Gender and religion: Where nuns fear to tread

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Gender and religion: Where nuns fear to tread

A mae chi's takeover of a Thai Buddhist temple in India has brought the management of the facilities overseas and the role of female clergy to the fore

Published: 6/03/2011 at 10:07 PM
Newspaper section: Spectrum

The controversy over a Thai Buddhist nun successfully petitioning an Indian court to gain control of a temple has raised broader questions surrounding the administration of temples overseas. It has also highlighted the ambiguous role nuns, or mae chi, face within the structure of Buddhism in Thailand.

A court in India's Bihar state recently ruled in favour of Mae Chi Ahree Pongsai, a nun in her seventies, who lodged a complaint requesting that she be allowed to replace Phra Khru Pariyat Thammawithet as head of the Thai Nalanda temple, 90km from the state capital of Patna. Mai Chi Ahree reportedly claimed that the former abbot, Phra Maha Tharntong, who died in 2007, had written in his will that if she came into conflict with his successor, she should seek assistance from India's courts to take over.

The news of Mae Chi Ahree's court success, made public following a visit to India by Culture Minister Nipit Intrasombat late last month, caused an uproar in Thai Buddhist circles.

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About the author

: Writer: Tunya Sukpanich; Position: Reporter

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ivyking
Post : 826
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Discussion 7 : 06/03/2011 at 09:40 PM7
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Men & women should have equal rights.
spiceman
Post : 1594
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Discussion 6 : 06/03/2011 at 01:11 PM6
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Khun JohninBKK #4, can female Buddhist monks wear saffron monk ropes, instead of the white ones? I can never understand the religious basis against women who want to become Buddhist monks. It seems all they can be are "Shee."
vaisanavad
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Discussion 5 : 06/03/2011 at 11:57 AM5
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Most religions are dominated by men but the time has come for women to play their part.It is good for everybody as we have seen Catholic priests sodomising young children and the setbacks faced by the pope.To be fair to everyone it is good to have the women playing the spiritual role as many are slowly giving up religions.Thais should also start thinking along the same line.
johninbkk
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Discussion 4 : 06/03/2011 at 09:45 AM4
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spiceman D3 - I've been told that only male monks can ordain male monks, and only female monks can ordain female monks. The last female monk passed away without ordaining a new female monk. There is supposedly another method, in that the head monks of all three sects of Buddhism when together can ordain a new female monk, but that hasn't happened. I agree with D1, btw.
spiceman
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Discussion 3 : 06/03/2011 at 08:20 AM3
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Can anyone tell me why women can't become monks, if Khun Capealava #1 is correct?
johninbkk
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Discussion 2 : 06/03/2011 at 06:55 AM2
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"Mr Amnaj strongly believed that a concrete way to solve the management problem of Thai Buddhist temples in foreign countries is to transfer the temples to the Thai government."
Newin and his BJT party would be great at running Thai temples.
capealava
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Discussion 1 : 06/03/2011 at 05:20 AM1
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Fundamentally to discriminate against women is un-buddhist. Discrimination is a learned cultural attribute. The Buddha did not discriminate against anyone, all were welcome. He teachings challenged the Indian caste system, he accepted untouchables as followers of the way. Certainly he did not say Women could not see into his teachings and practice in a good way. It saddens me to see that Thai-Buddhism discriminate against women in this way. Certainly I understand the reluctance of male monks to associate with women or be taught by a woman while in the monastery, but it is the male monks choice of who his teacher/guide is. So let them choose and let women be monks and let women who have shown distinguished themselves in Buddhist practice be abbots. Separate temples with visits from proven teachers may be they way, temple that have both sexes, or a temple that has one sex, there are many choices, but women should be allowed to be ordained into the teachings. Do the practice correctly and you will not worry about male or female.

Gender and religion: Where nuns fear to tread | Bangkok Post: news