2.1 Legal and political status

Following the Constitution, Buddhist monks and nuns in Myanmar as well as vocational members of other religions are not allowed to vote or participate in political activities. This implies that vocational religious persons are deprived of their civil rights in Myanmar (Falk and Kawanami 2017–2018). And yet, a Buddhist monk or a nun over eighteen is issued a monastic identity card by the Myanmar government, which grants him/her special privileges to travel the country without any of the usual restrictions applied to non-monastic citizens. On the other hand, a Buddhist nun can inherit property like a lay woman and continues to be bound by secular rights and obligations often imposed by her family members. Hence, unlike a male monastic, a female’s religious position in relation to society is unaffected by her becoming a monastic and expectations linger in the form of filial piety towards her parents. In contrast, a male’s legal status changes completely when he becomes a monk as he comes directly under the jurisdiction of the Vinaya: the monastic rules and regulations of the sangha. Therefore, while a monk can renounce all secular rights including inheritance and social duties, a nun’s renunciatory position remains incomplete as a monastic.

2.2 Inside or outside the sāsana

Politically speaking, Myanmar nuns occupy an ambivalent position as they are treated as outside the sangha, but at the same time they are often co-opted as part of it in state functions and ceremonies. In comparison to monks, who are acknowledged as state-sanctioned sangha members, Myanmar nuns are not officially ordained bhikkhunīs. Nonetheless, so-called ‘precept observing’ nuns are referred to in official documents as the ‘descendants’ of bhikkhunīs (Myanmar Ministry of Information 2008). Such a term of reference signifies that although not being accepted as inside members of the sangha, they are somewhat seen as affiliated with the lineage of bhikkhunī. Moreover, alongside monks and male novices, Buddhist nuns are registered with the Department of Religious Affairs of the Home and Religious Ministry. This is evidenced in a nun’s passport page and other official documents that display her Buddhist title in the Pāli language rather than in her vernacular lay name. This indicates a high degree of integration of Buddhist nuns into the national monastic organization and shows that their religious status is somewhat endorsed by the Myanmar state and subsequently accepted as part of the monastic community.

2.3 The bhikkhunī ordination issue

Despite the fact that Buddhist nuns in Myanmar today are no longer ordained bhikkhunī, some local scholars have stated that bhikkhunī existed in Myanmar until about the thirteenth century. Stone inscriptions are listed from the Pagan period as evidence of their high religious status, with their public activities described in monastic terms, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries (Than Tun 1988). A Myanmar monk scholar describes how these female practitioners served the sangha and states the presence of female ascetics practicing austerities in the forest tradition (Rawe Htun 2001). However, it is difficult to ascertain whether or not these women were fully ordained bhikkhunīs.

The bhikkhunī issue became public knowledge in Myanmar when a precept nun went to Sri Lanka and became ordained as bhikkhunī in 2003. This caused much consternation in Myanmar because she became ordained without the permission or knowledge of the sangha. The case was taken up at the highest level of the monastic tribunal and the executive committee of monks came to a decision that the bhikkhunī order could not be revived in Myanmar. As a result, all discussions on the nuns’ full ordination were closed and bhikkhunī were made illegal in Myanmar (Kawanami 2007: 233). Today, Myanmar nuns remain reluctant to opt for a fully ordained status and go against their teachers who are not ordained and disrupt the monastic hierarchy. Nonetheless, the bhikkhunī ordination debate has led to a general recognition of the strength of Theravāda conservatism and revealed the reluctance of the majority Buddhists to change the status quo in Myanmar society.

3.1 Initiation

There are no specific rules concerning a Buddhist nun’s initiation in Myanmar, but the ceremony is conducted by senior nuns who lead the procedure to grant her acceptance according to their traditional communal norms. An initiation marks the status transition of a female candidate into a monastic, and by undergoing initiation she is granted a preceptor and monastic residence as well as a Buddhist title essential to be accepted into the nuns’ community (Kawanami 2013: 63–64). In the past, a nun’s initiation in Myanmar was conducted in private at the host nunnery or even secretly to avoid the fierce opposition coming from her family and relatives. Renunciation was not a normative affair for a young woman even from a Buddhist family, so it was common for parents to oppose the daughter’s decision to become a nun. In contrast, renunciation was publicly celebrated for a son and becoming a novice monk was considered a most meritorious event for his parents. Hence, there was a marked difference in social attitudes towards male and female renunciation in Myanmar.

