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| Tuesday, 12 February 2002 |
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First female monk ordained in Thailand BANGKOK, Monday (AFP) A woman has been ordained as a monk for the first time in Thailand, marking a new phase in the country's main Buddhist religion, reports said Monday. Varangghana Vanavichayen, a 56-year-old mother of two who divorced her husband to dedicate her life to Buddhism, was ordained on Sunday in the west Bangkok suburb Nakhon Pathom. The simple ceremony drew female monks from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Indonesia and Taiwan, as well as Thai Buddhist clergy, the reports said. "I know that there might be resistance. But I am prepared, knowing that I am doing the right thing" said Varangghana, now named Dhammarakhita. A former secretary with a diploma in business, Dhammarakhita spent the last nine years as a white-robed nun and must complete two years of novicehood before she can apply to be ordained as a Bhikkhuni, or fully fledged female monk in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. "I quit the wordly life because I want to break the chain of lifetimes by practising dhamma (Buddhist rituals)," she said. Until now, only men could become monks in Thailand, with female followers limited to the lesser role of nuns, or mae chi. Many complained they did not receive sufficient respect or recognition. While the first in Thailand, Dhammarakhita is not the first Thai woman to be ordained. University lecturer Dr. Kabilsingh Chatsuman and Mae Chi Chamnian were both ordained in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka revived the ordination of females in Theravada Buddhism in 1998, initially facing resistance which has since died out, female Sri Lankan monk Saddha Sumana told the Bangkok Post at Sunday's ceremony. Dhammarakhita said until now her status had been considered by some as lower than a layperson, but after her ordination she could devote her life to Buddhism. She compared Buddhism to a house, which until now had just three pillars: monks and male and female supporters. "Having female monastics will give us the missing pillar," she said. |
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