (Silkworm books, Chiang Mai: 1987, 2003); and Tomomi Ito, Modern Thai Buddhism and Buddhadasa Bhikkhu: A Social History, (NUS Press, Singapore: 2012).

83 Parnwell and Seeger, The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand, 108-109.

84 Ibid, 112.

37 from society makes it unlikely that she was involved in such overt economic projects.85

Nonetheless, to diminish the government’s suspicions that she was a communist, Nanthayani moved out of Wat Umong, and back into university dorms shortly before graduating.86

After graduating, Nanthayani worked at Daraphirom Monastery (วดปาดาราภรมย), in

Chiang Mai, which was originally a small samnak (small, unofficial monastery) founded by the famous forest monk Ajan Man Phurithatto Thera (มั่น ภูริทตฺโต), and formally recognized as an official Thai temple in 1938. Nanthayani slept at that temple, gave her few wages away, and took a single meal a day, usually with Sirorot. Around this time, in 1979, Nanthayani’s father passed away, causing her to think deeply about her goals in life and her “delusions” of self. Seeking council from Phra Ajan Cha Suphattho (ชา สุภัทโท), a student of Ajan Man and a famous forest monk in his own right, as to whether she should become a mae chi, he said to her “just get ordained. Work of layperson can never be finished, but the work of the monk can.”87 This quote is highlighted in large bold text in both of Nanthayani’s online biographies.

However, Nanthayani faced a dilemma; she told Itoh she did not want to sell incense or work for monks as many mae chi do, nor did she want to handle money, or ask for support from her family. She decided to become a mae chi under Ajan Cha, though he resided primarily in the northeast, far away from her family in Chom Thong. Under his support she would be able to

85 Socially disengaged Buddhism, as Amod Lele describes, is the explicit rejection of social and political activism as “unfruitful and even harmful.” This approach to Buddhism is equally coherent and founded in classical literature as the socially engaged Buddhist perspective, though significantly less popular in Western Buddhism. Amod Lele, “Disengaged Buddhism,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 26 (2019): 239-289.

86 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 203-205.

87 “The Founder,” Where the Misery Ends, Nirotharam.

38 pursue meditation and learning without needing to handle money or work for monks. After hearing this news, Nanthayani’s mother soon fell unconscious and was hospitalized, forcing

Nanthayani to rethink her plan. She began instead to take short retreats at the local Wat

Thamthong (วดถตอง), and her family eventually voted to allow her to stay there as a mae chi.88

On 23rd of July in 1980, precisely one year and one day after the passing of her father, at twenty-five-years-old, Nanthayani became a ten-precept mae chi at Wat Phra Phuttabat Tak Pha

(วดพระพทธบาทตากผา), under the forest monk, Kru Ba Phrahmajakkhan (Phrahmajakkho)

(ครูบา พรหมจักร (พรหฺมจักโก)). This auspicious date indicates her early belief that women, even mae chi, could be fields of merit, capable of transferring the merit generated by their ordination to a deceased family member. Originally, Nanthayani had wanted to be ordained under Ajan Cha, but he was slow to answer. Nanthayani then returned from Wat Phra Puttabat Tak Pha, and spent eleven years as a mae chi at Wat Thamthong. Nanthayani’s interest in taking her vow under Ajan

Cha or Kru Ba Phrahmajakkho instead of the monks at Wat Thamthong is likely related to her interest in being a ten-precept mae chi. Officially, the Thai Sangha and Thai Mae Chi Institute prescribe an eight-precept vow, and forbid the ten-precept vow. This regulation probably exists to prevent the conflating of mae chi and sāmaṇerī.89 Many monks quietly give the ten-precept vow however, indicating their willingness to disregard certain official Sangha rules, and their recognition of women’s ascetic capabilities. With this vow, Nanthayani faced initial trouble with the other mae chi at Wat Thamthong, as she alone had taken ten precepts, lived barefoot, didn’t

88 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 208-209. 89 Monica Lindberg Falk and H. Kawanami, “Monastic Discipline and Communal Rules for Buddhist Nuns in Myanmar and Thailand,” Journal of Buddhism, Law & Society 3, Special Issue 1 (Oct 1, 2018), 39-68.

39 handle money, and followed a firmly vegetarian diet. From this ten-precept vow and these additional practices, we can further confirm Nanthayani’s early recognition of her own worth as a field of merit, and see the emergence of her preference for certain modes of asceticism, which would later inform her fraternity’s identity.

Though young, Nanthayani told Itoh she was soon trusted to give dharma talks and to run the mae chi division of the temple ahead of more senior mae chi. It was there that she met Luang

Pho Thong (Ajan Thong Sirimankhalo, ทอง สิริมังคโล). In 1952, Ajan Thong was selected to represent the Northern Thai Sangha at a year-long vipassana meditation course in Bangkok at

Wat Mahathat Yuwarat Rangsarit (วดมหาธาตยวราชรงสฤษฎ). He then returned to the north, and as something of a cultural-ambassador, set up Chiang Mai’s first vipassana meditation center in

1954, at Wat Muang Mang (วดเมองมาง). After a long and illustrious career as a monk, abbot, and meditation instructor, Ajan Thong was eventually promoted to abbot of Wat Phradhatu Sri

Chom Tong Voravihara (วดพระธาตศรจอมทอง วรวหาร), a royal temple in Chom Thong, in

1991.90 This put him only two miles from where the Mae Chi Arama Nirotharam would be established in 1995. Ajan Tong Sirimangalo passed away December 13th, 2019, on the eve of my trip to Thailand. His photograph adorned many of the halls at Nirotharam, and his influence is still felt.

While a mae chi at Wat Thamthong in the 1980s, Nanthayani would also meet her first follower, mae chi (and later bhikkhunī) Panyawari. Nanthayani meditated in Wat Thamthong’s famous meditation cave, and was even sponsored by the temple for a trip to Burma, where she

90 “Biography of Ajaan Tong Sirimangalo,” Sirimangalo.org, accessed February 21, 2020. https:// www.sirimangalo.org/bio/#Monkhood.

40 studied meditation under Mahasi Sayadaw. Mahasi Sayadaw was an internationally famous vipassana meditator and teacher, who completed tours of Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and even the

United States. His name, along with those of Ajan Thong, Ajan Cha, Ajan Man, and Kru Ba

Phrahmajakkhan appear in the Thai biography of Nanthayani on Facebook, serving to localize

Nanthayani within these famous Northern-Thai (and Burmese) intellectual, meditative, and practical lineages. Only Ajan Cha, Kru Ba Phrahmajakkhan, and Ajan Tong are mentioned in the

English-language biography, as they inspired her to ascetic life, gave her mae chi precepts, and gave her the name “Nanthayani” respectively.

It was during this time at Wat Thamthong that Nanthayani says she learned the importance of citta or concentration. She remained largely uninterested in learning Pali or reading texts, until an injury limited her meditation and caused her to begin reading the

Abhidhamma. She then read more of Buddhadasa’s work. Nanthayani explained to Itoh that it was then that she realized the importance of grounding her discipline and concentration with paññā or right knowledge. Nanthayani’s rhetorical focus on sīla-citta-paññā (discipline, concentration, wisdom) is repeated in both online biographies. These three terms are traditionally associated with the eightfold path. By describing her personal growth in this way, Nanthayani aligns herself with that traditional progression. This also serves to indicate that Nanthayani is herself, a developed and insightful monastic — she has deeply realized the importance of these three foci; she has progressed through the eightfold path.

After 11 years, in 1991, Nanthayani decided to leave Wat Thamthong, with four other mae chi who shared her dislike of serving monks, and the “magic,” or saiyasat that was practiced at Wat Thamthong. Nanthayani seems to take Buddhadasa’s perspective on such practices: she

41 does not believe in the existence of any powers that have no grounding in Pāli Canons or

Visuddhimagga; and those that she admits to be real, such as iddhi or abhiññā, are to be feared as temptations, and avoided.91 Such perspectives identify Nanthayani as a relocalizing reformer, and give her authority— not only because they signal her virtue as a monastic who practices the dhamma more purely to those who share that perspective on “magic,” but also because they align her with Buddhadasa and other like-minded famous monastic intellectualists.

Neither Ayako Itoh nor Nanthayani elaborated on the topics of gender relations or non- nibbana-focused practice at Wat Thamthong. Luckily, however, Julia Cassaniti visited Wat

Thamthong around 2010,92 and devotes some time in her book Remembering the Present to both of these questions. “Unlike the meals at the Goenka center or Wat Suan Mokkh, where volunteers of both genders contributed to the making of the food, at Wat Tham Thong the women would prepare the meal and then present it as a group to the monks, who would offer their blessings to the bowing women.”93 Such gendered work, while certainly not uncommon for mae chi in Thailand, is precisely the kind of responsibility Nanthayani had sought to avoid when she originally planned to live as a mae chi under Ajan Cha.

With regards to the “magic” and “super-natural practices” that Nanthayani mentions,

Cassaniti writes:

“Sometimes early in the mornings or in the later afternoons I would pass by a building in the woods between my kuti and the meditation hall, and I would hear the sounds of people screaming inside. It mostly sounded like older women screaming or crying, sometimes accompanied by other old women chanting… ‘It’s a ritual,’ a young woman with a Bangkok accent to her Thai said, ‘poet kam

91 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 191, 217, 232. 92 Julia Cassaniti, in an email to the author, February 2020. 93 Cassaniti, Remembering the Present, 91.

42 —it’s done to open up your karma.’ ‘What?!’ I answered—I had never heard of something like that. ‘It’s kind of unusual,’ she went on, ‘but the idea is that sometimes you have some negative karma stocked up that you can’t get rid of, and the ritual opens up that karmic store and lets it out. Like, let’s say you’re haunted by the ghost of a war colonel; the ritual lets that ghost free. It’s very intense.’… It wasn’t that Wat Tham Thong [sic] wasn’t a place to learn about mindfulness; it’s a particular kind of feeling of mindfulness that is created there, one that includes spirits, including the spirits of the self.”94

It is possible that Nanthayani found herself participating in these rituals, as they were run by the women, and may have occasionally implicated the whole community.95 This ritual, and the role of women in other similar saiyasat rituals within temple settings, merit further research and consideration.

Together, the five mae chi set off on three years of thudong (intensive ascetic practice, characterized by following thirteen specific rules (Pāli: dhutaṇgas) in addition to those in the

Vinaya, and leading a wandering lifestyle), and traveled to Lamphun, Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, and

Burma, supported by lay followers accumulated during her stay at Wat Thamthong, and the

BCOCMU network.96

After three years of wandering, the wealthy Bangkok-based Mrs. Wanna, who was a member of the BCOCMU (Buddhist Club of Chiang Mai University) donated the land in Chom

Thong to Nanthayani in 1995. The land was still wild forest, and all of the work was begun by the mae chi themselves and lay volunteers, mostly women, dedicating materials as well as their time and skills.97 This tradition of lay women dedicating raw materials and manual labor

94 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 91-93.

95 Julia Cassaniti, in an email to the author, February 2020. 96 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 211-217.

97 Ibid, 218.

43 continues today, as I witnessed two women laying cement my first day at Nirotharam. The Thai biography of Nanthayani highlights the years of good work, the high levels of meditation, and frequent dharma classes which followed between 1995 and the women’s sāmaṇerī ordination in

2006.98 However, the English biography says only “After practicing as a white-robed nun for 25 years, she [Nanthayani] decided to receive Samaneri ordination in Sri Lanka in 2006.”99 In this difference we see a reflection of the different audiences’ (English speaking and Thai) discursive expectations. The Thai audience, present for Nanthayani’s early growth and the development of

Nirotharam as a mae chi arama, wants to see this and their support of her reflected in the text, while the English speaking, and presumably international audience, is focused more on the arama as it is today.

During these years in which Nirotharam was a mae chi meditation center, the mae chi fostered strong relationships with the local monks. Though Nanthayani and her followers were uninterested in the formal education and Pāli exams many mae chi pursue, they continued to study independently and from local monks. Itoh points out that many of these women already had other higher degrees, which may have made them less interested in obtaining another.100

When Nanthayani first heard about the possibility of ordination, she was intrigued, and made a visit to Bhikkhunī Dhammanada to learn more. She then returned and consulted with monks of over 18 local temples to discuss the possibility of her lower ordination, which was all

98 “นิโรธาราม อารามแห่งความดับทุกข์,” Facebook, Accessed October 10, 2019. https:// www.facebook.com/nirodharam/about/?ref=page_internal.

99 “The Founder,” Where the Misery Ends, Nirotharam.

100 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 250

44 she was considering at the time.101 Of this original core group of mae chi, all but one came from forest temples, and had preceptors who ignored official Sangha regulations and instead allowed for the taking of 10-precept vows instead of the prescribed eight. The fact that these mae chi were already exemplary followers of their ten-precepts encouraged the monks to advise them to officially become sāmaṇerī.102

This first lower ordination took place in Sri Lanka in 2006, but later pabbajjā would occur in Thailand, performed by Sri Lankan monks, and later by Thai ones, with the implied consent of extremely high-ranking monks. For a 2008 pabbajjā, Ajan Thong lit candles at the opening ceremony and told a story about how his old forest monk teacher had supported bhikkhunī. The Ecclesiastic Chief and Vice Ecclesiastic Chief of the district of Doi Saket, as well as the Ecclesiastic Chiefs of the sub-district of Doi Saket and Chiang Mai province

(Thammayut), were all present before the ceremony, disappearing during the pabbajjā ceremony itself to “attend to other important business” and avoid being held at fault, while still lending their considerable social weight to the event. The Vice Ecclesiastic Chiefs of Doi Saket and

Ecclesiastic Chief of Doi Saket even returned to the temple after pabbajjā to bestow further blessings.103

Nirotharam grew to have a second monastery, growing from five mae chi in 1995; to ten mae chi, 20 sāmaṇerī, and five bhikkhunī in 2008; and finally, to three mae chi, 16 sāmaṇerī, 22

101 Itoh writes that Nanthayani may have had an idea about pursuing full ordination, but it was not brought up with monks at this stage.

102 Ibid, 265-268.

103 Ibid, 310.

45 sikkhamānā, and 40 bhikkhunī in 2019.104 As Nirotharam has grown, Nanthayani has carefully maintained her positive relationships with local monks, consulting them before all decisions and about how to understand the Abhidhamma (the philosophical portion of the Tipiṭaka). These monks frequently consult her in turn. When present at a ritual with monks, Nanthayani allows the monks to perform the ritual duties, and instead plays a supporting role by giving blessings, support, and dharma talks at the events. When she receives large gifts, she donates parts of it to the local male temples— a large image of her (as a mae chi) now decorates the repainted walls of

Wat Ton Haen that she funded.105

Nanthayani also maintains her connections with BCOCMU, which remains one of the fraternity’s greatest supporters. The Thai biography of Nanthayani strongly emphasizes this point, with nearly a third of the whole text describing the various Dharma talks and meditation camps Nanthayani has organized for BCOCMU over the years.106 It was through the BCOCMU network, that Nanthayani was put in touch with a radio host who now plays the monastery’s sermons for an hour daily, and with EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand), one of the largest supporters of forest monks in north and northeastern Thailand since the 1970s. They have been sending their male and female employees to Buddhist camps at Nirotharam since

1997, alongside significant donations.107

104 Nirotharam’s Facebook page in a private message to author, August 2019.

105 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 281-288, 313.

106 “นิโรธาราม อารามแห่งความดับทุกข์,” Facebook.

107 The roles of large corporations, such as EGAT or Thai Airlines, in the landscape and development of Thai Buddhism is one which should be further examined.

46 Finally, Itoh’s dissertation and the online Thai-language biography mention Nirotharam as one of the twelve places in Chiang Mai that civil servants can visit for retreats. Itoh explains that “In 2008, the proposal was approved for a law that would allow female civil servants, just like their male counterparts, to take part in Buddhist retreats (for the purpose of keeping the precepts and practicing meditation) once during their working life for a period of one to three months without considering the time spent therein as vacation days.”108 This honor was achieved by documenting Nirotharam as under the leadership of Mae Chi Anong, as the central Thai government does not administratively recognize any Thai bhikkhunī, sikkhamānā, or sāmaṇerī.109 “In fact, the National Buddhist Office told Nirotharam that the government would not allow any center or residence run by female ascetics who are other than “mae chi” to be listed as a place where female Civil Servants can practice under the framework of the new law.”110 This explains why, to this day, both Nirotharam branches are careful to have at least one resident mae chi. In this way, Nanthayani moves within the bounds of the law, skirting it while not directly challenging it. It is very likely that the administrators who chose Nirotharam as one of the twelve locations in the Chiang Mai province for this honor knew that Nirotharam was a bhikkhunī arama, or if not, they have certainly since found out. However, by not directly challenging the government, the government is not “forced” to respond. This strategy of publicly conforming to the letter of the law or expectation while quietly subverting the apparent intention

108 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 294. 109 This forces foreign women intending to ordain in Thailand, and Thai bhikkhunī in need of passports and other official documentation to describe themselves in other ways, which is sometimes a very painful and emotional choice. Bhikkhunī Dhammananda, in conversation with the Author, January 2020.

110 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 294.

47 of that law or expectation characterizes many of Nanthayani’s choices, and has facilitated

Nirotharam’s growth.