3.2 Temporary initiation

However, a more positive image of Buddhist nuns is emerging in recent decades due to the rising reputation of scholarly nuns and high academic accomplishments of nun students in scriptural exams. Temporary initiation has become popular especially among urban Buddhist women (Jordt 1988: 37). Parents send their teenage daughters to prominent nunneries during school holidays to learn the basic prayers and Buddhist protocol. Subsequently, initiation as a nun that used to be a private affair is now celebrated openly with family and friends. The initiation ritual has also become more structured with a presence of a monk, who officially sanctions her status change and endorses her entry into the nuns’ monastic community.

A temporary nun, although her stay as a nun is not permanent, wears the same monastic robe as a vocational nun and has her head shaved. She observes the same precepts and follows the communal norms, such as celibacy and fasting in the afternoon, as a vocational nun. She must learn the chants, share the daily chores, and go out for alms gathering on a weekly basis (Kawanami 2013: 27). In this way, temporary initiation offers a female practitioner a unique first-hand experience of the nun’s monastic life governed by self-restraint and abstinence practices. Such an experience also advances a lay woman’s understanding of the spiritual value of a nun’s religious life, such that she is subsequently aware of her role and responsibility in supporting the nuns’ monastic community that is materially dependent on the generosity of lay people.

4.1 Vocational nuns

The majority of Myanmar nuns join the monastic community in their early teens with an aim to become learned in the Buddhist scriptures. They devote their time and effort to scriptural learning as it provides them with a primary pathway to becoming a state-accredited dhamma teacher. The young monastic students are referred to as ngebyu, which means ‘young and pure’. There seems to be a correlation between academic performance and moral purity exemplified by their ‘virginity’ and innocence, and the increasing pressure to perform well in scriptural exams puts the relevance on these qualities in becoming successful. Most prominent dhamma teachers and scholars in Myanmar today are in this category of ngebyu (Kawanami 2015: 299). A balanced pursuit of both scriptural learning (pariyatti) and the practice of meditation (paṭipatti) is encouraged for all monastic students and the transition from doctrinal studies to meditation seems like a natural progression in their spiritual development. However, it is rare for those practising full-time meditation to move into doctrinal studies later in their monastic life.

Incidentally, there are older women who become nuns later in their life called tawdwet. Some live in meditation centres or monasteries and help with cooking or providing domestic assistance to the monks. These nuns are usually latecomers to a monastic life and fit the negative stereotype of a nun who is old, outcast, and troubled. Indeed, many may have left home after encountering problems or abuse in their domestic life, so they are already disadvantaged at the time of their entry into the nuns’ community. Tawdwet nuns spend their time in meditation and help with menial chores in their monastic setting but usually keep a low profile in the monastic community.

4.2 Medaw

Few as they may be, there are also free-standing nuns called medaw who live on the fringes of society. They may be an anomaly in the nuns’ community as they are neither ordained nor registered with the Myanmar government. A medaw commonly leads a solitary life and does not follow the monastic convention of virtuous living observed by precept-observing nuns. However, they are not disadvantaged by their status as they are known for their extraordinary skills in healing, clairvoyance, and fortune-telling (Kawanami 2015: 300). A medaw, which means ‘respectable mother’, wears a brown or yellow coloured robe to distinguish herself from the majority nuns wearing pink robe and attracts a different kind of clients who visit her to seek worldly benefits and healing. Such a nun was usually married before taking up celibacy, so she stands in clear opposition to a ‘young and pure’ nun student. This implies she lacks youthful purity and education, but can draw strength from her autonomous position, staying away from monastic politics, and asserting herself as a free and independent agent of the Buddhist community.

4.3 Eight Precept nuns

The majority of Myanmar nuns observe the Eight Precepts, which include sexual abstinence, fasting after midday, giving up vanity items and worldly enjoyment, as well as avoiding sleeping on luxury beds. The number of precepts is seen as a spiritual index of a Buddhist practitioner and observing the Eight Precepts appears equivalent to what a pious lay Buddhist may observe on special religious days (Kawanami 1990: 21). However, a nun’s commitment to the Eight Precepts is a permanent undertaking in contrast to a temporary one of a lay Buddhist. Moreover, observing these precepts are not aimed at reducing the comfort level in her monastic life but allows the nun to develop a moral awareness and detachment from pleasurable and material things that are taken for granted in the secular world.

