Politics of higher ordination for women in Sri Lanka: Discussions with <i>Silmatas</i>

Abstract

IntroductionBriefly, my central question for the non-ordained nuns of the island was, how do you feel about higher ordination (upasampada) and are you considering taking it in the future? The responses I encountered often surprised me. As shall be seen below, many non-ordained nuns were struggling with the question and some were quietly moving toward higher ordination while others had decided firmly against it. But for others still, the issue was simply irrelevant. This paper therefore suggests that, just as there is no one, singular way to practice renunciation, so there can be no one answer to its insti tutionalisation. There is as much diversity and multiplicity of views on this issue as there are female renunciante on the island of Sri Lanka. In almost every publication on the subject, reference is made to the unfortunate historical reality that, despite the great efforts by Sanghamitta to bring female ordination to Sri Lanka, the lineage was destroyed around the 11th century CE as a result of the Cola invasions from the North.1 Not long thereafter, the bhikkhuni lineage disintegrated, leaving women of Theravada countries to wait for the next Buddha to appear and re-instate it. Renunciation therefore became an exclusively male institution, and women had little opportunity to actively express or embody any potential desire they might have had for a renunciant's life.2 All this changed when the British took possession of the island in the early 19th century, as they soon made the decision to release themselves of religious responsibilities and thereby placed the dbamma into the hands of society. Suddenly, Buddhism was liberated from government control and laypeople were free to become involved in religious affairs.3 This opened the door to all kinds of revolutions, but the most significant for our purposes was the freedom suddenly made available to women to practice renunciation regardless of the future Buddha Metteyya's absence. Women took the robes themselves, shaved their heads and vowed to live according to the first ten precepts. They were not full-fledged bhikkhunis, but they were living a life of renunciation that was, until that time, impossible for them. These women have come to be known by a number of different names - the most common being the dosa silmatas (or simply simatas for short), meaning Ten Precept Mothers. Today, there are thousands of silmatas in Sri Lanka (between 3000 and 4000 depending on who you ask),4 and since they are not bound by the constraints of any official institution - either governmental or monastic - they are free to practice renunciation as they see fit.5In 1996, ten Sri Lankan women traveled to Sarnath, India and were officially transformed into bhikkhunis by a delegation of monks and nuns from different countries. These women, headed by Bhikkhuni Kusuma who is, as a result, referred to by many as the most senior bhikkhuni on the island, believed that they did not need to continue living unrecognised in their renunciation, but that they could take upasampada legitimately6 with the help of their Mahapajapati sisters in Korea and eventually Taiwan.7 They refused to be excluded any longer by the mahasangha and chose to walk right back into the world Mahapajapati and Sanghamitta had worked so hard to create for them centuries earlier. Neither the government nor most of the monastic authorities recognize them to this day, but according to some, it is only a matter of time.The ethnographic portion of this project was conducted during the summer months of 2004. Seventeen women were interviewed on the question of higher ordination. Many spoke English, but for the rest an interpreter was used. Most of these women were silmatas, and all but two were Sri Lankan (the other two were Western - one from Germany and the other from America). In most cases, I had the opportunity to speak with them on multiple occasions, but a few of the interviews were limited to just one sitting. …