While both online biographies equally highlight Nanthayani’s relocalizing “reformist” qualities, such as her forest-monastic practices and Buddhist-intellectualist orientations, the Thai language biography is far more concerned with Nanthayani’s relationships, not just with famous monks, but also with BCOCMU and other organizations. Meanwhile, the English-language biography appears to be concerned with cementing Nanthayani as a monastic of unquestionable worth and as an authority on Buddhism, leaning heavily on the sīla-citta-paññā structure, as mentioned above. This English-language web-page ends with a large-font text saying “All

Dhamma discussed in Nirodharam and Suddhajit Bhikkhuni Arama are taken directly from the

Pali Canon, both in Thai and Pali language.”111 In contrast, while the Thai description of

Nirotharam still mentions the bhikkhunī’s particular ascetic practices (such as thorough vegetarianism, eating a single meal per day, and barefoot alms rounds), meditation, and reading the Abhidhamma in Pāli, the rhetorical emphasis on sīla, citta, and paññā, are limited. Instead, the Thai-language website describes the two goals of Nirotharam: to be a center for female ascetic practice where women can learn sīla, citta, and paññā; and to run meditation retreats and dharma classes for businesses, government workers, and all those interested. In this version, the daily practices of the monastics are presented with equal emphasis as the services they provide.

Looking at the English-Language and Thai-Language biographies of Nanthayani and descriptions of Nirotharam side-by-side, we see in both the cultivation of an image of

Nanthayani as a forest monastic, a Buddhist intellectual, and a Tipiṭaka “fundamentalist.” While

111 “Nirodharam Bhikkhuni Arama.” Where the Misery Ends. Nirotharam. November 9, 2019. https:// www.nirodharam.org/about

48 almost all Theravāda Buddhists would highlight the Tipiṭaka as the most important topic to study,

Nanthayani’s interest in Pāli, her deep readings in all three baskets (the Vinaya, Abhidhamma, and the Suttas) and her constant referral back to the text are out of the ordinary. The English- language description of Nirotharam truly drives this point home, with Pāli terms included throughout. Thus, by cultivating a reputation as someone who is well versed and precise in their readings of the Tipiṭaka, Nanthayani is able to interpret some doctrine in innovative ways, convincingly presenting these new readings as “traditional” instead of radical.

In these divergent Thai and English texts, we can understand a fundamental difference between the perceived Thai and English-speaking audiences. The former are longtime patrons, who have worked at Nirotharam since 1995, or are possible visitors, interested in classes themselves. The latter are foreigners: reporters, researchers, or possibly Sri Lankan monastics, for whom Nirotharam would wish to appear absolutely beyond reproach, and to highlight their

Tipiṭaka-mindedness. Here, everyday activities such as the monastery’s dharma talks and meditation classes are mentioned only in passing.

According to Parnwell and Seeger, relocalizing monastics, in reaction to “The co-optation of the Saṅgha by the state, and the “crowding out” of its traditional local institutional functions by the bureaucratic and political structures of the government,”112 seek to revitalize local temples and monks, and redefine the monk’s role in society. This relocalization is associated with a

“return to diversity,” so that a variety of religious practices and vocational orientations that are not taught or supported by the Central Thai Sangha are growing rather than disappearing.113 The

112 Parnwell and Seeger, The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand, 90. 113 Ibid, 88.

49 very nature of Nirotharam as a place for women to practice and find refuge means it (as a local temple, with monastics) is inherently diversifying, and has taken on a new role and and importance in the community.

Unlike the de-centralizing monks discussed by Parnwell and Seeger, however,

Nanthayani does not chafe under the control of the central Thai Sangha, as she is both outside of their jurisdiction, and seems supports their choices and perspectives. Nanthayani tries to support the Supreme Sangha Council, and has said “she thinks it is “correct” (T. thuk tong) that the

Mahatherasamakhom does not officially allow Thai women to become bhikkhunī at the moment.”114 Nirotharam is further aligned with many of the Central Sangha’s theoretical ideals.

Many of Nanthayani’s practices (such as her ritual foci, her araññyavasi socially-disengaged orientation, her focus on Pāli education, and her practice of taking a single meal a day) can also be found in the Thammayut order, as Prince Mongkut sought to “demythologize” Buddhism, and reform daily ascetic practice. Thus, unlike many northern monastics, whose practices

Thammayut monastics and Bangkok elite might disparage as superstitious, undisciplined, or uneducated, Nirotharam remains above reproach. Nanthayani does not simply relocalize

Buddhism, she re-localizes specific Thammayut ideals, and they serve her as armor. While her status as an ordained monastic is contestable, the quality of practice is unassailable by those monastic elites.

114 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 402.

50 This is particularly interesting, as many have noted the way the Thammayut historically functioned to help “colonize” northern Thailand and bring Lān Nā under Siam’s control.115 The

Thammayut order was a vehicle to push new social and religious ideology in peripheral areas of

Thailand.116 However, while the Thammayut are tied to a complicated and painful history in

Northern Thailand, Nirotharam, as a women’s fraternity with a Sri Lankan ordination lineage, is not Thammayut. Nirotharam can mobilize all the taught and perceived value of Thammayut practices, without being tied to Bangkok or Bangkok elite. Thus, Nanthayani co-opts many historically centralizing ideologies to push her de-centralizing, relocalizing practices.

This apparent alignment with the Central Thai Sangha, Nanthayani’s avoidance of any direct challenges to the law, and perhaps the fraternity’s geographic distance from Bangkok has allowed Nirotharam to grow rapidly without repercussions from the central Thai government. I do not suggest that Nanthayani calculated her beliefs to gain support— I believe she is, as shown above, a product of her education and geographic situation, and she is far from the only monastic to follow these patterns. Nanthayani’s personal history and monastic orientations, however, seem to be particularly fortuitous. Not only does her monastic orientation shelter her from reproach, her fraternity’s Sri Lankan ordination lineage is made prestigious by its reception against the background of Lān Nā’s premodern Laṅkāvamsa history.

115 J. L. Taylor, Forest Monks and the Nation-State: An Anthropological and Historical Study in Northeastern Thailand (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies: Singapore, 1993); Tiyavanich, Forest Recollections; Reynolds, The Buddhist Monkhood in Nineteenth Century Thailand. 116 Peter A. Jackson, “State Control of the Sangha in the Twentieth Century,” chapter in Buddhism, Legitimation, and Conflict: The Political Functions of Urban Thai Buddhism in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Singapore: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, 1989), 63–93.

51 Reform and Critique

Many local monks from the Chiang Mai province publicly support Nirotharam in the face of the Central Sangha’s disapproval of the wider bhikkhunī movement. This public support of the bhikkhunī is tied to ideas of Lān Nā excellence in comparison to Siam (now central Thailand).

Lān Nā’s excellence has been associated with both bhikkhunī and Sri Lankan ordination lineages. Thus, support for Nirotharam reflects northern monastic pride and localism, and acts as a critique of the Central Thai Sangha.

The signs of male monastic support of Nirotharam abound, and are thoroughly detailed by Delia and Itoh. As mentioned above, the monastics participate in reciprocal gift exchanges, and the sharing of knowledge and expertise. One of the most telling of these gifts is that many monks will contribute robes and funds for the upasampadā (higher ordination) of Nirotharam bhikkhunī, thereby not only supporting the ordination act, but valuing the merit created in their going-forth and wishing to share in it.117 The female monastics also sometimes give dharma talks and meditation classes at the local Wat Chom Thong, and Nanthayani occasionally gives lectures on the Vinaya and Buddhist history to student-monks from the Buddhist University

Mahachulalongkorn’s Chiang Mai campus, located at Wat Suan Dok— a notable reversal of prescribed gender relations. In all of these circumstances, the women teaching men are first invited to do so by a higher-ranking monk, thereby technically preserving the official monastic hierarchy; the monks are not “instructed” by female monastics, the lessons officially come from their male superiors.

117 Delia, Mediating between Gendered Images of ‘Defilement’ and ‘Purity’, 48.

52 As early as 2008, female pabbajjā (lower ordinations) were being held in the ubosot

(ordination hall) of male temples,118 a space typically denied to women. Delia and Itoh also both write of the ritual bringing of relics to Nirotharam in 2012, in which a group of bhikkhunī were allowed to enter an ubosot with a large audience watching to receive fifteen arahant relics donated from Sri Lanka, including some belonging to female arahants of the Buddha’s time, such as Bhikkhuni Mahapajapati Gotami Theri, the Buddha’s stepmother and the first bhikkhunī. In northern Thailand, popular beliefs state that women, due to the dangers and powers of menstrual blood, are hazardous to the purity of sacred spaces. It is noteworthy that the bhikkhunī were allowed into the ubosot publicly, a sign of the protective power of the ocher robe, and the bhikkhunī’s’ perceived merit and monastic authenticity.119

This large-scale, high-ranking, and public support for bhikkhunī is likely shaped by northern Thai historical memory of bhikkhunī ordination and practice in the region. There exists in Chiang Mai, a tradition of building bhikkhunī ubosot, despite most scholars reckoning that there having never been Theravāda bhikkhunī in the region. To this day, Wat Pra Sing in central

Chiang Mai has an ubosot with two doors named ‘ubosot song song’ (อุโบสถสองสงฆ์) or “the ordination hall of two sanghas.” This hall is thought to have been originally built in 1806, but

118 Though at that time, the events were quiet, and Itoh did not publish the names of temples involved. Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 270.

119 Delia’s thesis focuses on these questions of defilement and purity. According to her research, many women at Nirotharam do not see themselves, or even menstruation, as spiritually dangerous. Instead, they move the conversation from the supernatural into the mundane, and make it a question of hygiene. They argue that in the past, hygiene was difficult for bhikkhunī to maintain, leading to unfortunate stains in holy places. This staining and mundane “grossness” is seen as the cause of many restrictions, and thus are easily overcome with sanitary pads. In my own visit to Nirotharam, I saw a few clean re-usable sanitary pads, unabashedly drying in the sun outside kutis. Delia, Mediating between Gendered Images of ‘Defilement’ and ‘Purity’, 29-39, 58-73.

53 certainly by 1817,120 coinciding with the period of large-scale forcible resettlement that followed the end of the end of the Burmese rule. Beginning in 1782, somewhere between 50,000 and

70,000 inhabitants from Sipsongpanna were brought to Chiang Mai-Lampung area.121 At Wat

Phra That Hariphunchai, a second ubosot (though never consecrated), exists next to the one used by men, ‘built to commemorate’ bhikkhunī.122 The building of bhikkhunī ubosot seems linked to a concurrent local millenarian belief. Indeed, the bhikkhunī ordination hall not only commemorates the time of the Buddha and historical bhikkhunī, but also “symbolically awaits the bhikkhunī who will appear during the time of Mettraiya Buddha,”123 assuming the more proximate arrival of Metteyya.124

In addition to these bhikkhunī ubosot, Itoh writes that eleven copies of the Tamnan bhikkhunī exist in Chiang Mai city alone, copied between 1812 and 1961, with the bulk being finished around 1905. The version of the Tamnan bhikkhuni discussed by Nguyen is dated to

1902, and claims to be copied from an earlier version, translated from Hā to Thai Yuan (the

120 While the first mention of this ubosot in the Chiang Mai Chronicle does not mention bhikkhunī, the second calls it a “bhikkhuni ordination hall” leading some to suspect there used to actually exist two separate ubosot. Aroonrut Wichienkeeo, and David K. Wyatt, The Chiang Mai Chronicle, (Chiang Mai: Silkworm books, 1998), 180; 194.

121 Ibid, 131.

122 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 80-84.

123 Mae Chi Kritsana Raksachom, “Origin of Bhikkhunī saṅgha in Thailand,” Eminent Buddhist Women: Proceedings of the 11th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women, Decenber 28th 2009 – January 3rd 2010, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, pp. 55-58. quoted in Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 83-84. 124 For more on Metteyya in Northern Thailand see: Paul T. Cohen (ed.), Charismatic Monks of Lanna Buddhism (Copenhagen and Chiang Mai: NIAS Press, 2016); Amporn Jirattikorn, “Buddhist Holy Man Khruba Bunchum: The Shift in a Millenarian Movement at the Thailand–Myanmar Border,” Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 31, no. 2 (July 2016). For more on Metteyya and Millenarian belief in general, see: Steven Collins, Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities: Utopias of the Pali Imaginaire (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998).

54 northern Thai dialect) in 1791.125 The first of these dates lines up with the end of Burmese rule and the resettlements. The later date, 1902, coincides with major policy changes that came with

Siam’s efforts to control the north, notably: taxation, conscription, and the 1902 Sangha Act, which first brought all Thai monks under the same bureaucratic and legal system of the royal government in Siam.126

With some variation, the various Tamnan bhikkhunī tell of a young woman from

Hariphunchai (now Lamphun) who escapes the threat of a bad marriage, meets the Buddha, and returns home to save her family (and/or the kingdom) from demons with her new faith.127 In the version discussed by Nguyen, the story also contains warnings of the deterioration of the sāsanā, delivered by a woman, and ignored by men; and a young woman who is falsely accused of improperly spending the night with a man. Throughout the story, it is the women who serve as heroes. Nguyen argues that the Tamnan bhikkhunī and other tamnan produced in local dialects at the same time, were symptoms and expressions of deep social unease. These “calamity cosmologies” depict a moral order that has been upturned; kings are evil, laws are unjust, and the virtuous are born female or with otherwise low status.128 Such cosmologies can be understood as a type of millenarian belief, focused on the terrible time that comes before the future Buddha’s return.

125 Betty Nguyen, Calamity Cosmologies: Buddhist Ethics and the Creation of a Moral Community, PhD. Diss, (University of Wisconsin-Madison: 2014), 100.

126 Justin McDaniel, Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words Histories of Buddhist Monastic Education in Laos and Thailand. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2012), 101. Katherine A. Bowie, Of Beggars and Buddhas: The Politics of Humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand, (Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2017), 235.

127 Ayako Itoh’s chart of these tamnan is shown in Appendix 1.

128 Nguyen, Calamity Cosmologies, 24

55 Millenarian beliefs, which expect the coming of the future Buddha at a much more proximate time than is generally otherwise assumed, are tied to moments of socio-economic unrest,129 as can be seen in the dates of the Tamnan bhikkhunī, and bhikkhunī ubosot. In

Northern Thailand, such millenarian movements sometimes focus around particularly charismatic monks, or tonbun, who were popularly thought to be incarnations of Maitreya or other Buddhas. These messianic millenarian cults shared a general belief that after a period of disasters, famine, disease, unjust rulers and moral decay, the future Buddha would come, and the world would be set to rights.

Bhikkhunī have long been associated with the decline of Buddhism, as the Buddha apparently told Ananda that due to allowing women to “go forth,” the order would last 500 years instead of 1000— which became a part of Buddhaghosa’s famous 5000-year timeline of decline and loss.130 Nguyen’s work on calamity cosmologies and the Tamnan Bhikkhuni reveals the reversal of expected roles as we reach the end of this timeline. When kings and princes are undeserving, it will be the unexpected - the women and the poor - who are virtuous. Thus, within this cosmology, supporting the return of bhikkhunī further indicates a belief that one’s kings, leaders, and monastic authorities are un-just or immoral, and that the average monk is unable to fulfill their duties. Support for bhikkhunī then as now, is an expressions of a need for bhikkhunī, which is a critique of the status quo, and part of a dialogue of sāsanā disintegration.

129 Katherine Bowie gives a brief history of messianic millenarian movements in Northern mainland Southeast Asia, focusing particularly on northern Thailand in her article “The Saint with Indra's Sword: Khruubaa Srivichai and Buddhist Millenarianism in Northern Thailand,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 56, no. 3 (July 2014). 130 Bhadantācariya Bhuddaghosa, Visuddhimagga: The Path to Purification: The Classic Manual of Buddhist Doctrine and Meditation, translated by Bhikkhu Ñānamoli (Colombo: Buddhist Publication Society, 2010); Bhikkhu Analayo, “The Revival of the Bhikkhunī Order and the Decline of the Sāsana,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 20 (2013).

56 Many have, through a western feminist lens, considered any perceived need for bhikkhunī as a reaction to “antiquated chauvinist laws” preventing equal female participation in monasticism in Thailand (and the world). In essence, they consider the bhikkhunī movement as a question of gender equality, and label the male and female champions of movement

“feminists.”131 While this is sometimes the case, I argue that the northern monks who support

Nanthayani do so as a critique of the behavior of undisciplined central Thai monks rather than an expression of concern for gender equality.

Mrozik, Lehrer, and Salgado have all written of how the bhikkhunī in Sri Lanka are perceived as being better and more exact ritual practitioners.132 In a conversation with Tyler

Lehrer, Kirima Wimalajothi, who founded the Dekanduwala Bhikkhuni Training Center, said that

“There are worse monks in Sri Lanka than these nuns. They are involved with the politics and the riots as student monks, they go and work and all kinds of things which are against Buddhism.

All these political activities, yantra [protective spells], all these things.”133 In other words, in Sri

Lanka, as I will demonstrate is the case in Thailand, support for local bhikkhunī is often tied to criticism of other monks.

Thus, Nirotharam is not only supported by locals because the fraternity resonates with this local cultural memory and imagination of bhikkhunī, support for Nirotharam also serves as a critique of the central Thai Sangha, and as a way for northern monks to assert a degree of

131 Itoh does a thorough job explaining the dangers of such a label to the bhikkhunī movement, and of demonstrating diverse in-group reactions to the term ‘feminist’.