4.4 Ten Precept nuns

Becoming a Ten Precept nun may suggest an alternative to becoming an ordained bhikkhunī in Myanmar, as it allows her an alternative way to enhance her religious stature in society (Kawanami 2013: 31). Few as they are, a Ten Precept nun is highly respected for her detachment and moral purity. She refrains from handling money and cash transactions and minimizes social transactions. The fact that a Ten Precept nun does not accept cash donations reverses the usual power relationship between a nun recipient and her lay donors, and as a result, her religious stature is perceived as a vast spiritual leap from an ordinary precept nun. Many Eight Precept nuns aspire to observe the Ten Precepts even temporarily and refrain from worldly transactions for a limited duration – for example, in the evenings or on special religious days. Still, the majority of Myanmar nuns are nowhere near such a detached spiritual position and struggle to make ends meet on humble cash donations.

5.1 National code of practice

The most important code of practice for Myanmar nuns is called Thiláshin Kyínwut and has been endorsed by the state and adopted as the nuns’ code of practice by the sangha in 1994 (Falk and Kawanami 2017–2018: 85–86). More than eighty instructions stipulate in minute detail the appropriate interactions nuns should undertake in relation to monks and laity. The major rules specify their duties and responsibilities in the monastic setting, and communal norms are passed down and instilled by senior nuns in their community. The actual procedure for becoming a Buddhist nun is stipulated and the code lists areas of importance in their religious work including prayer, study, ritual participation, and alms gathering.

5.2 Communal norms

The nuns’ communal rules emphasize self-restraint and modesty, including controlled and graceful manners in speech and conduct. A nun is admonished for raising her voice, arguing, swearing, gossiping, and chatting idly. She is also criticized for not wearing her monastic garments properly, running, or showing expansive gestures. Many of these rules aim to reduce the risk of a Buddhist nun appearing disrespectful and vulgar in public and making sure that her good moral reputation is upheld.

However, there are no rules that regulate their dress code apart from the decree issued in 1997 by the Supreme Sangha Council forbidding them to wear brown robes. Today, urban nuns can be seen wearing wristwatches, gold-rimmed glasses and shoes rather than traditional sandals, but since there are no monastic rules to regulate, these are tolerated if they do not interfere with the pious and moral image of a Buddhist nun.

5.3 Monastic hierarchy and institutional control

The nuns’ code of practice stipulates the duties and obligations of teachers and senior nuns in supervising junior members. Senior nuns are expected to enforce moral discipline in the community, as harmonious coexistence is regarded paramount in their monastic life. The focus is on the nuns’ relationship in the community, emphasizing consideration for others and respect for seniority – for example, in the usage of respectful terms of address. Seniority is particularly emphasized in large nunnery schools where there is usually a system of checks and controls in place to deal with any problem at its early stage. Additionally, the practice of regular admonishing is an important part of a teacher’s duty in guiding students and preventing them from straying from the norm. Hence, the relationship between a nun student and her preceptor/teacher/mentor is acknowledged as the foundation in sustaining their communal harmony.

Minor offences such as petty theft or personal squabbles are dealt within the immediate circle of nuns in the nunnery; but if it is a major violation such as sexual transgression, the nuns involved are asked to move out of the nunnery immediately. New entrants including temporary nuns are closely monitored by senior members to minimize events that could disrupt and bring harm to the nunnery. However, the rule of collective responsibility often obliges the offender’s supervisor or preceptor to be punished together on the grounds of duty neglect. The responsibility may also fall on the institutional head, who is the abbess in imposing discipline on all the resident nuns. In this way, Myanmar nuns take every measure to curb internal disputes and potential trouble that could be detrimental to the united front of the nuns’ community.

6.1 Agency and interdependence

The notion of ‘agency’ is relevant here since once initiated as a nun, the apprentice has to dispel selfish traits and yet is expected to show some initiative in finding whatever tasks need to be done in her new monastic environment. Saba Mahmood referred to ‘agency’ to indicate the capacity ‘to realize one’s own interests against the weight of custom, tradition, transcendental will, or other obstacles, whether individual or collective’ (Mahmood 2005: 8). Normally, a transformation seems to happen once she accepts the moral discipline and culture of a monastic community and becomes a willing participant in serving it. Thus, practices in humility, service, and altruism are utilized to give a deeper meaning to the new entrant in realizing her religious goals. The notion of interdependence is also instilled in the monastic training, and every nun is expected to help and support other nuns, especially those who are younger, older, weaker, or infirm, to achieve harmonious coexistence in the community.

