Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume One A -L Robert E. Buswell

N UNS
Nuns of Jamyang Choling Institute, Dharamsala, India. Courtesy of Karma Lekshe Tsomo. Reproduced by permission.
transmitted to Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan, where it
still thrives.
Buddhist nuns in contemporary society
In 2003 there were an estimated 125,000 Buddhist nuns,
including at least 35,000 bhiksunls. Nuns in China, Korea,
Taiwan, and Vietnam follow the Dharmagupta lineage
school of vinaya, which is the only bhiksunl
lineage in existence today. In these traditions, a woman
who wishes to become a nun first requests the rite of
leaving home (pravrajya), shaves her head, dons the
robes, and receives the ten precepts of a śramanerika
(novice nun). After a period of training, a śramanerika
who is at least twenty years old may then request
bhiksunl ordination. The two-year probationary period
as a śiksamana is currently observed only in
stricter monasteries. According to the vinaya, nuns are
required to receive their novice ordination and monastic
training under the guidance of qualified bhiksunl
masters; in Taiwan, however, it is not uncommon for
women to receive ordination and train under bhiksu
masters. Ideally, bhiksunl ordination is conducted by
a full quorum of ten bhiksunls and ten bhiksus, in rites
supervised in the morning by the bhiksunls and in the
afternoon of the same day by the bhiksus. Occasionally,
bhiksunl ordinations are conducted by high-ranking
bhiksus without the formal participation of
bhiksunl ordination masters and such ordinations are
accepted as legitimate, if not technically correct.
As far as is known, the Bhiksun Saṅgha was never
officially established in Cambodia, Japan, Laos, Mongolia,
Thailand, or Tibet. Although there is evidence to
document that bhiksunls existed in earlier times in
Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, these orders unfortunately
died out long ago. In countries where bhiksunl
ordination is not currently available, nuns do not have
the same status, nor do they receive the same patronage
or access to religious education as monks. In recent
years, inspired by an international Buddhist
women’s movement, conditions for nuns in all countries
have begun to improve markedly.
In the Theravada countries of Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and in Theravada
communities in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal,
nuns receive eight, nine, or ten precepts. These nuns
are celibate, shave their heads, take no solid food after
noon, and generally maintain the lifestyle of a bhiksunl,
but are not regarded as members of the saṅgha. Nuns
in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand wear white robes; in
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