132 Tyler A. Lehrer, “Mobilizing Gendered Piety in Sri Lanka’s Contemporary Bhikkhunī Ordination Dispute,” Buddhist Studies Review 35 no. 1. (2019); Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice; Susanne Mrozik, “We Love Our Nuns,” 57–95

133 Lehrer, Mobilizing Gendered Piety, 16

57 independence. It is important to note that the Nirotharam bhikkhunī do not critique the central

Thai monks themselves— but rather it is the northern monks for whom support for these bhikkhunī becomes a political act.

Though northern Thai monks have not established the Thai bhikkhunī fraternity through higher-ordination (as they are forbidden to do so), their public support for the Nirotharam fraternity does many of the same things that directly offering higher-ordination might.

Throughout the Theravāda Buddhist world, control over new ordinations has long been one avenue for monks to assert their power. In Thailand, one of the major changes brought on by the

1902 Sangha act was to limit who was allowed to ordain new monks, thereby centralizing the

Thai Sangha. Similarly, in the 18th century, the Sri Lankan Kandyan Siyām Nikāya held a monopoly on upasampadā, cutting off Low Country and non-Goyigama Buddhists from what they viewed as their regional distinctive heritage.134

More recently in Sri Lanka, Inamaluwe Sumangala, who would later be an early supporter of bhikkhunī ordinations and would establish a bhikkhunī ordination center of his own, led the Dambulla temple to split from the Asgiriya chapter (one of the many Siyām Nikāya chapters that ordains only high-caste men). In 1985, the Dambulla chapter began to ordain “low- caste” men. In speaking of these ordinations, Sumangala told Ananda Abeysekera that there has been a commercialization of ordination in Sri Lanka. During his own ordination, the “monks did not test his skills of memorization; they failed to ask him to recite even one verse,” leading some to believe, Sumangala said, he had gotten off easily because he had given his teachers too many

134 Blackburn, Locations of Buddhism.

58 gifts.135 Sumangala says that his efforts to decentralize higher ordination are an attempt to raise the standards of monkhood, and challenge the “faulty” idea that “caste is a part of monastic higher ordination…”136

Nirmala Salgado and Tyler Lehrer also write of Inamaluwe Suamangala’s 1998 bhikkhunī ordination, and the setting up of the Dambulla Bhikkhuni Education and Training Centre as further maneuvers to distance himself from Asgiriya monks.137 It is the Asgiriya chapter’s very disapproval of bhikkhunī that allows for Dambulla to use their support for bhikkhunī to push both an independent fraternity identity, and to make claims to their religious superiority, through competing interpretations of ordination laws— just as they had done with caste-based ordination.

Unlike other moves that could also be used to create independent identities, such as adopting additional or different ascetic practices, supporting the low-caste and bhikkhunī causes has the added value of creating a ritual distinction between the chapters, and literally creating dependent followers. The newly ordained monks of all castes at Dambulla belong to a ritually ratified exclusive community. This means the new bhikkhu and bhikkhunī owe their allegiance exclusively to Dambulla, a chapter, or community and lineage, which can now grow un-checked by Asgiriya.

Wolters, writing of ‘men of prowess’ and theories of social power, maintains that “a person’s spiritual identity and capacity for leadership were established when his fellows could

135 Ananda Abeysekera, Colors of the Robe: Religion, Identity, and Difference, (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2002), 180.

136 Ibid, 181.

137 Lehrer, Mobilizing Gendered Piety; Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice.

59 recognize his superior endowment and knew that being close to him was to their advantage.”138

Growing a large following of dependent monastics and lay people cements the Dambulla chapter as a distinct center of power, separate from Asigiya. Similarly, in the north of Thailand, monks who support Nanthayani increase their sphere of influence— by supporting the bhikkhunī, they subsume them and their followers. They also partake and claim some of Nanthayani’s personal charisma, as she and her fraternity pay respect to local monks. Moreover, just as Dambulla’s bhikkhunī ordinations in the face of Asgiriya’s disapproval helped to establish Dambulla as an independent group with different (and “superior”) interpretations of the Vinaya, so too do the northern Thai monks, in supporting the bhikkhunī whom the central Thai sangha do not recognize, establish themselves as independent and “superior.”

This expression of northern monastic independence is even clearer when we remember support for Nirotharam reflects millenarian beliefs, and is tied to memories of Laṅkāvamsa monks and monastic autonomy. The chronicles accounting for Lān Nā’s monastic history all tell of monks traveling, ordaining, and founding new lineages independently from royal patronage.

In the Tamnan Mulasasana Wat Pa Daeng translated by Premchit and Swearer alone, there are four mentions of such autonomy. First, we hear of the early Lankan lineage, founded by a Mahā

Thera Saddhammālaṅkācariya, who traveled independently to Laṅkā.139 Next, of Mahā Thera

Matimā and four of his pupils who traveled from Phan (Martaban) to Laṅkā independently from any royal support.140 Sujāto Thera also travels independently until the “king of Ayōdhiyā was

138 Oliver Wolters, History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives, (Southeast Asia Program Publications, Cornell University: Ithaca, New York, 1999, Second Printing 2004), 19.

139 Premchit and Swearer, A Translation of Tamnan Mulasasana Wat Pa Daeng, 77.

140 Ibid, 80.

60 delighted with the virtue of the Mahā Thera and consecrated him as Sudhammajāto

Rajamunī.”141 Finally, Anomadassī and Sumanaraṅsī travel independently to study and re-ordain under under Udumbara Mahāswāmī, the later of whom is later received by King Kuenā, and invited to found the “Flower Garden Monastery” or Wat Suan Dok142 Other chronicles similarly tell of multiple independent trips to Laṅkā, Martaban, and Ayutthaya, which result in new monastic practices and lineages in Lān Nā.

Lān Nā monastics retained a great degree of this autonomy into the 19th century: monks voted on their own sangharaja, rather than him being appointed by the Lān Nā court; they interceded in favor of criminals when the punishment appeared too severe; and even led revolts.143 Later, with the imposition of Siam’s control over the north and new taxation and conscription laws, northern monastics continued to be free from the draft, and were known to ordain young men to help them evade conscription, until 1924, when the Sangha act of 1902 was fully implemented in the north.144

Northern monks today remember this autonomous monastic history with pride, just as they do their Laṅkāvamsa history, and they celebrate the Nirotharam bhikkhunī as a continuation of both these histories. Theodore Mayer and Somboon Chungprampree of the International

Network of Engaged Buddhists write that

“The Ecclesiastical Governor of Chiang Mai province has publicly praised the preparedness and correct practice of the bhikkhunis. He acknowledges that many people are opposed to bhikkhuni ordination, but says that if they would see the behavior of the bhikkhunis they would change their minds. Similarly, the Deputy

141 Ibid.

142 Ibid, 81-85. 143 Bowie, Of Beggars and Buddhas, 229-231. 144 Ibid, 234.

61 Ecclesiastical Governor of the province has stated that the Buddha established Four Buddhist Assemblies—ordained men and women, and laymen and women— and that anyone who claims that bhikkhunis are [an] impossibility today is contradicting the intentions of the Buddha. It would not be far-fetched to predict that were the Thai Sangha to be decentralized, the Chiang Mai Sangha would approve of the ordination of bhikkhuni…”145

Itoh similarly writes that Phra Maha Bunno, the Vice Ecclesiastic Chief of the district of

Chiang Mai (in 2008) openly supported the bhikkhunī at Nirotharam, and located them in a history of Lān Nā excellence. “He also took pride in the accomplishments of Lanna [sic]

Buddhism, saying that Singhalese Buddhism first flourished in Chiang Mai and that it was a

center of the religion and many monks in Thailand learned from Lanna monks. He also affirmed that monks in other regions may be afraid of the central Thai saṅgha but Lanna monks are not.”146

The monks who support Nirotharam belong to a northern forest monastic tradition, or are mid 20th century Buddhist intellectualists. They have both a history of resistance to the central sangha, and of being involved in millenarian reform movements. With their Sri Lankan ordination lineage, strong lay support, intellectual and “de-mythologizing” orientation (without being attached to the central Thai monastic exam curriculum), and specific ascetic practice modeled off the dhutangas, the Nirotharam bhikkhunī have become symbols of Lān Nā excellences, in contrast with perceived central Thai Buddhist decay. Furthermore, in contrast to the sectarian figures of the 20th century against whom the central Thai government took a strong stance, the bhikkhunī themselves support the central sangha and are careful to follow the law.

145 Mayer and Chungprampree, Seven Proposals to Support Women’s Work for New Social Spaces in Thai Buddhism, 116-117.

146 Itoh, The Emergence of the Bhikkhunī-Saṅgha in Thailand, 377.

62 Thus, advocating for Nirotharam is a safe avenue for northern monks express resistance to the central Thai Sangha as they push for general monastic reforms.

Nirotharam’s Active Role

Nirotharam is not passive in this favorable reception by northern monks. Though verbally supporting the Central Thai Sangha, Nanthayani carefully uses this history of Tamnan Bhikkhunī and ubosot, Lān Nā-Lanka relationships, and northern monastic autonomy to prime the bhikkhu’s support. Thus, they manage the sometimes tense relationships between the northern monks and the Central Thai Sangha to their advantage.

On February 19th, 2020, at 1:00am EST (or 1:00pm in Thailand), as I was about to go to sleep, I had the good luck to catch a live video of Bhikkhunī Nanthayani lecturing a room of monks about the history of bhikkhunī. In this three-hour presentation, Nanthayani spoke of the history of bhikkhunī from the time of the Buddha to the present, and claimed that there used to be bhikkhunī in Lān Nā. With this lecture to a room full of student-monks we see Nanthayani construct a narrative which primes the monks to support her fraternity as local and as proof of

Lān Nā excellence. After the live broadcast ended, around 4am, I took a few notes and fell asleep. The next morning, I went to review the video to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood, or dreamed the whole event. The video had been deleted.147

A few days later, I managed to speak with Bhikkhunī Nanthayani over the phone, and was able to confirm what I had seen and heard. Nanthayani told me that the monks in the

147 This was not the first time Nirotharam’s Facebook page had removed content, which is why I had bothered to stay awake and take notes rather than sleeping when I first saw the video. The reasons behind this careful use of media and the internet is beyond the scope of this thesis. Piangchon Rasdusdee is working on a dissertation which examines Nirotharam’s use of technology.

63 audience (about 30 men) were students of the Buddhist University Maha Chulalongkorn at the

Wat Suan Dok campus, while the lay people (about 10 men and women together) were students from the Buddhist Club of Chiang Mai University (BCOCMU). Nanthayani reiterated over the phone that she thinks there used to be bhikkhunī in Chiang Mai, citing as proof, as she had in her lecture, the bhikkhunī ubosot at Wat Pah Singh. She further told me that “One old monk told me

[Nanthayani] that his bhikkhu teacher, when he was a little novice, his old teacher told him that he went to see bhikkhunī as a young novice.”148

Such an oral history is unverifiable. It is not impossible, however, that there were a few women in orange robes calling themselves bhikkhunī in northern Thailand many years ago.

While staying at Wat Mae Long, Cassaniti came across two women in dark orange robes who had gone on a trip as thudong wandering forest monastics. These women changed into white robes when they went into town because it “was expected” but wore orange at the small forest temple and while out on wanderings. They claimed this was because the white robes would get dirty. Surely, in choosing orange instead of navy blue or another dark color, however, these renunciants were privately coding themselves with ordained monastics.149 It is possible that such women, who quietly wore orange monastic robes in the wilderness, but avoided attention and conflict, have existed for a long time. Nanthayani spoke of the old monk’s teacher’s teacher going to see the bhikkhunī, perhaps indicating they too had lived outside of town.

Nanthayani actively uses precedents from Lān Nā history to reframe her fraternity as local. It is worth remembering, however, that while Nanthayani gave this lecture, she assured me

148 Nanthayani, in conversation with the author over the phone, March 2020.

149 Cassaniti, Remembering the Present, 98.

64 that these young monks had been sent by their teacher (whose name Nanthayani forgot, or perhaps “forgot” to preserve his privacy) to learn “about the Vinaya.”150 In sending his students to Nanthayani, this teacher endorses Nanthayani’s lesson and history. Thus, while Nanthayani is active in the creation of her place in Northern Thailand, high ranking male monks are equally involved in her narrative’s propagation.

The following abbreviated description of Nanthayani’s lecture demonstrates her active role in localizing her lineage as Thai, and particularly northern, and her participation in cultivating her fraternity as a symbol of Lān Nā excellence. Nanthayani began with a history of bhikkhunī in the time of the Buddha, and their arrival in Laṅkā from India. She then discussed

Phra Upali, the Thai monk who traveled to Lanka and gave the founding ordinations for the

Siyām Nikāya in the 18th century. In highlighting Phra Upali, Nanthayani emphasizes how her ordination lineage may be traced back to Thailand via Sri Lanka’s Siyām Nikāya. Though she briefly mentioned the other two Sri Lankan Nikāyas (the Amarapura and Rāmañña Nikāyas), she made no mention of their roots, or that members of her fraternity have been ordained by both

Amarapura and Siyām Nikāya bhikkhu. Instead, this history highlighted Siamese/Thai continuity, and her shared lineage with those Thai monastics in the crowd.

150 Nanthayani, in conversation with the author over the phone, March 2020.

65 Next, Nanthayani spoke of the various bhikkhunī revival attempts, beginning with a 1988 ordination attempt in Los Angeles,151 followed by the 1996 and 1998 ordinations in India. This was presented so that the third ordination attempt was the success— much as we might say “the third time is the charm.” The failure of the first two ordination attempts, and the success of the third was presented narratively as inevitable.

Nanthayani then discussed the 1998 ordination in more depth, explaining who the

Dharmaguptaka bhikkhunī are, and that their ordination lineage came from Sri Lanka. At this point, she also discussed the difference between Mahāyāna and Theravāda, making it clear that these are not the same categories of the more familiar Mahanikai and Thammayut. She reassured the Thai monks that both Mahanikai and Thammayut are Theravāda, as they share the same

Vinaya. In Thailand, where the vast majority of monks are Theravāda, there has historically been little anti-Mahāyāna rhetoric.152 For female Theravāda renunciants, however, the distinction between Mahāyāna and Theravāda has long been the primary barrier to their monastic ordination. The bhikkhunī’s need to establish themselves as true Theravādins has led them to take a much clearer stance in defining Mahāyāna and Theravāda. In her lecture, Nanthayani

151 The five Dasa Sil Mata ordained as bhikkhunī from this ordination in LA almost immediately went back to living as DSM. This ordination is mentioned only briefly, if at all, by most works on the bhikkhunī phenomenon. Salgado gives this ordination more attention as she uses this event to highlight her point that “the ideal of the higher ordained nun, framed with reference to liberal notions of equality and freedom, speaks to a global or transnational sisterhood of Buddhist nuns that has come to shape perceptions of female renunciants over the past several decades. However, transnational ideals of renunciant sisterhood are the product of a Western project, with which nuns who do not speak in globalatinized ways have little concern.” Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice, 211.

152 Pattana Kitiarsa has written of the harmonious co-existence of Hindu gods and Chinese bodhisattvas within popular Thai religion. Pattana Kitiarsa, “Beyond Syncretism: Hybridization of Popular Religion in Contemporary Thailand,” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 36, no. 3 (October, 2005).

66 highlighted the different Vinayas, and positioning the Dhammaguptaka monastics (who participated in the 1996 and 1998 bhikkhunī ordinations) and their Vinaya, as quasi-Theravāda.

Next, Nanthayani spoke of the bhikkhunī in Thai history, beginning with the bhikkhunī who supposedly used to live in Lān Nā, when her teacher’s teacher was a boy and the bhikkhunī ubosot were built. Next, she spoke of the notorious 1928 sāmaṇerī (female novice) ordinations, and of Voramai (Dhammananda’s mother) and Dhammananda’s ordinations as a Dharmaguptaka bhikkhunī and a Theravada bhikkhunī respectively.153 The inclusion of Voramai in this discussion of Theravada bhikkhunī in Thailand makes more sense as Nanthayani positions Dhammaguptaka closer to Theravada. In other conversations, Nanthayani’s opinions about Bhikkhunī

Dhammananda’s fraternity are more complex, as she has disagreed with Dhammananda’s choice of monastic vocation. In this lecture however, Nanthayani asserted that the various bhikkhunī are all “the same,” all Theravada, once more highlighting Nanthayani’s focus on the Vinaya.

Finally, Nanthayani discussed the sikkhamānā probationary period, and, using complicated tables, carefully compared the Vinaya rules for sāmaṇerī and sāmaṇeras (male novices) and bhikkhunī and bhikkhu. She finished by briefly discussing the Gurudhammas, the eight rules which govern bhikkhu-bhikkhunī interactions. By discussing the Vinaya throughout, and emphasizing the rules which govern monastic life, Nanthayani draws the monk’s attention to the similarities between the two groups, in contrast to those, who she explained, do not share the

Pāli Vinaya. Furthermore, this emphasis on vinaya probably lends Nanthayani authority, as she speaks precisely and legalistically, leaving no room for doubt. Finally, by listing all 311 rules in

153 As I mentioned in the introduction, Bhikkhunī Dhammananda, born Chatsumarn Kabilsingh was the first Theravada bhikkhunī of Thai nationality. Her mother, Voramai, ordained as a Dharmaguptaka Bhikkhunī in Taiwan, and took the name Ta Tao Fa Tzu.