6.2 Chanting and cultivation of devotion

Collective chanting is a fundamental practice in the nuns’ daily routine. In the morning, they offer fresh water, food and flowers to the Buddha altar and chant in unison in front of the altar. This is regarded essential in enabling junior members to learn the correct breathing and rhythm and allows them to cultivate a strong sense of faith and devotion. The nuns focus their worship on the Three Jewels – the Buddha, his Dhamma, and the Sangha – and call upon the virtuous attributes of the Buddha in their collective recitation. Such an act of worship is repeated many times a day, which is meant to surrender one’s ego and develop a strong sense of devotion towards the Three Jewels. Every class in the monastery begins with students collectively making obeisance to the Three Jewels and addressing the teacher in gratitude. Every meal starts with a collective chanting that sends out blessings to those who have offered them food and extolling the Buddha’s virtues. Through such frequent demonstrations of devotional chants, the nuns become socialized into the monastic culture and cultivate their faith in the Three Jewels.

6.3 Enhancement of feminine virtues

Mahmood (2005: 6–8) has suggested that women’s subordination to traditional feminine virtues, such as shyness, modesty, and humility, are the necessary condition for an enhanced role in their religious life. These ‘virtues’ also give them a fundamental meaning to their religious identity. For example, Myanmar nuns commonly fold their arms in front of their chest when standing or while doing their walking meditation. This posture is explained as a gesture to express their shyness and humility. The monastic dress they wear also shows their feminine ideals in show of modesty and self-constraint. Every feature of it is aimed at preserving the essence of feminine virtues and the notion of honour surrounding them (Jordt 1988: 37). It has been mentioned by Mrozik (2002: 8) that the way a person dresses or carries herself serves as a marker of her moral character. Hence, a nun does not wear short sleeves or transparent material for clothing since modesty is paramount, and her upper sleeves cover up her wrists and her lower robe comes down to hide her ankles. The common practice of placing a shawl over her chest may also have some significance in protecting her inner virtues.

6.4 Preserving traditional cultural values

As exemplified in the eighth precept, Buddhist nuns have renounced the traditional cultural norm that encourages women to adorn themselves to enhance feminine beauty and general attractiveness. Thus, once initiated, nuns give up all vanity items and ornaments and do not adorn themselves with flowers or put on perfumes and fragrant creams. On the other hand, nuns play an important role in preserving the cultural values associated with the image of womanhood in traditional Myanmar. That is, against the backdrop of modernity and a society undergoing rapid change, Myanmar nuns preserve conservative values associated with the traditional feminine (Falk and Kawanami 2017–2018: 87). It seems they find religious meaning in preserving many of the conservative implications of what a Myanmar woman should be (except for the removal of hair). And in this respect, their conservative dress code and feminine virtues preserved in their monastic attire transmits the ideal of traditional feminine in Myanmar society.

7.1 Relationship with lay donors

Since the economic life of a nun is not as secure as that of a monk, a nun with no rank may struggle to sustain her monastic life (Carbonnel 2009: 267). Thus, it is essential to secure regular donors so that she can devote herself to matters of religious importance, but it implies a long-term commitment and heavy responsibility on their part. Meanwhile, every monastic member may have special qualities that appeal differently to a potential donor and the donor’s decision to support a nun is affected by her individual qualities and qualifications. Such factors include her academic credentials, reputation of the nunnery school to which she is affiliated, her social background, personality or charisma, kin distance from the lay benefactor(s) and so on. Once a lay person decides to become a regular benefactor, it is the donor who instigates the relationship and decides on which nun to support or how the relationship should be as well as on the amount of donations, frequency of support, and the terms on which the relationship is conducted. Generally speaking, prominent scholars and nun teachers in Myanmar are supported by regular donors and they can overcome the economic disadvantage suffered by ordinary nuns.

7.2 Alms gathering

Lay Buddhists may donate sporadically to the monastic community to mark a special life event such as a birthday or a memorial, but a regular transaction between monastic members and their lay donors is essential in cultivating a sense of their complementary roles. Alms gathering in particular is a symbolic act for monastic members in such regular transactions, as it makes them aware of their recipient role in allowing the lay donors accumulate merit.