67 the bhikkhunī pāṭimokkha, Nanthayani draws the conversation further away from politics, and drives home the point that the female monastics are serious ascetics.

At the end of her lecture, Nanthayani answered questions from the crowd, including one about ordinations. Nanthayani explained how sāmaṇerī ordinations took place in Thailand, saying explicitly that this was allowed by the Supreme Patriarch. The vow to become a sikkhamānā, and the vuṭṭhāna sammuti, a ritual that takes place before the full ordination, were also mentioned as taking place in Thailand. Finally, the upasampadā (higher ordination) would take place in Sri Lanka under Sri Lankan monastics. She explained that for now, the Supreme

Patriarch did not allow full ordinations in Thailand. Echoing what she had told Ayako Itoh, she told the monks that this was right, as the Supreme Patriarch should not risk taking responsibility for the bhikkhunī until they are established as respectable.

I argue that with this support of autonomous monastic action, Nanthayani presents herself as a modern-day Mahā Thera Saddhammālaṅkācariya, Mahā Thera Matimā, Sujāto Thera, or

Anomadassī and Sumanaraṅsī,154 who according to one version of the Tamnan Mulasasana Wat

Pa Daeng, traveled and practiced independently until they were recognized as virtuous and patronized by kings. In her answer about ordinations, the ban on female upasampadā in Thailand is demonstrated as unproblematic for the bhikkhunī, her monastic autonomy represented as proper, and the future acceptance of the bhikkhunī as certain.

While Nanthayani identifies the Supreme Patriarch and the central Thai government as the governing body which will eventually formally recognize the bhikkhunī, she also highlights

Northern Thailand’s particular history with bhikkhunī and history with Laṅkā. Thus, while she

154 Premchit and Swearer, A Translation of Tamnan Mulasasana Wat Pa Daeng, 77-85.

68 aligns herself with the central government, she opens the avenue for Northern monks to think of the bhikkhunī as particularly local, and to support them as signs of Lān Nā excellence.

Itoh uses the local beliefs surrounding bhikkhunī to explain Nirotharam’s support and ability to thrive in northern Thailand. Furthermore, she argues that this is proof that the impetus for bhikkhunī ordination is not foreign, as others have argued, but local. I argue, rather, that

Nanthayani localizes her practice in northern forms of asceticism and actively embeds her fraternity in local history to mediate her local and national contexts. By framing her lineage against the backdrop of historical Lān Nā Laṅkāvaṃsa monastics, she gains support, as is perceived local, despite her lineage’s foreign source, and in spite of the national Thai hostile attitude toward bhikkhunī.

Nanthayani’s personal history shows her early association with Lankan-Lān Nā history, and the roots of her inclinations toward certain modes of intellectualism, meditation, and discipline. Since 1995, her arama has served to relocalize Buddhism for her followers.

Furthermore, perhaps due to her veneration of Ajan Cha and other Thammayut forest monastics,

Nanthayani follows many of the reforms the Thammayut advocate for. After years of the Thai government using the Thammayut as exemplars of monasticism to push centralizing agendas in the peripheries of the country, Nanthayani’s Thammayut-like practices protect her from criticism.

Blackburn’s model for localization highlights the need for patronage, which is dependent on “representing the imported lineage as an agent of reform or revival, rather than a harbinger of change” and on creating a locally acceptable history “linking it [the new lineage] to monastic traditions already accorded prestige within the local Buddhist culture.”155 Nirotharam does all of

155 Blackburn, Localizing Lineages, 139.

69 this. In her online English and Thai biographies, and in her lecture to the student-monks from

Wat Suan Dok, Nanthayani localizes herself in a Northern Thai intellectual lineage, framing her practices as local and traditional, instead of innovative. Her fraternity is also localized in a history of northern bhikkhunī, Laṅkāvamsa monastics, and monastic autonomy, tying her in many ways to a prestigious northern Thai history. This not only gains her substantial lay patronage, but primes the northern monks to support her fraternity as an act of local pride, independence, and resistance against the central Sangha. She thus uses the subtle political dynamics of her network to aid her sangha’s growth.

70 CHAPTER TWO: TRAINING AND NETWORKS

The Northern Thai bhikkhu value the Sri Lankan lineage of ‘their’ bhikkhunī because it facilitates claims of Northern Thai monastic superiority. The relationship with Sri Lanka, however, is more problematic for the bhikkhunī themselves. Historically, lineages with foreign ordination sources were able to continue their lineage independently, free to change and adapt their practices as needed. Models for the Siyām Nikāya’s historic lineage (or ordination) importation can be placed on a continuum from Kirichenko’s model of a shallow ordination importation, which fulfills a ritual requirement and nothing more, to Blackburn’s model of a deeper lineage importation, where the foreign lineage served as an avenue to claim superiority through monastic purity. However, even with this deeper importation, other than these rather symbolic invocations of their ordination source, the monastics showed a preference for local forms of practice above foreign ones.156 Kirichenko has further examined how mobile monks adapted their narratives to fit their audience. Sāralaṅkā, a Tai monk who traveled to Lanka as part of the Ayutthayan mission that led to the establishment of the Siyām Nikāya, returned and gained favor in the Burmese court, where made his experience “intelligible” through the use of familiar idioms, narrative styles, comparisons to local architecture, and the manipulation of events and facts.157 However, until the Thai government changes their laws regarding female ordination,

Nirotharam bhikkhunī are beholden to the Sri Lankan monastics for future ordinations, and in

156 Blackburn, Localizing Lineage; Anne Blackburn, “Sīhaḷa Saṅgha and Laṅkā in Later Premodern Southeast Asia,” in Buddhist Dynamics in Premodern and Early Modern Southeast Asia, (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2015). Kirichenko, The Itineraries of “Sīhaḷa Monk” Sāralaṅkā.

157 Kirichenko, The Itineraries of “Sīhaḷa Monk” Sāralaṅkā.

71 constant communication and surveillance with those Sri Lankan monastics thanks to modern technological developments. Thus, the extreme selectivity and control over their practices and narratives demonstrated by earlier imported lineages and Sāralaṅkā are not available to the

Nirotharam bhikkhunī. What has emerged instead, as the Nirotharam bhikkhunī fraternity is bound to, and developing in response to this international network, as well as the local and national pressures discussed in chapter 1, is a much deeper intra-lineage relationship that has transformed the development of both the new fraternity and its lineage source.

As full-ordination has emerged as the commodity which can only be dispensed by the Sri

Lankan monastics, tensions develop particularly in relation to decisions about who can be ordained. During my field research in Sri Lanka and Thailand it became clear that the process of deciding who can be ordained has become more elaborate and regulated since the first

Nirotharam upasampadā (higher ordination) in 2008, and today. In this chapter, I interpret these developments as the results of a process of growth and institutionalization dependent on reactions to, and negotiations with, the broader network. Today, aspiring bhikkhunī at

Nirotharam go through training, examinations, and a vuṭṭhāna sammuti158 ritual in Thailand, before additional exams and the upasampadā in Sri Lanka. These different trainings, exams, and rituals ensure the aspiring bhikkhunī are trained according to standards set by both the Thai and

Sri Lankan monastics. Furthermore, this process of trainings, examinations, and rituals has recently been codified, demonstrating how the different monastic actors seek to define what is within their own power, and to limit the power of others.

158 The vuṭṭhāna sammuti is a ritual that admits a sikkhamānā (a probationary novice) into the local bhikkhunī sangha. This ritual will be thoroughly explained in a coming section.

72 The three main Sri Lankan centers for ordination are: the Sakyadhita Training and

Meditation Center in Panadura (STMC), currently run by Bhikkhuni Vijithananda; the Bhikkhuni

Training Center and International Faculty of Buddhist Studies (BTC&IFBS) at Dekanduwala, run by Bhikkhu Wimalajothi; and the Bhikkhuni Education Training Center (BETC) in Dambulla run by Bhikkhu Sumangala.

In conversations with Vijithananda, Dhammananda, Wimalajothi, and others, it became clear that each of these three Sri Lankan ordination centers has different priorities. The leaders of these centers advance their priorities by requiring aspiring bhikkhunī to pass their exams.

These exams, therefore, reveal what aspirations the Sri Lankan monastics have for the Thai monastics, and the bhikkhunī movement as a whole. The Sri Lankan monastics also have complex relationships with each other and are involved in other political movements, which reverberates through the network and affects the way Thai monastics respond to each of these three ordination centers.

Kirichenko wrote of how inconsequential the founding of the Siyām Nikāya seemed to

Ayutthaya upon Sāralaṅkā’s return. The historical distance between the foreign ordination source and the new lineage existed for both parties. That is, not only did the Siyām Nikāya grow independently from Ayutthaya (except when they reached out themselves), Ayutthaya does not appear to have tried to influence that growth (except when directly asked).159 Now, perhaps because the Thai bhikkhunī remain bound to the Sri Lankan monastics, those monastics make claims on the foreign bhikkhunī to further their own goals. As the bhikkhunī sanghas in Sri

Lanka, Thailand, and elsewhere develop, the political positions of the Sri Lankan ordination

159 Kirichenko, The Itineraries of “Sīhaḷa Monk” Sāralaṅkā.

73 sources have also matured. Though Nirotharam bhikkhunī have been exclusively ordained at the

Sakyadhita Training and Meditation Center (STMC) in Panadura, their experiences have been increasingly informed by the movements of Wimlajothi and Sumangala, who head the other two bhikkhunī ordination centers. As of October 2019, Wimalajothi and Sumangala have a codified role in Nirotharam ordinations, including the power to veto unsuitable candidates.

2008 Bhikkhuni Ordination

Most of the first wave of Thai bhikkhunī ordinations, beginning in 2001, were held in

Panadura. This has a lot to do with Bhikkhuni Dhammanada’s connection to Sakyadhita.

Sakyadhita is the International Association of Buddhist Women, which Dhammananda helped found. One of the main goals of Sakyadhita is to support the ordination of women, thus the establishment of the Sakyadhita Training and Meditation Center (STMC) by Ranjani De Silva, another member of Sakyadhita. It was in Panadura that Dhammananda had her first upasampadā in 2003, under Talalle Dhammaloka, the Deputy Chief of the Amarapura Nikāya, who had supported both the 1996 and 1998 bhikkhunī ordinations.

In 2008, following a consultations with Dhammananda and the northern Thai bhikkhu,

Bhikkhuni Nanthayani and four other sāmaṇerī (novice) were fully ordained at the STMC.

Nanthayani seems to have used her judgement in picking from a larger group of sāmaṇerī who were ready for ordination; it was a surprise to the community that one sāmaṇerī was not included, but she was deemed unprepared by Nanthayani.160 This was the first act of judgement on who can be ordained and accepted as a full member of the Nirotharam sangha.

160 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 333.

74 The group of sāmaṇerī stayed in Sri Lanka from June 3rd-June 11th, 2008, spending the first four days at Chayasekhararam Monastery in Colombo and visiting major Buddhist sites. The first part of the ordination and purification took place the morning of June 7th at the Sakyadhita

Training and Meditation Center, on the water sima.161 Then, the women were bussed to the

Saddharmakara Pirivena which hosted the second part of the ordination. In the presence of 12 of bhikkhu, including Mettānanda and Amugoda Soma of the Siam Nikāya and Tallale

Dhammaloka of the Amarapura Nikāya, the five Thai bhikkhunī were ordained.

Sāmaṇerī and Sikkhamānā

At the time of these first ordination, neither the Thai nor the Sri Lankan female monastics made a distinction between sāmaṇerī (novices, either too young or too old to be sikkhamānā, or without the aspiration of becoming bhikkhunī) and sikkhamānā (novices with the intention of becoming bhikkhunī, in their two-year probationary period). A Sri Lankan bhikkhunī explained to me that it is acceptable to fully ordain sāmaṇerī (rather than sikkhamānā) as long as the intention to fully ordain is held for at least two year before the upasampadā. Conversely, it was explained to Itoh by a Thai monastic that during their pabbajjā (lower, or novice ordination),

“female aspirants utter ‘...sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi’ only at the end of taking all ten precepts at the pabbajjā ceremony, which signifies that when one transgress one precept, it annihilates the

161 A temporary water sima boundary is established around STMC’s small hexagonal ordination hall immediately before any rituals. Water simas in Sri Lanka are primarily associated with the Amarapura Nikāya, highlighting STMC’s monastic affiliations. Sima boundries are an essential part of ensuing the ritual purity of an ordination. Both Dhammananda and Nanthayani now have ubosot with permanent Thai-style sima boundaries at their monasteries for their lower ordinations and other rituals. Photos of the STMC ordination hall are shown in appendix 3.

75 purity of all ten precepts (as if they were sikkhamānā).”162 This is similar to how sikkhamānā and male novices in the Thai Thammayut fraternity take their pabbajjā vow.

On my recent trip to Sri Lanka and Thailand, I noticed that although the Sri Lankan monastics continue to ordain bhikkhunī from sāmaṇerī, the Thai monastics make a great deal of the difference between the two. This may be because female Thai monastics are under added scrutiny from their somewhat anti-bhikkhunī government, leading them to value the added

“traditionalism” and ritual purity and correctness this step confers. Taking the sikkhamānā vows protects the Thai aspirant from those who would use the lack of them as proof of the impurity of her later upasampadā. The sikkhamānā vow also becomes a tool in the bhikkhunī’s arsenal of proof of her own exemplary behavior and adherence to the Vinaya. Furthermore, following the tradition of male temporary ordination, Nirotharam and many other female monasteries offer a structured two-week temporary sāmaṇerī ordination each year with as many as seventy women participating. This occasional influx of large numbers of sāmaṇerī makes the distinction between sāmaṇerī and sikkhamānā relevant, as it allows the fraternity to ritually distinguish between those with higher monastic aspirations, and those “passing through,” intending to return to their jobs and families in a matter of days. Thus, I argue that the implementation of the sikkhamānā vow was a response to particular Thai needs, and not a reaction to the Sri Lankan monastics.163

162 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 336. 163 I suspect this access to temporary ordination will become a key reason bhikkhunī in Thailand are eventually accepted by the Thai government. Many female monasteries, not just Nirotharam, offer such an opportunity yearly. Each of these temporary ordinations means a woman and her social circle are brought into accepting bhikkhunī, as to deny the validity of bhikkhunī is to deny the value of the temporary ordination, and the merit there generated. Thus, while the number of bhikkhunī in Thailand may be growing only slowly, the number of people socially and karmically invested in their official recognition is much larger, and is growing exponentially.

76 Training

As a sikkhamānā, a woman is not assigned to a single teacher for the entire two years, but is instead recommended to speak to and follow this or that bhikkhunī or more experienced sikkhamānā. Nanthayani used the word kalyāṇamitta (a virtuous, honest friend; a spiritual adviser or teacher) to describe these teacher-student relationships, indicating a slightly less formal and more familial relationship than if they were called ajan or kru. Few of these relationships manifest in literal classes— with the exception of women learning the Thai alphabet. Instead, the mentor and mentee might meet to discuss a particular problem a sikkhamānā is facing in her meditation, or a mentor might assign a certain sutra to contemplate if she sees her mentee struggling in comportment. This is not to say formal classes are never organized, the Pāli and Abhidhamma classes taught by Nanthayani and visiting monks are widely attended, and daily meditations are guided, but these classes fall outside specific kalyāṇamitta relationships.

It is possible this arrangement, in which a new sikkhamānā learns from many monastics, helps to prevent smaller intellectual lineages or cliques from emerging and splitting off. Almost all the bhikkhunī trained and ordained through Nirotharam have stayed. In August 2019, the first branch of the Nirotharam fraternity, the Nirotharam Arama in Chom Thong, comprised 25 bhikkhunī, 15 sikkhamānā, ten sāmaṇerī, and one mae chi. The second branch, in Doi Saket, named the Sutthajit Arama, housed eleven bhikkhunī, six sikkhamānā, six sāmaṇerī, and two mae chi. A further three bhikkhunī lived in the city of Chiang Mai, pursing higher education, while one was in Australia, and a final sikkhamānā was in the United States, making 81 renunciants total (or 78 monastics without the mae chi).

77 Education and Examinations

When a sikkhamānā has completed two years of training and feels she is ready for her full ordination, she approaches one of her teachers and asks her to bring it up at the next uposatha (a formal bi-weekly meeting of all the fully ordained bhikkhunī). At that time, the bhikkhunī sangha will discuss and decide whether they believe a particular sikkhamānā is prepared for her upasampadā. The primary concern for this decision is the sikkhamānā’s manners and behavior, her comportment. This emphasis on etiquette above all else is not surprising, as the bhikkhunīs’ favorable position in Chiang Mai depends on their relationships with monks, which hinge on the women’s diplomacy, humility, and the appearance of their quality as good forest monastics. This step mirrors Ayako Itoh’s observation in the 2008 ordination, in which Nanthayani used “her judgment” to choose which five sāmaṇerī would become bhikkhunī, overlooking one novice who was considered a great meditator. Since then, this “judgement” has become a codified and collective step, in which the whole bhikkhunī sangha decides if a sikkhamānā is still too prideful, loud, excitable, or forgetful.

If a sikkhamānā is judged to have correct manners and etiquette, she begins to study for exams. Previously, Nanthayani told me, they did not have exams, but the Sri Lankans began to institute an exam before ordaining the Thai bhikkhunī, and following their lead, Nanthayani has done the same. Having already established the sikkhamānā’s etiquette, these tests center around command of the Tipiṭaka (the Pāli Buddhist cannon), and some traditional knowledge. While

Nanthayani called them exams, there is no sense of finality to them. A sikkhamānā who ‘fails’ her Vinaya test can spend another month working with a kalyāṇamitta and try again.

78 The “traditional knowledge” category contains the many disparate topics that were important to Nanthayani, but fell outside the categories of Tipiṭaka and deportment. She mentioned specifically that this included knowing the ritual chants and proceedings of weddings and funerals, and certain araññavāsī (forest monastic) practices, such as knowing how to make medicine out of urine— surprisingly, this came up quite a few times.164 These “traditional” features also reveal the key distinct characteristics of the Nirotharam fraternity, informing what I call their “unique fraternity identity.” Many of these teachings are at the core of Nanthayani’s practice and belief system, and she has worked hard to preserve them within her community.

While Nanthayani is something of a reformist-intellectualist, and has distanced herself from the magical and karmic-focused practices of the forest tradition, such as the use of spirits, mantras or amulets for healing, power, and luck, she remains firmly embedded in other araññavāsī practices. In our interviews and conversations, Nanthayani used the Pāli term araññavāsī often, even when speaking in Thai. She seemed to mourn the fact that bhikkhunī are forbidden from forest wanderings. She wrestled with the fundamental tension of preserving araññavāsī practices from a gāmavāsī (city-dwelling) setting. Many of the practices she has introduced at Nirotharam evoke the wandering experience for her fraternity. The forest monks

Ajan Cha, Ajan Fan, Ajan La, and Ajan Thet, all students of Ajan Man, are said to have used urine medicinally. Fan made a medicine of “olives pickled in his urine and heated in a bamboo container,” while La advocated for mixing urine with ashes to cover a wound, and Thet drank

“his own urine, even though it appeared so clearly reddish. He drank it straight after urination,

164 Conversation with the author, Jan 2020.

79 while it was still warm. It worked wonders! Within less than ten days he was back to normal.”165

Nanthayani’s insistence that members of her fraternity know how to use urine medicinally speaks to her continued attachment to the wandering forest tradition, in which a monastic might find themselves in a position where urine is the only clean and sterile substance available. Urine was also historically used by monastics for non-medicinal purposes, but Nanthayani did not elaborate on that. This emphasis on a small subset of the larger set of practices surrounding urine demonstrates how Nirotharam’s “traditional” northern identity is constructed by Nanthayani from a much larger set of possible practices, which could equally be called traditional.

Another particularity of Nirotharam’s training is the preferred form of meditation, aṭṭhikasañña (the idea of bones, or bones perception), which is also central to the fraternity’s identity as it justifies their status as ordained monastics. This is a variation of corpse meditation in which a monk might meditate before a decaying body. Buddhadasa encouraged several forms of corpse meditations, including contemplating your own body as a corpse to realize your impermanence.166 It is likely Nanthayani had heard of him or other Thai monks, practicing and teaching various types of corpse meditations, but when I asked where she learned this aṭṭhikasañña, Nanadayanee said she got it from the Tipiṭaka. It is perhaps a method she developed on her own, after reading Buddhaghosa’s list of forty samatha meditation objects. To practice this aṭṭhikasañña, one focuses internally on her own bones, moving one by one through the body. In the most famous story of aṭṭhikasañña, the Sri Lankan monk Tissa failed to

165 Tiyavanich, Forest Recollections, 108-109. 166 Sulak Sivaraksa and Don Sweetbaum, “Teaching Dhamma by Pictures: Explanation of a Siamese Traditional Buddhist Manuscript by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu,” Access to Insight: Readings in Theravāda Buddhism, (2015). https://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/lib/authors/buddhadasa/ dhammawithpictures_en.html

80 recognize a beautiful woman as either male or female, because he could only see her skeleton.167

This story links the perception of humans as skeletons to overcoming lust. Waen, a disciple of

Ajan Man, when faced with lust, meditated on the defilements of the body: “by visualizing the disintegration of her body and comparing it to the decomposition of his own body, as he imagined it in meditation, he was able to pacify the distracting lustful thoughts and finally get the woman out of his mind.”168 It is thus in keeping with Nanthayani’s personal araññavāsī roots and connections that the women at Nirotharam practice aṭṭhikasañña.

The Nirotharam women’s stake in realizing their own decomposition is not to overcome their lust, nor is related to any self-disgust. As discussed in chapter 1, the women at Nirotharam do not consider themselves impure or dangerous.169 Instead, the aṭṭhikasañña emphasizes dependent origination, the idea that began Nanthayani’s interest in Buddhism while she was still a student at Chiang Mai University. It is in the language of dependent origination that

Nanthayani defends female asceticism and access to nirvana. According to this doctrine, suffering arises from a false sense of self and ego, which develops owing to a chain of dependencies in which “this exists, therefore that exists.” Re-birth arises because of clinging in a past life; clinging arises due to craving; and craving, in turn, depends on feeling. Feelings arise from the senses; the senses arise owing to form, and so forth.170 Critical here, is that all monastics must overcome their bodily form on their journey to nirvana.

167 Portraits of Buddhist Women: Stories from the Saddharmaratnavaliya, transl. by Ranjini Obeyesekere, (State University of New York Press: New york, 2001), 151. 168 Tiyavanich, Forest Recollections, 129. 169 Delia, Mediating between Gendered Images of ‘Defilement’ and ‘Purity’, 29-39, 58-73.

170 Buddhadasa, Paticcasamuppada: Practical Dependent Origination, trans. Johnson Sumpiohttps://www.dhammatalks.net/Books6/Bhikkhu_Buddhadasa_Paticcasamuppada.htm

81 Nanthayani does not deny a difference between men and women, or even suppose gender equality as we understand it in the West. Nanthayani supports the garudhamma which institutionally subordinate bhikkhunī to bhikkhu. She believes these rules maintain harmony in the co-ed Sangha by removing any social confusion. It is by this same logic, however, that she demonstrates the value of bhikkhunī, whose clearly defined roll in relation to monks and lay- people, she argues, leads to more harmony than the unclear role of mae chi.171

Nanthayani also believes it is more difficult for women to develop spiritually due to their karma. However, this karmic difference presents itself in the mundane difficulties Thai women face in attempting to go-forth (ie: become an ascetic in any capacity), and not necessarily any

internal deficiency or impurity. Ultimately, Nanthayani supposes that both men and women must overcome their form, making gender eventually irrelevant for those on the path to nibbāna. “We have to understand the teaching of the Buddha. Knowledge and the mind are neither women nor men. Only rūpa, the bodies, can be either men or women. All we have to do to arrive at nibbāna is, as taught by the Buddha, to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.”172

In her careful manipulation of the logic behind aṭṭhikasañña, the garudhammas, and women carrying less karma, Nadayanee mobilizes well established rhetorics to defend her ideas and goals. Aṭṭhikasañña reveals women are nothing but bones, thus women, just as men, are nothing but bones. The garudhammas support harmony, thus they should be followed, which is impossible with mae chi. Women have less karma than men, their lives are more full of struggle, thus the condition of women in Thailand is not ideal. This is one of Nanthayani’s characteristic

171 Interview with the author, January 2020. 172 Nanthayani, quoted by Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 339-340.

82 strategies— she does not straightforwardly reject anti-bhikkhunī, as Bhikkhunī Kusuma and

Dhammananda have, but argues around them. The resulting argument is much the same, however; women and men have the same spiritual potential; mae chi are not an adequate replacement for bhikkhunī; and the lives of women in Thailand should be improved. Still, there are a few concessions in Nanthayani’s arguments; in her defense of the need for bhikkhunī, she subordinates bhikkhunī to bhikkhu; and more dangerously, someone might interpret

Nanthayani’s agreeing that women have less karma, as arguing women deserve difficult lives.

In all these trainings and examinations, Nanthayani ensures all the bhikkhunī candidates are prepared to represent and defend the fraternity and its goals correctly. First the sikkhamānā’s etiquette is checked to ensure the continued support of the local Northern Thai monks. Next, she is tested to be sure she is well versed in the Tipiṭaka and the “non-superstitious” practices of the northern Thai forest monastic tradition— namely ritual, medicine, and meditation. These ensure the bhikkhunī are able to serve their community as monastics and solidifies the fraternity’s araññavāsī orientation. Finally, the sikkhamānā is prepared to defend the relevance and need for bhikkhunī in traditional, non-rights-based language. This process of education, which was informal in 2008, has now been codified. The sikkhamānā moving forward to her ordination has been collectively vetted and officially examined. In the development of these examinations, we see Nirotharam seeking to stabilize social relations, and ensure the preservation of its fraternity identity.

83 Vuṭṭhāna Sammuti

Having completed these exams, the sikkhamānā is now approved to proceed to her ordination. Once enough other sikkhamānā are also approved to proceed to their ordinations,

Nanthayani begins to communicate with Bhikkhunī Dhammacari of the Sakyadhita Training and

Meditation Center (STMC) over email. Bhikkhunī Vijithananda, the abbess of STMC, doesn’t speak English confidently, and so communication with foreign monastics falls to STMC’s long- time resident, the Singaporean Bhikkhunī Dhammacari. With the ordination event announced,

Nanthayani raises funds from lay-followers near and far— receiving donations from supporters in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, and even from local monks. Finally, no more than a month before the trip is set to take place, the sikkhamānā will perform the vuṭṭhāna sammuti (vuṭṭhāna: ordination or rehabilitation; sammuti: authorized, selected, agreed upon; Thai: วุฏฐานสมมติ, wutthana sammut), a ritual act with a scripted Pāli dialogue in which the sikkhamānā is formally accepted into the bhikkhunī sangha. She is then no longer a sikkhamānā, but an upasampadā pekkha (upasampadā: higher-ordination; pekkha: expecting, or wishing for, Thai: อุปสัมปทาเปก

ขา, upasampatha pekkha), one awaiting higher ordination.

The term vuṭṭhāna comes up in the Bhikkhunī Vinaya as a parallel to the bhikkhu upasampadā. In fact, in the Bhikkhunī Patimokkha (the list of 311 specific rules the bhikkhunī must follow), there is no mentions of the term “upasampadā,” while in the Bhikkhunī Khandhaka

(a text which, among other things, contains rules about ordination), conversely, never uses the word “vuṭṭhāna.”173 Von Hinüber points out some parallels with the Jain texts, in which vuṭṭhāna

173 Bhikkhu Sujato, “Vutthapana and Upasampada,” Google Sites, July 29, 2007. https://sites.google.com/ site/santipada/vutthapanaandupasampada.

84 and pavattini (preceptor) are used for both female and male ascetics.174 For Buddhist monks, the term vuṭṭhāna is never used as “ordination” but is sometimes used as “rehabilitation,” such as when monks who have committed faults are welcomed back into the fold.175

Together with sammuti, (authorized, selected, agreed upon), the term vuṭṭhāna sammuti comes up in Pācittiya (a category of rules in the Bhikkhunī Patimokkha) rules 64, 67, and 73.

Rule 64 states: “Whatever bhikkhunī should sponsor for ordination a trainee, who has trained for two years in the six rules, (but) who is not agreed upon by the order, there is an offense of expiation.”176 Similar requirements for an “agreement for ordination” also appear in the

Lokuttaravāda Vinaya and the Mahāsaṅghika Vinaya. The Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga (a set of explanations for the rules in the Patimokkha) further explains how this “agreement for ordination” is to be given with a formal act that follows exactly the same Pāli formula for requesting to become a sikkhamānā.

First the aspirant says

‘‘Ladies, I, so and so, a (sāmaṇerī/sikkhamānā who has trained for two years in the six rules) under the lady so and so, request the Sangha for the agreement (as to training for two years in the six rules/as to ordination).”

174 In the Buddhist tradition, pavattini is only used to describe female preceptors. Oskar Von Hinüber, "The Foundation of the Bhikkhunisagha – A Contribution to the Earliest History of Buddhism", Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology 11 (Soka University: 2007), 17-20. 175 Sujato, Bhikkhu, “6.1 Vuṭṭhāpana, Pavattinī, Sahajīvinī.” Bhikkhuni Vinaya Studies Research & Reflections on Monastic Discipline for Buddhist Nuns, (2012). https://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/ uploads/2012/08/Bhikkhuni_Vinaya_Studies_Bhikkhu_Sujato.html#tthFrefCGA. 149. 176 “Yā pana bhikkhunī dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhaṃ sikkhamānaṃ saṅghena asammataṃ vuṭṭhāpeyya, pācittiyaṃ.” Bhikkhuni Kusuma, Code of conduct for Buddhist Nuns (Bhikkhunī Vinaya): Arising of the Buddhist Order of Nuns and their Code of Conduct According to Pāli sources with text and translations of the Bhikkhuni Patimokkha, revised by Samaneri Akincana, 2015, 249.

85 And a second time it should be requested … And a third time it should be requested.177

Then, a skilled bhikkhunī makes a motion to the sangha, saying

“Ladies, let the Sangha listen to me. This (woman) so and so, a (sāmaṇerī/ sikkhamānā who has trained for two years in the six rules), under the lady so and so, requests the Sangha for the agreement (as to training for two years in the six rules/as to ordination). If it seems right to the Sangha, let the Sangha give the (sāmaṇerī/sikkhamānā) so and so the agreement (as to training for two years in the six rules/as to ordination). This is the motion: Ladies, let the Sangha listen to me. This (woman) so and so, a (sāmaṇerī/sikkhamānā who has trained for two years in the six rules) requests the Sangha for the agreement (as to training for two years in the six rules/as to ordination). If the giving to the (sāmaṇerī/sikkhamānā) so and so of the agreement as to (training for two years in the six rules/ordination) is pleasing to the ladies, let them be silent; if it is not pleasing, they should speak.178

And the sangha, remaining silent, that bhikkhuni finishes the ritual:

“The agreement as to (training for two years in the six rules/ordination) is given to the (sāmaṇerī/sikkhamānā) so and so, and it is right … So do I understand this.179

177 “Ladies” may seem awkward here, after so much precision in our terms. However, this is a correct translation of the Pāli- ayye. Based on a translation by Oskar Von Hinüber, Pali Vin 4.321 “Ahaṃ ayye itthannāmā itthannāmāya ayyāya dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhā sikkhamānā saṅghaṃ vuṭṭhānasammutiṃ yācāmīti... dutiyampi... tatiyampi.”

178 Based on a translation by Oskar Von Hinüber, Pali Vin 4.321 “Suṇātu me, ayye, saṅgho. Ayaṃ itthannāmā itthannāmāya ayyāya dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhā sikkhamānā saṅghaṃ vuṭṭhānasammutiṃ yācati. Yadi saṅghassa pattakallaṃ, saṅgho itthannāmāya dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhāya sikkhamānāya vuṭṭhānasammutiṃ dadeyya. Esā ñatti. Suṇātu me, ayye, saṅgho. Ayaṃ itthannāmā itthannāmāya ayyāya dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhā sikkhamānā saṅghaṃ.vuṭṭhānasammutiṃ yācati. Saṅgho itthannāmāya dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhāya sikkhamānāya vuṭṭhānasammutiṃ deti. Yassā ayyāya khamati itthannāmāya dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhitasikkhāya sikkhamānāya vuṭṭhānasammutiyā dānaṃ, sā tuṇhassa; yassā nakkhamati, sā bhāseyya.”

179 Based on a translation by Oskar Von Hinüber, Pali Vin 4.321 “Dinnā saṅghena itthannāmāya sikkhamānāya dve vassāni chasu dhammesu sikkhāsammuti. Khamati saṅghassa, tasmā tuṇhī, evametaṃ dhārayāmī’’ti.

86 In the case of the sikkhamānā agreement, this is immediately followed by the sikkhamānā vow. Similarly, according to the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the śikṣamāṇā (sikkhamana) performs her “agreement to be ordained” (Skt. brahma-caryopasthānasaṃvṛti; Tib: tshangs par spyod pa la rim gror bya baʼi sdom pa) on the same day as her dual ordination.180 However, it is not clear in the Pāli texts when the vuṭṭhāna sammuti is prescribed to take place. This ambiguity allows the vuṭṭhāna sammuti to fall under the responsibility of the Thai monastics instead of the Sri

Lankan ones.

At Nirotharam, the vuṭṭhāna sammuti at first appears to be a formality— the sikkhamānā has already been approved by the bhikkhunī sangha and has passed all the required tests. The theoretical purpose of the vuṭṭhāna sammuti, to prevent sikkhamānā who are not approved of by the sangha from being ordained, has already been achieved. Looking closer, however, we see that this ritual does several things. It demonstrates that Nirotharam follows the Vinaya exactly and allows for a ritual moment that can be shared with the entire fraternity, while only a select few who travel witness the upasampadā. More importantly, this ritual allows Nirotharam to define which bhikkhunī sangha the future-bhikkhunī belongs to. Though ordained by Sri Lankan monastics into a Sri Lankan lineage, this ritual allows Nirotharam to preemptively claim these future-bhikkhunī as members of their fraternity.