Monks go collecting alms every morning, walking barefoot from house to house where local donors await them to offer cooked rice, curry, and other prepared food. In contrast to monks who collect alms in total silence, nuns recite blessing chants and suffuse their donors with loving-kindness (see section 8.2). Nuns go on alms gathering every week according to the lunar calendar and are offered rice grains and cash (Carbonnel 2009: 269). However, even regular alms transactions are becoming more impersonal and perfunctory in urban centres, as the sense of neighbourhood ties is diluted and a familiarity of monastic members affiliated with local monasteries does not exist like it does in small provincial towns or in rural communities.

7.3 Rural support for the monastic community

Myanmar is still predominantly rural, and agricultural villages have been the main source of support to the monastic community. Nuns travel during the winter harvest months to visit their rural donors and stay in villages for a couple of weeks. During these visits, they are offered staple food such as rice grains, onions, garlic, oil, lentils, chili, and so on to take back to their nunneries. There is a strong sense of commitment shown by rural folks to support monastic members who are often recruited from their own communities. People show a deep engrained sense of reverence, and there still exists a custom in villages to ask a nun to adopt an infant symbolically so that the child’s growth and health would be safeguarded. A nun becomes the child’s guardian during his or her formative years, and this often develops into a regular benefactor–beneficiary relationship in his or her adult life (Kawanami 2013: 154).

When nuns visit these communities, they give consultations and assurances to rural folks, listen to village disputes and settle them. Monastic members travel extensively so they bring valuable news from other regions in a country where media activities are limited. The rural population, whose movements are usually confined to their locality, hear about harvest in other areas, prices of commodities, news of epidemics and calamities, and are informed about forthcoming ceremonies and religious events so that they can make decisions regarding their next religious offering. In this way, Myanmar nuns play an essential role as intermediaries in fostering the continued support of their supporters and enhance the close relationship between the monastic community and its rural benefactors.

8.1 Devotional work

One of the main religious activities of Buddhist nuns can be described as ‘devotional work’. They conduct various types of domestic work in the monastic community and find spiritual meaning especially in serving the sangha. In performing menial roles regarded as ‘secular’ or the work of the laity, their performance becomes an act of giving (Cook 2008: 12). Thus, conducting menial work and domestic chores bring them meritorious returns alongside other religious work. The nuns also pay attention to the general welfare of the monastic community, and their role is replicated in many nurturing and caring roles they undertake in relationship to the monks. For example, a nun may act as an ‘honorary mother’ to a specific monk or novice and serve the sangha by way of cooking for him, as well as taking care of young novices and infirm elderly monks. Scholarly nuns and students may spend less time serving the monks, but ordinary nuns actively seek out such a servile role because this type of selfless work instils a deep sense of spiritual meaning for those who see devotional acts as a meritorious way to contribute to the sustenance of the Buddhist community.

8.2 Recitation of loving kindness

In their monastic training, Buddhist nuns develop compassionate qualities that become an integral part of their religious identity. They confer loving kindness called mettā to acknowledge people’s act of generosity and foster goodwill in their social transactions. They send out mettā in their blessing stanzas whenever something is offered to them. This is performed in a short formula or sometimes recited as a whole blessing sequence in the Pāli language. On their weekly alms gathering, the nuns chant the blessing formula and recite in unison as they pass a row of lay households. There is a symbolic exchange between the nuns and their lay donors who receive merit in return for their offering of rice grains. By their public display of gratitude, the nuns instil a sense of wellbeing on the part of lay benefactors and serve as a medium of goodwill and loving kindness. In other words, their blessing chants encourage generous acts on the part of lay benefactors and ensure the flow of goodwill from society.

8.3 Intermediary roles

The Eight Precept nuns are allowed to handle cash. This ability to engage in monetary transactions makes them indispensable in their supportive roles to the sangha since monks are prohibited from handling money. In fact, nuns mediate much of the economic exchange between the monastery and society, and act as treasurers and bookkeepers of monasteries, often being summoned to help procure goods and prepare for ceremonies (Cook 2008: 17). By taking on such roles, Myanmar nuns make themselves useful in acting as a monastic intermediary and distance monks from what the nuns see as the corrupting influence of the outside world.

On many occasions Buddhist nuns perform a bridging role between sangha and society. For example, they instruct lay people to pay respect to the sangha by showing how to prostrate themselves and use respectful honorifics in addressing monks. They also teach children moral norms and respectable behaviour towards elderly members in society. At times, nuns even mediate in solving domestic problems of their lay donors and resolving their situations by preaching the importance of following the Buddhist ethics. By taking on various intermediary roles, Myanmar nuns make themselves indispensable in disseminating the moral foundations of Theravāda Buddhism.

8.4 Ritual roles

The nuns’ intermediary function extends to ceremonial roles in assisting the officiating monk. At Buddhist ceremonies, nuns sit in the front of lay congregation facing the monks and take the lead in chanting relevant prayers and prostrate themselves at the right moment. Their vibrant chanting voices add another level of authenticity to the ritual, as nuns complement the authoritative presence of the monks. Senior nuns may know every sequence of a Buddhist ritual but do not take initiative to lead it by themselves. This is due to the convention in Myanmar that considers conducting a Buddhist ritual to be the prerogative of a monk, the sangha having assigned such a role on him.

The eleven protection prayers called Mahā Paritta are recited at ceremonies concerned with significant rites of passage. The most chanted paritta in Myanmar are the Mangala Sutta (Discourse on Auspiciousness) and the Mettā Sutta (Discourse on Loving-Kindness). These two parittas are recited on almost all religious and meaningful occasions, such as weddings and funerals, memorials, childbirth, birthdays, wedding receptions, and consecration ceremonies (Samuels 2005: 343). The nuns learn them by heart and their powerful chanting voices attract significant public attention. Their presence is sought after at various rites of passages to facilitate the ceremonial procedure and ensure a smooth ritual operation.

Paṭṭhāna recitation is another important ritual conducted on special occasions for the Buddhist public. Its popularity in Myanmar derives from a widespread belief that the Buddha’s words become revealed in its recitation, invoking his protective and magical powers. Nonetheless, Paṭṭhāna is a lengthy doctrine, and its recitation requires skills and stamina that take up almost a week to complete reciting. Traditionally in Myanmar, it was recited only by experienced senior monks, but in recent decades Buddhist nuns have started to conduct Paṭṭhāna recitation events by forming a group of chanters and taking turns to complete its long recitation. The popularity of Paṭṭhāna recitation by the nuns shows that the public have come to accept that nuns can also generate the magical power of the Buddha in their powerful recitation.

8.5 Preaching

Buddhist nuns in Myanmar commonly give dhamma talks and instruct morality to the laity, although it is not normative for them to preach in public. Nuns, whenever visiting homes of their supporters, encourage people to do meritorious deeds and instruct them to abide by the precepts. Some nuns visit prisons to preach to female criminals about how to achieve better rebirth and others go to hospitals to console terminally ill patients. Moreover, helped by the latest technology, the younger generation of nuns have started to address the wider audience via social media and even through video conferencing. And yet, social prejudices persist, and Myanmar nuns are generally reluctant to face a large crowd and preach on a public platform. There is also a general concern about granting such authority to Buddhist nuns in Myanmar, which derives from an opposition to allow a woman to sit on the raised golden throne traditionally preserved for monks when preaching.

8.6 Social welfare work

Social welfare activities are another area that monastic members are commonly involved in with their engagement with society. Some nuns find spiritual value in actively engaging with the disadvantaged and vulnerable. However, the Myanmar government did not encourage monastics members to engage in secular activities and even hindered the private sector to be involved in any social welfare type of work until the late 1990s (Thant 2020: 265–266). Moreover, people viewed social work as a poor distraction from the monastics’ religious work such as scriptural learning and introspective contemplation, and the caring for the old and disabled customarily fell on the family and extended kin. Hence, when nuns contribute to the running of old people’s homes or orphanages, they are criticized for being too involved with mundane affairs, so many are reluctant to take up social work as a full-time undertaking for fear that they could lose respect. It is also difficult to receive monetary support and donations from the Myanmar public for a social welfare type of work. Nonetheless, monastic members involved in welfare activities fulfil an essential role in recognizing the needs of those who receive no protection from families or support from local authorities. In this respect, the nuns work with the disadvantaged and vulnerable fill a social vacuum that is not accommodated within their kinship network or by the state.

Meanwhile, the general perception of welfare work by monastics seems to be changing following the disaster caused by the Asian Tsunami of 2004 and Cyclone Nargis in 2008, and more specifically their perception has changed drastically since the major earthquake in 2025. Many monks and nuns have been seen helping with relief activities, collecting donation funds and transporting food and essential supplies to those affected through their monastic networks. There are also changing donation practices among people in Myanmar. Customary donations that were offered only to monastic members are now being directed to helping victims of such disasters and providing another pathway to accumulate merit for lay donors.