Similarly, this ritual establishes a clear distinction between Nirotharam and other Thai bhikkhunī fraternities. Bhikkhunī who have not been accepted into the Nirotharam sangha through this ritual might be honored guests, but they would not be members of the fraternity, no matter who their upajjhāya and pavattini (male and female preceptors respectively). The

180 Bhikṣuṇī Jampa Tsedroen and Bhikkhu Anālayo, “The Gurudharma on Bhikṣuṇī Ordination in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Tradition,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 20 (2013): 757.

87 vuṭṭhāna sammuti defines the borders of the Nirotharam sangha and establishes their fraternity as a group with authority over those borders. Through the vuṭṭhāna sammuti, bhikkhunī at

Nirotharam domesticate and appropriate the foreign ordination lineage— even before it has been bestowed.

This also points to an interesting new phenomenon, in which ordination lineage has been divorced from fraternity. A Thai bhikkhunī may find themselves in ordination lineages with other

Thai bhikkhunī who are not members of their fraternity, or in ordination lineages wholly different from other members of their fraternity. In Sri Lanka, members of different male fraternities, or nikāya, sometimes cooperate in the bhikkhunī ordinations, so that the bhikkhunī’s ordination lineages do descend from any single male lineage, further complicating things. Yet the importance of ordination lineage has not disappeared, it has rather been relocated from the upasampadā to the vuṭṭhāna sammuti. Still, the upasampadā retains its importance in distinguishing bhikkhunī from aspirants, and in conferring the status of fully-ordained monastic, and the purity that entails.

At Nirotharam, after the vuṭṭhāna sammuti, the sikkhamānā who is accepted into the bhikkhunī sangha sheds her title of sikkhamānā to become an upasampadā pekkhā (expecting/ wishing for upasampadā). The term upasampadā pekkhā is not found in any Pāli text in connection to the vuṭṭhāna sammuti. Bhikkhuni Nandayannee confirmed to me that this term is drawn from the ordination procedures of both bhikkhu and bhikkhunī, where it repeated several times between the aspirant and the preceptor.181 At Dhammananda’s fraternity, there is no parallel term, the woman remains a sikkhamānā until her ordination.

181 Nanthayani, phone call with the author, March 2020.

88 By choosing the words upasampadā pekkha, Nanthayani demonstrates her competence in

Pāli and gives the term the same sense of formality as other monastic statuses, as opposed to inventing a name using Thai words. Instead of being framed as new or innovative, though it certainly is, Nanthayani’s use of the term upasampada pekkha lends this ritual, and the resulting status, an air of formality and traditionalism. In the change of the woman’s address and title, we also see an added emphasis on the categorical shift and the local bhikkhunī community’s power to transform her members.

There may be many reasons that Dhammananda makes no similar distinction, not least of which is that the vuṭṭhāna sammuti’s is a newly exhumed ritual, and the category of upasampadā pekkha is a modern invention of Nanthayani’s. However, Dhammananda’s fraternity is also not a part of the international Buddhist co-operative “Revival of the Buddha’s Sangha Association,” which was recently founded by Indian, Taiwanese, Sri Lankan, and Nirotharam monastics to define, defend, and limit the powers of each group. As I will discuss, this association contractualized the relationship between Nirotharam and the Sri Lankan bhikkhu, including

Wimalajothi and Sumangala, who now have the power to veto Nirotharam’s candidates, whether or not those candidates are to be ordained at Wimalajothi or Sumangala’s particular bhikkhunī ordination center. Thus the vuṭṭhāna sammuti, and the ritual control it gives have become more important. Bhikkhunī Dhammananda is not a member of this association, and has more power and freedom to disagree with the Sri Lankan monastics. She might, therefore, not feel the same pressure to emphasize her community’s power to transform her members.

The duties of an upasampadā pekkha are slightly different from a sikkhamānā, although my sikkhamānā informants weren’t entirely sure how— perhaps due to the rarity and short time-

89 frame of having upasampadā pekkha. Most of the sikkhamānā I asked said there was a great deal of intensive studying to memorize the full Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha (since sikkhamānā chant a more limited Pātimokkha), and the upasampadā’s Pāli script. Nanthayani also explained to me that prior to their ordination in Sri Lanka, the aspirants need to pass another test, administered by

Bhikkhuni Vijithananda, the current abbess of Sakyadhita Training and Meditation Center

(STMC). Bhikkhuni Dhammacari, the Singaporean bhikkhunī who lives at STMC and helps with foreign bhikkhunī ordinations, emails the exam questions to Nanthayani ahead of time. This allows Nanthayani to help the upasampadā pekkha prepare their answers for a few weeks.

Nanthayani has implemented an increasingly formal process to become a bhikkhunī, which reaffirm Nirotharam’s key characteristics and independent fraternity identity. At first, in

2008, women were ordained from sāmaṇerī to bhikkhunī without many checks. Now, there is the vow to become a sikkhamānā, which is followed by two years of training to ensure the sikkhamānā will be able to maintain the fraternity’s identity. After the trainings are tested, the sikkhamānā is ritually welcomed into the bhikkhunī community. Many of these newly codified steps were made necessary owing to the Sri Lankan monastic’s involvement. Nanthayani mentioned this specifically in reference to exams, which she introduced only after the Sri Lankan monastics began to require their own. Her exams, which ensure her own teachings are properly learned, were a reactionary measure to balance the Sri Lankan exams which ensure candidates properly learn a different set of skills and traditions. Similarly, the future-bhikkhunī only need to be claimed with a vuṭṭhāna sammuti and with the categorical change to upasampadā pekkha, because Nirotharam is dependent on the Sri Lankan monastics for ordination. In other conditions, they would transmit their lineage and exclusive identity through the upasampadā

90 itself, as monks do. Together, these trainings, exams, and rituals are the product of a fraternity growing while embedded in a multi-sited network, dependent on foreign bhikkhu as well as local lay and monastic support.

Exams in Sri Lanka

Once in Sri Lanka, whether the aspiring Thai bhikhunī is to be ordained in Panadura,

Dambulla, or Dekanduwala, she will need to take an exam administered by Sri Lankan monastics. Sri Lankan monastics use this round of exams to assert their power, and to require

Thai bhikkhunī to negotiate and accommodate the Sri Lankan monastics’ interests, politics, and beliefs. Namely, the Sri Lankan bhikkus use the bhikkhunī in their arguments for their particular chapter’s superiority (such as Dambulla in declaring a moral superiority over Asgiria); and to push their particular political interests. Looking at the exams of each ordination center reveals that center’s goals for the bhikkhunī movement, and provides insight into their larger political aims.

The Sakyadhita Training and Meditation Center (STMC) in Panadura has the least demanding exam, the aspirants are shown the questions ahead of time, and are allowed to write their answers in Thai. These test questions focus exclusively on the Pātimokkha.182

Vijithananda’s goals for her monastery have remained very local. In our conversations, she highlighted her work with a women’s rehabilitation center (just across the street), her dharma classes for children and older women, her role as an advisor to families and single women, and her pride in making Buddhism accessible to low-caste villagers. Perhaps because she inherited

182 The questions from the most recent exam are listed in appendix 4.

91 STMC from Ranjani De Silva, and did not choose to establish an ordination center herself, or because her English is limited and she leaves communication with foreign bhikkhunī to

Bhikkhunī Dhammacari, Bhikkhunī Vijithananda appears to have neither imposed her goals on the Thai bhikkhunī, nor altered her goals because of them. Vijithananda told me that she only ordains bhikkhunī from preceptors she trusts, allowing her to be confident in those aspirants’ training, and perhaps therefore, give an easier exam. In Thailand, those trusted abbesses are

Bhikkhunī Nanthayani, Bhikkhunī Dhammananda, and Bhikkhunī Dhammakamala (the deputy abbess for the Thippayasathandhamma Bhikkhuni Arama, where the 2014 ordination with Sri

Lankan bhikkhu took place, and which I consider to be part of Dhammananda’s fraternity).

Vijithananda only ordains Thai bhikkhunī from abbesses she knows because she does not want to create bhikkhunī with no teachers to return to. This fear of “orphaned bhikkhunī” was also voiced to me by Dhammananda and Nanthayani. In both of their opinions, it is crucial that bhikkhunī in Thailand operate in the most appropriate ways, as one stray bhikkhunī could cast a poor light on the whole burgeoning movement. This fear is caused by the bhikkhunī’s already stressed relationship with the Central Thai Sangha, and perhaps indicates both their fear that a stronger anti-bhikkhunī attitude could be taken, and hope that with the correct behavior, the bhikkhunī will eventually be accepted and officially recognized.

This fear of “orphaned bhikkhunī” is one of the reasons that bhikkhunī in Thailand seem to form large temples around a few centers, in contrast to the Sri Lankan model, where there are many smaller, unassociated, aramas. Worried about what might happen if the quality of bhikkhunī lowers, the leaders of the bhikkhunī movement police their followers carefully.

Receiving enough alms has never been an issue, even for the largest Thai monasteries, so there is

92 no reason to down-size. Conversely, it is smaller, less fully established aramas which face trouble raising the kinds of funds necessary for international travel to Sri Lankan. This means that the bhikkhunī who do break off to establish their own monasteries have a vested interest in staying within the parent fraternity, so that their future sikkhamānā might be sponsored for their upasampadā.

In Sri Lanka by contrast, there are monks like Kirima Wimalajothi, who encourage their bhikkhunī to establish new aramas and train them in the logistical skills necessary to do so.

Furthermore, Salgado has written of the struggle bhikkhunī and DSM (dasa sil mata) face in trying to keep their aramas, rather than continually relocating from place to place. Without the tradition of establishing a governing foundation to take care of land ownership, bhikkhunī and

DSM live on lended, not gifted land, which is often later gifted to monks. At each forced removal, groups of female renunciants divide as finding space and support to start anew is easier when the burden is lighter with fewer renunciants.183 Wimalajothi told me he would guess the average size of aramas in Sri Lanka to be under ten women.184 Both Dhammananda’s and

Nanthayani’s fraternities have counted above seventy women at times, and grow dramatically to include another twenty to one-hundred women when offering temporary ordination. This difference in group structure is particularly striking, when we consider that Sri Lanka has approximately four thousand bhikkhunī and Thailand only about 270. This statistic, together with the difference in arama size, dramatically demonstrates the difference between the landscapes of bhikkhunī in Sri Lanka and Thailand.

183 Nirmala Salgado, “Teaching Lineages and Land: Renunciation and Domestication Among Buddhist Nuns in Sri Lanka,” Women's Buddhism, Buddhism's Women: Tradition, Revision, Renewal, ed. Ellison Findly, 2000. 184 Wimalajothi, interview with author, December 2019.

93 The bhikkhunī at Nirotharam have very little to do with the Dekanduwala and Dambulla ordination centers, as they are all ordained at the Sakyadhita Training and Meditation Center.

Nevertheless, their founders, Wimalajothi and Sumangala, have been increasingly involved in

Nirotharam’s affairs, as they are the Honorary Chairman and First Chairman of the developing international Buddhist co-operative “Revival of Buddha’s Sangha Association.” Dhammananda, conversely, no longer sends her students to ordain at STMC. Bhikkhunī Dhammananda’s teacher and upajjhāya (male preceptor), Venerable Tallale Dhammaloka, deputy chief of the Amarapura

Nikāya, who had been involved with the bhikkhunī ordinations since the very first ordination in

1996, passed away on New Year’s Eve, either on December 31st, 2003 or January 1st, 2004.185

Bhikkhunī Dhammananda then returned to Sri Lanka and re-ordained as a bhikkhunī under

Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero, of the Siyām Nikāya, who had orchestrated the 1998 ordination.

During a visit to Dammananda’s Songdhammakalyani Monastery in Nakhon Pathom, she told me that she had always respected Sumangala. He was one of first Bhikkhu to openly support bhikkhunī— “He protected bhikkhunī from a lot of stones. I thought, I would like to be part of that lineage.”186 Dhammananda also expressed an interest in becoming a part of the Siyām

Nikāya, placing herself in an ordination lineage with Thai roots, much as Nanthayani did in her lecture to the Maha Chulalongkorn students.

It is also likely that Dhammananda was interested in aligning herself with the 1998 ordination lineage in preference to that of 1996. Facing the challenges of being Thailand’s first

Theravāda bhikkhunī, it is probable Dhammananda would have sought to join the most orthodox

185 I’ve seen reference to both dates, as well as vague reference to December 2003. 186 Dhammananda, in an interview with the author, January 2020.

94 and reputable Theravāda ordination lineage to help defend herself from the accusations of being

Mahāyāna. In addition to the entire bhikkhunī movement being called “Mahāyāna” by certain

Thai monks due to their Dhammaguptaka ordination lineage, Dhammananda faces additional scrutiny, as her mother (Voramai Kabilsingh) was ordained as a Dharmaguptaka bhikkhunī in

Taiwan, taking the name Ta Tao Fa Tzu. Dhammananda also took a lay-Bodhisattva vow herself in 2000, before her lower ordination in 2001.187

The bhikkhunī ordination centers in Dambulla and Dekanduwala are both set up with schools, or pirivena, where sāmaṇerī can take formal classes and, after passing tests at a high enough level, can be ordained. The Bhikkhuni Training Centre and International Faculty of

Buddhist Studies (BTC&IFBS) in Dekanduwala, founded by Wimalajothi, is the first and only accredited bhikkhunī Pirivena in the country.188 Tyler Lehrer and Nirmala Salgado have both written about Wimalajothi’s objectives in relation to the bhikkhunī movement, as a way to push back against the perceived “corrupting” influence of other religions in Sri Lanka. He compares monks who do not support bhikkhunī to Hindu and Muslim groups that he argues, also do not value women. “By associating the Saṅghanāyakas who reject bhikkhunī ordination with Muslims in particular, but also as a result of Christian and ‘Brahministic’ cultural influences, Wimalajōthi makes use of bhikkhunī ordination as a gendered strategy to advance nationalist sentiments about the need to purify Buddhism from foreign influence.”189

With this nationalist and xenophobic perspective in mind, many of the BTC&IFBS bhikkhunī training goals focus on understanding Sri Lanka as a fundamentally Buddhist nation

187 Yavaprabhas, The Values of Ordination, 36. 188 Wimalajothi, in conversation with the author, December 2019. 189 Lehrer, Mobilizing Gendered Piety, 144.

95 and on being able to teach Buddhist history and values to others.190 Though not Sri Lankan themselves, the Thai bhikkhunī are still incorporated in these political goals and nationalist

Buddhist arguments, which reorients these arguments from a national to a global scale.

Thai candidates coming to Dekanduwala from recognized abbesses can skip the classes and simply take an exam. Wimalajothi’s exams usually consist of three parts: one on the Suttas; one on the Vinaya; and a last one on the establishment of the bhikkhunī sangha from the

Buddha’s time until now. Requiring students to describe the bhikkhunī’s extended lineage prepares them to defend and explain themselves to those who are unfamiliar with the bhikkhunī phenomenon. Furthermore, the history of the bhikkhunī lineage that they must learn is doubly linked to Sri Lanka — first as Saṅghamittā, daughter of the King Ashoka, famously brought the bhikkhunī lineage to Sri Lanka in the third century BCE, confirming Sri Lanka as a Buddhist holy land; and second as Sri Lankan monastics, including Wimalajothi himself, spearheaded the late twentieth-century bhikkhunī revival. By testing Thai bhikkhunī on this history before ordaining them, Wimalajothi ensures they learn about the apparent centrality of Sri Lanka, and

Wimalajothi himself, in the Buddhist world.

Dambulla’s Bhikkhuni Education and Training Centre, run by Inamaluwe Sumangala, is oriented exclusively towards Sri Lankan sāmaṇerī, and all the classes are taught in Sinhala.

When Dhammananda was ordained there in 2005, she was not asked to take any classes or exams. In 2007, however, two of her students took the exam at Dambulla.191 The exam had five

190 Lehrer, Mobilizing Gendered Piety; Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice.

191 Bhikkhunī Dhammananda, “Ordination in Dambulla, 2007,” ThaiBhikkunis.org, Buddhasavika Foundation, http://www.thaibhikkhunis.org/eng/ index_option_com_content_task_view_id_41_Itemid_21.html

96 questions focusing on: the history of bhikkhunī from the Buddha’s time to present; the

Dhammapada; the eight Parajika (rules that if broken, require the bhikkhunī to leave the sangha); the Eightfold path; third council; and the Suttas. Running out of time on this exam, and not well practiced in the proper romanization of Pāli, one of the two Thai candidates received only 16 marks out of 100 on her test, and was denied ordination. After this episode,

Dhammanada began to send her pupils exclusively to Dekanduwala.192

These exams, administered in Panadura, Dekanduwala, and Dambulla, allow the Sri

Lankan monastics to veto Thai candidates, and to be sure the Thai bhikkhunī who do pass are well versed in the concepts that they deem important. The Nirotharam bhikkhunī sangha has a formal curriculum intended to foster and preserve their particular Thai araññavāsī-intellectualist identity. At the same time, the forced continuous travel and dependence on Sri Lankan monastics has allowed certain “foreign” practices and priorities to be transmitted back to Thailand.

Nanthayani did not emphasize the history of the bhikkhunī lineage when discussing her training foci with me, speaking instead of her fraternity’s meditations, Pāli lessons, and above all, their comportment and adherence to the Vinaya and the Gurudhammas. However, in November

2019, as part of a series of eight well-produced videos that appeared on Nirotharam’s Facebook and Youtube pages, Nanthayani tells this extended bhikkhunī history in detail. Days after the video was initially uploaded, it was removed.193 When it was uploaded a second time about a week later, it was substantially longer, and ended with citations. This tale of two videos suggests

192 Dhammananda, in conversation with the Author, January 2020. 193 This video on the history of bhikkhunī, uploaded, removed, changed, and re-uploaded in November 2019, was my first experience with Nirotharam’s careful use of media, so I had not taken notes, believing I could revisit the video later. My comparison of the original and revised videos, therefore, is limited. This is a different set of videos from the live video I discuss in Chapter 1, which was live-streamed and then deleted on Februrary 1st, 2020.

97 that knowing the history of the bhikkhunī lineage is a new interest, and that it is becoming part of

Nirotharam’s self-narrative. The first video’s history was not fully aligned with their network’s understood truth, and therefore had to be edited, harmonized, and defended with citations. The

Sri Lankan ordinations are more than a ritual formality— they create and sustain an international network that has real ideological effects for its members in Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Indeed, not only has the trajectory of the bhikkhunī been altered, as they must conform to standards set by foreign monastics, the Sri Lankan monastics themselves are also transformed.

Sumangala and Wimalajothi use Thai monastics to propagate their political views and preferred historical narratives. As I discussed in chapter one, Sumangala has used his support for the bhikkhunī movement to create further distance between himself and Asgiriya. Furthermore, as I will show in the next section, Wimalajothi’s connections with foreign bhikkhunī has lead to a broadening and re-orientation of his nationalist ideals. Further study will be needed to see if and how this re-orientation is applied at home in Sri Lanka. Thus, as in Thailand, the transformative relationship between Nirotharam bhikkhunī and Sri Lankan bhikkhu is reflexive, transforming those bhikkhu in turn.

Co-operatives and Contracts

The latest step in the evolution of bhikkhunī network relations is the creation of a

Buddhist cooperative, which formally establishes official responsibilities for the various monastics. Much as we’ve seen the internal structure of the fraternity solidify with the implementation of exams and the vuṭṭhāna sammuti in Thailand, this new development formalizes Nirotharam’s relationships with the monastics on whom they depend. The agreement

98 reflects their search for stability as it defines, enshrines, and limits each individual group’s duties.

On January 28th and 29th of 2019, a bhikkhunī ordination with candidates from ten countries took place in Bodhgaya, India.194 At this event, Dhammananda tells me, some talk began about formalizing a united Theravāda bhikkhunī sangha. On October 29th 2019, a group of monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Taiwan, and America met in Bangkok and cosigned an agreement called the “Development and Cooperation Agreement of Buddhist

Sangha.”195 The next day, on October 30th, many of these monks including Kirama Wimalajothi,

Inamaluwe Sumangala, and the Taiwanese Bhikkhu Vupasama, as well as Bhikkhunī

Vijithananda, and an entourage of Sri Lankan and Taiwanese monastics (with the notable absence now of any Myanmar, Thai, or American monks), visited Nirotharam for their Kathina

(robes giving) ceremony. At this event, they all signed another cooperative agreement titled

“Cooperative Agreement of Bhikkhu Sangha on Revival of Buddha’s Sangha Association.”196

This document establishes an association that aims to “unite more Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunīs supporting Bhikkhunīs restoration word-widely [sic], contributing to the wholesome cooperative development of the Theravada Bhikkhu and Bhikkhunī Sangha.”197

194 Tathaloka Theri, “Bodhgaya International Theravada Bhikkhuni Ordination January 2019,” Tea House, Buddhistdoor Global, (March 8, 2019). https://teahouse.buddhistdoor.net/bodhgaya-international- theravada-bhikkhuni-ordination-january-2019/. 195 “Development and Cooperation Agreement of Buddhist Sangha,” Mettavalokanaya International Buddhist Magazine and Website (March 27, 2020). https://www.mettavalokanaya.com/buddhist-articles- most-venerable-bhikkhu-vupasama-maha-thera/.

196 This agreement has been attached in appendix 5.

197 Cooperative Agreement of Sangha on “Revival of Buddha’s Sangha Association,” page 1.

99 The agreement outlines ordination responsibilities for the various groups (bhikkhu and bhikkhunī; Sri Lankan, Indian, Thai, and Taiwanese), as well as certain requirements for bhikkhunī candidates.

“5-4 Anyone interested to obtain Bhikkhunī ordination, is required to pass a preliminary review of ordination qualifications, conducted by… the local Theravada Bhikkhunī Sangha…For any Chinese female interested to obtain Bhikkhunī ordination, Sambodhi Sangha are responsible for the preliminary review of the ordination qualifications.

"5-5 The information of female candidates who pass the preliminary examination will be forwarded to the Sri Lankan “Development Alliance of Theravada Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni Sangha” for further review. The ordination qualifications of the candidates will be reexamined and the final approvals will be made by the Sri Lankan Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunīs who serve as the Upajjhāya and Kammācariya precept masters.198

The local Therāvāda sangha is now explicitly required to review their candidate's ordination requirements before their upasampadā. The exams administered by Nanthayani are now compulsory. Another reading of this mandate is that only women reviewed and accepted by their local Theravāda sangha will be ordained, officially preventing the creation of “orphaned bhikkhunī.”

Interestingly, this document recognizes only one possible Chinese bhikkhunī sangha, while no specification is made on the Thai side. As Taiwan’s first, and currently only, group of female Theravāda monastics, this contract allows the Sambodhi sangha to “corner the market” on future Taiwanese bhikkhunī ordinations. By allying themselves with the equally centralizing source of higher ordination— the Sri Lankan Bhikkhus— the Taiwanese may be attempting to create their own centralized national monastic sangha. According to Buddhika Sanjeewa, who

198 Cooperative Agreement of Sangha on “Revival of Buddha’s Sangha Association,” page 4.

100 attended the monks’ meeting in Bangkok, the Development and Cooperation Agreement of

Buddhist Sangha was the Taiwanese monk Vupasama’s idea.199 It is likely he sought to create a larger network to compensate for the lack of a local Theravāda community in Taiwan. However, the Sambodhi sangha’s monopoly on future bhikkhunī ordination also indicates Vupasama’s interest in maintaining the current unity of the Taiwanese Theravāda sangha. A monopoly over all future bhikkhunīs not an option available to Nirotharam, as many other Thai bhikkunī sanghas already exist.

After defining the duties and privileges of the local bhikkhunī sanghas, the document describes an added intermediary step— information about the candidates is also to be forwarded to the entire network for additional review. This means that after candidates are examined and approved by their local sangha and before they are re-examined by the Sri Lankan bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs, the entire united Theravāda sangha has an opportunity to weigh in on perspective candidates. In theory, this will serve to unite the group, and gives even minor members an opportunity to have their voices heard.

While this seems a striking cessation of autonomy, the Nirotharam bhikkhunī did not seem concerned about the involvement non-Sri Lankan monastics in their ordinations.

Nanthayani’s fraternity already strictly follows the Vinaya and keeps away from the media, activism, and politics, practicing “disengaged Buddhism.” Nirotharam is by far the largest bhikkhunī fraternity involved in the co-operative, and Wimlajothi has used the monastery in

199 Buddhika Sanjeewa, “Sambodhi Sangha Signed an Agreement of Buddhist Sangha,” Mettavalokanaya International Buddhist Magazine and Website (April 8, 2020) https://www.mettavalokanaya.com/ sambodhi-sangha-signed-an-agreement-of-buddhist-sangha/.

101 Chom Thong as an example of an ideal bhikkhunī monastery.200 It may, therefore, be difficult for

Nanthayani to imagine the Indian or Taiwanese sangha interfering in her affairs.

Finally, as with the local sangha’s requirement to review their candidates, the contract stipulates that the candidates “will be reexamined and the final approvals will be made by the Sri

Lankan Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunīs…”201 ensuring that final power over who can be ordained resides with the Sri Lankan monastics, who make up the majority of the co-operative, and who see themselves as the center of the bhikkhunī phenomenon. The system of balances which have characterized Nirotharam’s “house of cards” has thus been codified, with the Lankan monastic’s power to veto candidates, balanced by Nirotharam’s power to admit candidates. It is now only with their mutual cooperation that bhikkhunī may join the Nirotharam Sangha.

The contract also outlines ideological responsibilities for its members, including that they reject all forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism, help propagate Theravāda Buddhism, and do not

“support male chauvinism, feminism, and gender equality, which are against the Buddha’s teaching of dependent co-arising.” The contract takes some of the ideological training goals from each group, and enshrines them as universal principles. Nanthayani has been using the phrase

“dependent origination” as an alternative to feminist discourse since before 2007.202 This contract also prohibits the co-operative’s members from aligning with certain political groups, such as “feminist movements” or groups “hindering the development of Theravada

200 Wimalajothi, both in conversation to me December 2019, and in a live video published on facebook by Nirotharam, October 2019.

201 Cooperative Agreement of Sangha on “Revival of Buddha’s Sangha Association”: page 4. 202 Other bhikkhunī and bhikkhunī advocates such as Bhikkhunī Dhammananda, Bhikkhunī Kusuma, and Karma Lekshe Tsomo have discussed the lack of bhikkhunī as a feminist issue and a matter of justice and equality. Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice.

102 Buddhism.”203 Concerns about outside “western” influence had also been previously voiced by

Wimalajothi, for whom the bhikkhunī are a way to protect “traditional values,” by providing wives and daughters with moral advisors. Speaking of gender in terms of “dependent origination” (or dependent co-arising) allows the Sri Lankan bhikkhu to move the conversation about female ordination out of secular western vocabulary, and into a Buddhist one.204

In this contract, there is also a subtle censure of Bhikkhuni Dhammanada, who was at the

2019 Bodhgaya ordination, and knew of this agreement, but who was not invited to join. She does not appear to align with their anti-Mahāyāna (as Dhammananda took a Bodhisattva vow), anti-feminist, and anti-political stance. Interestingly, Nanthayani also considers engaged

Buddhism, or social-work, the vocation of Mahāyāna-style monastics (including

Dhammananda),205 while understanding socially disengaged Buddhism (as described by Lele

Amod) as the “proper” vocation of Theravāda monastics.206 The Sri Lankan monastics, on the other hand, would certainly not exclude engaged Buddhism or social-work from their Theravāda duties. The contract allows different perspectives on the definitions of Theravāda and Mahāyāna, only vaguely saying that a “Bhikkhuni ordained by Theravada Bhikkhu and Bhikkhunī Sangha according to the Theravada Sutta and Vinaya, should not practice, follow or mingle the Dhamma and Vinaya of Mahayana Buddhism.”

203 Cooperative Agreement of Sangha on “Revival of Buddha’s Sangha Association”: page 5. 204 For more on nationalist and anti-foreign discourse in Sri Lanka, as they relate to bhikkhunī see Lehrer, Mobilizing Gendered Piety. 205 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 329. 206 Amod, Disengaged Buddhism.

103 What is the purpose of naming themselves Theravāda, and of disparaging Mahāyāna if they do not agree on the definition? I argue that rather than truly supporting any specific

Theravāda practices above Mahāyāna ones, these claims serve to unify the association, by creating an in-group and an out-group. This new group-identity is useful to Nirotharam by incorporating the bhikkhunī with other respected monastics, to the Taiwanese Sangha by giving them the sense of being part of something established, and to the Sri Lankans by giving them the language to take their nationalist arguments to an international scale. Problems of purity and corruption that were described as local are now global. As I mentioned in chapter 1, this pro-

Theravāda/anti-Mahāyāna rhetoric is now used by Nanthayani in her lectures to Thai student- monks, to emphasize her shared group-ness with those Thai Theravāda monks as well. How might this change the historically tolerated intermixing of Theravāda and Mahāyāna practices in popular Thai practice (such as the veneration of Guanyin)? Has this globally oriented pro-

Theravāda attitude been applied by the Sri Lankan monastics in other ways? And most worrying, is Mahāyāna used to signify religious practices alone, or has it been attached to specific ethnic groups or nations, as Theravāda has been associated with Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma, even by Indian and Taiwanese Theravādin Buddhists.

These contracts show the continued evolution and institutionalization of ordination procedures and the Nirotharam bhikkhunī sangha as a whole. As the bhikkhunī phenomenon spreads, so it disperses and must be reigned in. Increasingly formal steps on all sides affirm each party’s importance and roles. The bhikkhunī fraternities in Thailand are different from other new monastic communities, as they has remained attached to their ordination source. This lasting link between the fraternity and her source has influenced the development of both. Since the 2008

104 upasampadā, we’ve seen the Nirotharam bhikkhunī emphasize the importance of maintaining their strong relationships with local monks, by establishing a process of training and exams to ensure the aspiring bhikkhunī conduct themselves and practice according to the fraternity’s standards. These trainings also underscore Nirotharam’s affiliations with a particular Thai strain of forest monasticism and Buddhist-intellectualism, which the bhikkhunī reorient to both localize themselves in the existing Thai Buddhist landscape, and to justify their role as ordained monastics. However, these exams securing local interests were only made necessary to balance a similar set of Sri Lankan exams. These Sri Lankan exams require Nirotharam to also train aspirants in a broad range of other topics, which further particular Sri Lankan, rather than local or national Thai goals. For these Sri Lankan monastics, the continued affiliation with the Thai bhikkhunī has altered the scope of their goals (from national, to pan-Asian, or global), and changed the way they frame certain arguments. In response to these continued and strengthening ties between the Sri Lankan and Thai monastics, the Nirotharam bhikkhunī have also established a new ritual to define the fraternity as a unique and productive group, independent from both Sri

Lankan and other Thai monastics. Most recently, Nirotharam has regulated and protected their duties and relationships with the Sri Lankan monastics in a formal, signed agreement. This increasingly codified and bureaucratized process to ordination is the product of a fraternity growing while maintaining a deep and continuing relationship with its ordination source, and is intended to stabilize and safeguard its unique fraternity identity.

105 CONCLUSION

The Nirotharam fraternity presents an interesting case study of a new monastic fraternity developing its independent identity while maintaining a deep relationship with its ordination and lineage source. The process of localization, which is crucial to a new fraternity’s success, and which entails the new fraternity linking itself to prestigious local history and presenting itself as traditional or reforming rather than new, remains largely the same for the Nirotharam fraternity as it was for the case of the Siyām Nikāya. However, a closer look shows that this particularly deep relationship between the lineage and its source has formed new boundaries to this process of localization. Though scholars have modeled a variety of shallow ordination importations and deeper lineage importations, the contemporary Nirotharam case is distinctive owing to: the

Northern Thai regional context that celebrates historical Laṅkāvaṃsa monks; the Thai national context which requires a continued dependence on Sri Lankan monastics for ordination; and modern technological developments such as air travel, email, and video conferencing that allow for consistent transnational communication and surveillance. Thus, Nirotharam’s contexts create and support a particularly deep intra-lineage connection that has altered the development of the new fraternity, its local context, and its ordination source.

Chapter one demonstrated how, despite the apparent friction with the Thai government that does not recognize bhikkhunī as monastics and forbids their higher ordination, Nirotharam has successfully cultivated local Northern Thai monastic support. In part, this is due to

Bhikkhunī Nanthayani’s religious and social inclinations, which have alleviated tensions with the central government. Her adoption of many Thammayut practices, her tendency to work within and around the law rather than directly challenging it, and her stated agreement with the Supreme

106 Patriarch’s decision not to recognize bhikkhunī have made associating with Nirotharam safe.

Nanthayani also localizes her fraternity as particularly Northern by following certain local forest- monastic traditions and linking her fraternity to the mythic history of local bhikkhunī, and her Sri

Lankan ordination lineage to the Lān Nā history of Laṅkāvamsa monks. With this localization,

Nirotharam becomes a vehicle by which the Northern Thai bhikkhu can subtly criticize the

Central Thai Sangha. For these Northern Thai bhikkhu, the bhikkhunī are a symbol of Lān Nā monastic excellence and the weakness of monastics elsewhere.

This chapter shows how the presence of bhikkhunī in Thailand has shaped local and national bhikkhu institutions. Many monks in other northern provinces, such as Chiang Rai to the north of Chiang Mai, and Mae Hong Son to the west of Chiang Mai, maintain what could be seen as “conservative views” on the appropriate forms of female asceticism. Throughout the north, including in Chiang Mai, women are forbidden to enter certain buildings, as discussed by Nicole

Delia.207 Yet in Chiang Mai, the Nirotharam bhikkhunī are invited in and supported by monks at the highest levels of provincial monastic authority. Monks in Chiang Mai, by supporting the bhikkhunī as a new avenue to critique the Central Thai Sangha, have inherently changed their positions regarding women and their potential potency. In addition to this, Nanthayani’s lectures on bhikkhunī history and the differences between Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism surely alter her young male monastic audience’s sense of identity, as there is otherwise very little anti-

Mahāyāna rhetoric in Thailand. (That Nanthayani had to assure her audience that the Thai

Mahanikai (or non-Thammayut) fraternities were not Mahāyāna, despite the names’ aural similarities, demonstrates the foreignness of such categories.) Nirotharam also makes sizable donations to local male temples, contributing to a changing economic outlook for these small

207 Delia, Mediating between Gendered Images of ‘Defilement’ and ‘Purity.’

107 male temples, now able to undertake new construction projects. Sri Lankan monastics visiting

Nirotharam make day trips to local male temples that otherwise would likely not have hosted such wealthy international monks. This emphasis on Theravāda, and visits by foreign monastics also adds to a growing sense of inclusion in that International Theravāda Sangha, which the Sri

Lankan and Taiwanese monastics are working to foster.