9.1 Monastic education

It was only around the turn of the twentieth century that nuns were allowed to sit in the scriptural exams conducted by the Myanmar state and receive state accreditation to become qualified dhamma teachers. Today, monastic students study three main Buddhist subjects in Myanmar, which are Pāli grammar, Buddhist philosophy (especially Abhidhamma), and monastic rules and regulations of the Vinaya. The principle of progression is incorporated into the monastic curriculum, but learning the Buddhist scriptures becomes difficult unless one has a good grounding in the Kaccāyana grammar, providing the basis for Pāli comprehension in reading the scriptures.

In their monastic curriculum, the study of Abhidhamma occupies a central place in Myanmar and students start by memorizing scriptural passages, chanting verses, and reciting parts relating to mind and body as listed in the Abhidhamma texts (Kyaw 2015: 413). But it is only at an advanced level that students start to reflect on the deeper meanings of key concepts and come to appreciate the knowledge base that they have already built. The methods and approaches differ widely in particular lineages and schools. And yet good teachers attract monastic students regardless, and those who can offer a systematic pedagogical method are much sought after, especially by students at advanced levels.

Presently, the Department of Religious Affairs of the Religious Ministry stipulates scriptural learning for nuns at five levels, which are the elementary Abhidhamma Visudhimagga examination, pahtama-nge (primary stage), pahtama-lat (intermediate stage), pahtama-gyì (advanced stage), and dhammacariya. Annual scriptural exams are conducted at each of these levels and, having passed the three volumes assigned to a dhammacariya exam, a student is granted a title that qualifies her to teach the dhamma officially (Saruya 2020: 158).

The preparation for the scriptural exams requires a lengthy process of study and memorization, and sometimes it can take up to two or three decades to achieve this teaching qualification. Many students drop out due to ill health, fatigue, or simply not being able to withstand the relentless pressure of studying and learning. However, the performance-oriented educational system has provided the nuns with an upwardly mobile opportunity, and a channel to enhance their academic reputation. A nun can also advance her studies and take the five Nikāya examinations, conferring on her subsequent advance degrees. And yet, few continue studying after qualifying as dhammacariya as the degree in itself is sufficient to teach and/or start a nunnery school.

9.2 The development of nuns’ education

King Mindon (1853–1878), a generous sponsor of the monastic community, was instrumental in promoting the position of Buddhist nuns and asked some of them to teach his daughters and ladies in the royal court (Dhammasami 2004: 132). From the royal capital in Mandalay, Sagaing Hill across the Irrawaddy River occupied a principal place for monastic education especially for Myanmar nuns. The first independent nunnery on record was Gutalon Gyaung (‘one-cave nunnery’), founded in the mid-nineteenth century by Me Kin, a Buddhist nun originally from north-east India. This nunnery school in the Sagaing Hill produced many prominent nun teachers and students, which was also mentioned by Anagarika Dharmapāla, visiting from Ceylon in the late nineteenth century, who wrote about the advanced level of their education and the respect Myanmar nuns could command in society (Bartholomeusz 1994: 46).

When the Myanmar state allowed the nuns to sit in the government scriptural examination around the turn of the twentieth century, it opened a new opportunity for Myanmar nuns to focus their educational efforts. The nuns residing in nunneries around the Sagaing Hill played a central role in their academic endeavour and the first nun student from Thameikdaw Gyaùng in Sagaing passed the pahtama-gyi level in 1915 – the third examination level and the highest the nuns were allowed to sit at that time (Kawanami 2013: 129). From the confines of the Sagaing Hill, they spread their scholarly lineage from nun teachers to students to the northern areas of Myanmar and to the former British hill station at Pyin Oo Lwin, down to central regions, and to Yangon and other towns in the lower regions. Their scholarly lineage was also transported to Nepal where the local nuns continue to wear pink robes in the tradition of Myanmar nuns (LeVine and Gellner 2007).

9.3 Cases of prominent nun teachers

There are several prominent nuns who have overcome social obstacles and contributed to the advancement of the nuns’ education in Myanmar. What is remarkable is that these nuns themselves often initiated the movement for advancing their monastic education and, through sheer tenacity, pried open many doors that were previously closed to them (Kawanami 2013: 136–143). Every life story of these pioneer nuns in Myanmar conveys a single-minded determination to study the Buddhist scriptures and each of their endeavours has contributed to raising the standards of nuns’ monastic education and the creation of a nationwide network of nun teachers and students.