On a national scale, the relationship between northern bhikkhu with the Central Thai

Sangha is made tense as leadership in Chiang Mai stands against the Supreme Patriarch to support Nirotharam. The myriad of quieter acts of support undertaken by lower ranking monks echoes this tension, indicating, and perhaps aggravating, regional differences between monks in northern and central Thailand. Beyond this, the Central Thai Sangha has made anti-bhikkhunī decisions that influence Thailand’s relationships with other countries, such as when they worked to stop foreign monks intending to preform ordinations from obtaining visas. Finally, many Thai monks against bhikkhunī have taken new steps to support mae chi as a viable alternative. Thus, while Nirotharam and Thai bhikkhunī have been materially affected by their national context, they have transformed that context in turn.

Chapter two examines the broader international network within which Nirotharam is developing. In their negotiations with foreign monastics over who can be ordained, Nirotharam struggles to maintain the northern Thai identity that I described in the first chapter. In a series of increasingly bureaucratized trainings, exams, and rituals, the Thai and Sri Lankan monastics advance their different monastic and political agendas. As with the process of localization described in chapter one, the process of institutionalization demonstrated in these negotiations has precedent, but is fundamentally changed by Nirotharam’s dependence on Sri Lankan monastics. Chapter two shares chapter one’s reflexive lens and demonstrates how male monastic

108 institutions abroad are transformed by their interactions with the northern Thai bhikkhunī. The

Sri Lankan monastics have moved their nationalist arguments to an ambitious global scale and the Taiwanese monastics are founding a centralized gender-inclusive sangha with the creation of the “Revival of the Buddha’s Sangha Association.”

In my experience, there is a tendency among Buddhist studies scholars to view Theravāda bhikkhunī as “not real” or inconsequential, as many Buddhists do themselves.208 However, I have demonstrated, however, that though Nirotharam comprises only 81 renunciants, they have been implicated in and have transformed male monastic movements, and regional and nationalist politics, in both Thailand and Sri Lanka. Limiting our study of women’s and minority practices is a disservice to the whole field. Other recent works, such as Martin Seeger’s Gender and the Path to Awakening: Hidden Histories of Nuns in Modern Thai Buddhism, have similarly demonstrated how gendered studies can provide fresh insight into larger phenomena.209

Bhikkhunī across Thailand are deeply differentiated and disagree on a variety of topics, just as the male monastic communities throughout Thailand do. In this thesis, I have focused on

Nanthayani’s fraternity, while occasionally referring to Dhammananda’s. However, beyond these two fraternities, there are several smaller groups who add to the diversity of practice and belief among Thai bhikkhunī. These monastics disagree on which parts of the Tipiṭaka one should

208 It was my personal experience that when mentioning Theravāda bhikkhunī, I was frequently corrected “You mean mae chi?” or laughed at, with an implied or openly stated “no such thing.” This attitude seemed more prevalent among scholars of Buddhist history, Thai Buddhism and Thai Buddhists themselves than among scholars of Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sri Lankan Buddhists. This might have to do with the relative age and size of the bhikkhunī movements in each country. However, I also wonder if certain scholars of Buddhism have taken the Supreme Patriarchs 1928 announcement to heart in a proscriptive way. Thankfully, this dismissive attitude towards Theravāda bhikkhunī appears to be changing, and will continue to erode, I hope, thanks to this thesis and related works by my friends and colleagues.

209 Martin Seeger, Gender and the Path to Awakening: Hidden Histories of Nuns in Modern Thai Buddhism, (Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2018).

109 focus on (the Suttas or Abhidhamma), whether the proper vocation for monastics is social engagement or social disengagement, the proper way to dress,210 the correct length of time one must wait as a sikkhamānā,211 whether the Gurudhammas are truly from the time of the Buddha, whether to perform rituals for weddings and funerals, whether one should be involved in potency practices, and what to do about uneducated, aging, or tattooed aspirants.212 They also take different approaches to academics, favoring intensive Pāli study or meditation, both, or neither, as well as different approaches to the global bhikkhunī community. Many Thai bhikkhunī travel to conferences and are interested in meeting Buddhist monastics across the world, many are not interested in travel or any global action, and focus on their local community.213 As with any large group of independent actors, Thai bhikkhunī are not a homogeneous or entirely harmonious group. Similar tensions, focused on proper interpretation of the Tipiṭaka, vocation, self- presentation can be found across the Buddhist world.

210 The topic of wearing shoes on alms rounds or around the temple is frequently brought up as a point of contention between Nirotharam and Songdhammakaliyani. The question of shoes is related to following the dhutangas. Dhammananda’s bhikkhunī also apparently wear a small “tag” or patch, that identifies them as members of the Songdhammakaliyani fraternity, which some monastics argue is incorrect. There is also second group of bhikkhunī in Nakhon Pathom who do not cover their shoulders when walking outside of the temple. For more on the history of one or two shouldered robe wearing, see: Blackburn, Locations of Buddhism, 69-103. 211 The rule of two vassas, (a rainy season), has been interpreted as: two years; the length of time between two rainy season, with the vassa on each end, close to 15 months; and simply two rainy seasons, with free-time out of robes in between. 212 In Thailand, many women have cosmetic eyebrows tattoos. This conflicts with the aesthetic of the important Thai monastic practice to shave eyebrows. Some fraternities sponsor tattoo removals for their sikkhamānā, some fraternities require their aspirants to take care of the removal independently, and other fraternities allow their sikkhamānā to ordain with tattooed eyebrows, not considering this a problem as it is not true hair. 213 This list of debates and tensions were compiled in conversation with Daphne Weber, who has research experience with several bhikkhunī communities in Thailand, and to whom I am very thankful.

110 The Nirotharam bhikkhunī fraternity is developing at the nexus of conflicting local and transnational, historical and modern, and political and personal dynamics. My research with

Niortharam bhikkhunī shows that the development of bhikkhunī sanghas in the modern period has been highly differentiated, and deeply dependent on a fraternity’s placement, both geographically, and within a broader network. The success of the Nirotharam sangha was not inevitable— it was (and remains) contingent on the fraternity’s careful negotiation of their local, national, and transnational network. Some might say Nanthayani is lucky to have a set of beliefs, practices, and social approaches that are so compatible with her local and national context, while others might argue these are carefully chosen perspectives, calculated to please. The latter of these arguments could be unfair or dangerous to Nanthayani, as any claim that her identity is contrived for support could make her seem disingenuous, and lessen the merit of her practice.

The fear that monastics live in a certain way for the “wrong reasons” — to gain material support

— has existed for over a millennium, and remains present today.214 I argue, instead, that

Nanthayani is a product of her environment and upbringing. That is to say; regional Buddhist projects do not simply diverge regionally by chance, but rather, existing regional differences cause Buddhist projects to develop differently.

Often, too much emphasis is placed on charismatic and influential leaders, as if they could have led similar movements no matter where they were born. In critiquing the “great man”

214 The Kāśyapa-parivarta Sutra, a very early Mahāyāna text with translations dating to the 2nd century, classifies four types of ascetics who appear to behave well: the monk who has dresses well, but who acts poorly, virtuous in figure only; the monk who behaves well, but boasts deceitfully about his spiritual accomplishments; the monk who behaves well, calculating for fame; and the monk who behaves well for the correct reasons. Kāśyapa-parivarta Sutra §§122-125, based on an unpublished translation by Daniel Boucher. For more on the Kasyapa-Parivarta Sutra, see: Kittipong Vongagsorn, “A Study of the Composition, Transmission, and Development of the Kāśyapaparivarta,” Master’s Thesis, Cornell University, 2020.

111 approach to history, McDaniel writes that “there is no such thing as an independent agent,” and instead suggests the study of complex systems.215 Along these lines, I suggest that regional histories create different avenues for growth, by providing different religious and rhetorical repertoires to their regional actors.216 For example, monastics in the south of Thailand could not make the same arguments about local Lān Nā monastic excellence that those in the north do. The effects of this can also be more subtle. For example, Nanthayani’s inclination to work within and around the law, rather than directly challenge it, is likely a learned behavior. Furthermore, I argue that certain religious and rhetorical tools are more successful within their founding locale than elsewhere. If the success of a new fraternity is dependent on lay support, then that fraternity must harken to the repertoires of those lay supporters: as noted in chapter one with the importance of localization. A temple at the bottom of the sea will not get many donations unless the fish are

Buddhists. Thus existing regional differences not only generate, but also sustain, different

Buddhist projects.

Within this model, however, there is still plenty of room for agency, variety, and individual success or failure. When localizing her fraternity, Nanthayani chose which Northern and araññavāsī practices to reify as traditional, and which to cast away. What is perceived as traditional is colored by the practitioner, and is a matter of debate. The clearest example of this is in her selective teachings related to urine: her students know how to use urine medicinally, but

215 Justin McDaniel, Architects of Buddhist Leisure: Socially Disengaged Buddhism in Asia’s Museums, Monuments, and Amusement Parks (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2017), 24-27. 216 The concept of religions repertoires was suggested by Justin McDaniel as an alternative to theories of synchronization and hybridization. Rather than seeing the “mixing” of different religions in vernacular Thai Buddhism, McDaniel argued that actors draw from a variety of traditions as is useful to them in a certain circumstance. These rituals and practices become “tools" in their tool box, and form that individual’s religious repertoire. Justin McDaniel, The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001).

112 not how to use it for apotropaic or potency practices, though these share an equally long local history. Nirotharam’s identity as a “traditional” Northern Thai fraternity is not under question, but there are surely other equally valid ways to be traditionally Northern. Nevertheless,

Nirotharam’s success in Chiang Mai might have been limited if she had localized her fraternity following a different set of practices from the local repertoire.

The Nirotharam sangha’s development provides an opportunity to better understand regionalism and the processes of monastic development. These could only be studies, however, with a broad understanding of context, which includes creative thinking about both space and time.217 This means thinking beyond and below modern nation-state boundaries to identify regional movements, and to understand groups and individuals as holding multiple cultural affiliations. Thus, while Nirotharam’s conditions are certainly informed by its location within the legal and bureaucratic borders of Thailand, thinking outside of post-colonial nation-state boundaries allows me to identify other types of affiliations, such as her regionally informed belief, and her preference of forest monasticism. Histories considering these alternative approaches to understanding space are necessary, as regional differences are shaped by are regionally divergent histories.218

217 For more on these methods, see: David Fitzgerald, “Towards a Theoretical Ethnography of Migration,” Qualitative Sociology 29, no. 1 (Spring, 2006); Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson, “Beyond ‘Culture’: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference,” Cultural Anthropology 7, no. 1 (1992). 218 Michaela Pelican’s article “International Migration: Virtue or Vice?” exemplifies this strategy. Pelican argues that francophone Cameroonians (living in areas which had been colonized by the French) hold more ambivalent attitudes towards international migration than anglophone Cameroonians (living in areas which had been colonized by the English) for whom international migration is associated with education and opportunity. Michaela Pelican, “International Migration: Virtue or Vice? Perspectives from Cameroon,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 39, no. 2 (2013).

113 Fundamental to this study was my multi-sited ethnographic approach. Such research is difficult— it requires more time, multiple languages, and can be exhausting for the scholar (I spent about 100 hours in transit). My own limited trip, however, permitted me to speak with monastics in over four distinct locals, and to build a more dynamic understanding of Nirotharam.

To alleviate my time constraints, I spoke with scholars who had worked with these same monastic communities before I began my fieldwork. Their experiences informed and oriented my approach.219

In addition to conceptualizing Nirotharam’s geographic context in ways that move beyond the nation, I depended on diverse local and national histories, myths, and narratives.

History was as tangibly a part of my interlocutors’ contexts as the temples they lived in. The historical narratives they tell themselves and create for others revealed not only the claimed roots of their practices but also their future goals and aspirations.220 Further research is needed to address these historical memories, as well as the ways they are presented. Such works might examine how the centrality of the “chronicle” medium, exemplified by the Jinakālamālī and the

Mūlasāsana, have been supplanted by other types of physical and digital publications, and to what degree the narratives presented by these chronicles remain relevant. To this end, the yet unfinished dissertation of Piangchon Rasdusdee will be fruitful, as it examines Nirotharam’s use of technology.

219 The value of “teamwork” in Buddhist studies is limited by scholars’ professional needs for solo publications— would you risk not getting a job or tenure by co-authoring rather than solo-authoring your articles and books? Normalizing co-publications would allow scholars in the humanities to work across different areas of expertise, and to overcome regional, and linguistic barriers. 220 It can be useful to differentiate “history” and claimed or believed histories, as the differences or similarities between the two can exemplify the perspectives and goals of those writing the history.

114 To study historical narrative as a feature of ethnography reveals how history, like language, should be understood both synchronically and diachronically. The changing narrative of historical events reflects the context in which that history was written. Though it was beyond the scope of this thesis, in the future I hope to examine the broader role of Sri Lanka in Thai imaginations today. How much do other parts of Northern Thailand share the emphasis on local

Laṅkāvaṃsa history that Wat Umong and the northern monastics in support of Nirotharam express? How is Laṅkā portrayed in modern Thai publications and museums? To what extent are these memories of Laṅkā differentiated by geography within Thailand? And to what degree do these publications, museums, myths, and imaginings affect interactions between Sri Lankan and

Thai Buddhists?

At the center of this thesis are questions of tradition, identity, and community among female monastics in Thailand. Why is higher ordination worth the trouble? And what does it create? Kirichenko argues that foreign upasampadā (the higher ordination) was a route to ritual purity for the Siyām Nikāya. Competitive arguments over ritual purity allow new fraternities to claim authority, and establish themselves as valuable, “traditional,” and independent.221 The purest upasampadā was that conferred by the Buddha himself. Thus, the rhetoric of tradition, as part of a narrative of decline where the present must always fight to be as pure as the past, attempts to reach back and partake in the original authority of the Buddha via a powerful line of transmission.

In addition to conferring ritual purity and traditional authority, upasampadā has also historically formed the community’s ritual boundary. As I argued in chapter two, however, in the

221 Kirichenko, The Itineraries of “Sīhaḷa Monk” Sāralaṅkā; Blackburn, “Sīhaḷa Saṅgha and Laṅkā in Later Premodern Southeast Asia.”

115 context of multiple pathways of connection occurring between Thai bhikkhunī and Sri Lankan bhikkhus, it appears that for Nirotharam it is now the Vuṭṭhāna Sammuti which most sharply defines in-group belonging through ritual. This thesis contributes to the field of Buddhist studies by bringing new data and analysis to the ongoing discussion of categories such as lineage and community, drawing attention to a wider spectrum of possible relationships between new fraternities and their sources. For instance, the new use of technologies, such as the Vuṭṭhāna

Sammuti and signed contracts among monastics, to differentiate between lineage and fraternity, underscores importance of autonomy and an independent identity at Nirotharam. Additional research, perhaps among mae chi and DSM (dasa sil mata) for whom inherited lineage and fraternity is not tied to upasampadā, would likely further reveal the reasons behind the importance of ritually defining communities.

As we enter into the third decade of bhikkhunī in Thailand, it is time scholars to ask more complex questions regarding the bhikkhunī movement. Just as supporters of the bhikkhunī phenomena have shifted their debate from “can women be ordained?” to “who can be ordained?” so too do I also ask “who can be ordained?” and “who decides?” Access to ordination, as a gateway to purity and authority, is restricted. This thesis has shown how local, national, and transnational contexts have each placed specific demands on the developing Nirotharam bhikkhunī sangha. These outside effects have not merely altered the development of the

Nirotharam fraternity, they have become foundational to Nirotharam identity.

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125 APPENDIX

Appendix 1: Relocalization Oppositional Fields222

222 Parnwell, and Seeger, The Relocalization of Buddhism in Thailand, 103.

126 Appendix 2: Table of Tamnan Bhikkhunī 223

(T. Sub-district, A. District, C. Province)

“Two more monasteries in Chiang Mai are reported to preserve tamnan bhikkhunī by Betty Nguen at the The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS) 2010”.224

223 Itoh, The emergence of the bhikkhunī-saṅgha in Thailand, 80. 224 Ibid, 79.

127 Appendix 3: The ‘ordination hall’ at the Sakyadhita Training and Meditation Center

Photos by the author, December 2019.

128 Appendix 4: An Email from Dhammacari to Nanthayani

[headline is cut-off]

This time the nuns taking Bhikkhuni Upasampada will have to answer a question paper. Please get your nuns ready for questions as below:

1: What are the rules for Bhikkhu n Bhikkhuni Parajika? What are the differences between them. If a Bhikkhuni violate the parajika rules, what is the punishment given?

2. What are the rules for Bhikkhu n Bhikkhuni Sanghadisesa? What are the differences between them? If a Bhikkhuni violate Sanghadisesa rules, what is the punishment given?

3. What is the whole structure of Bhikkhuni patimokkha? Please write down each category n the total number of rules for each category.

The above are the main questions. Your nuns can answer in Thai language n you will be the one to mark their answers.

The questions paper is just to test the nuns knowledge of Bhikkhuni patimokkha b4 higher Ordination. Our chief nun may or may not give some other questions on the spot. Anyway it will be a 2 hours paper n it will be given on 11th after lunch.

With metta Chi Dhammacari

129 Appendix 5: Cooperative Agreement

130 131

132 133 98 of 107

134

135

136 137 138