[Buddha-l] Meanwhile Down Under

[Bankei]

Dear Jampa

I have a small booklet entitled:
"Acts on the Adminstration of the Buddhist Order of Sangha in Thailand, BE
2245, BE 2484, BE 2505" Published by Mahamakuta Educational Council 1989.

This book contains the 3 most recent Sangha Acts of 1902, 1941 and 1962.
There is no mention of a 1928 Act, I have done some searches and can find a
lot of vague references to a 1928 Act, but cannot actually find anything
specific. Maybe there is no such Act. Even if there were the later Acts
repeal the earlier ones (Article 3 of the 1962 Act).

Anyway, I quick searched through  all three Acts (1902, 1941 and 1962) and
can find nothing mentioning the ordination of women or Bhikkhuni etc.

Incidentally, there are some interesting disrobing offences in listed.
Article 29 of the Act of 1962 states that a Bhikkhu accused of a crime and
arrested can be disrobed even before going before court and being convicted.
Other matters covered include Sangha property, appointment of council of
elders and ranks etc.

Regards

Bankei

2009/11/9 Jampa Tsedroen <JampaTsedroen at gmx.de>

> I just received this link:
>
> http://dhammalight.com/
>
> Where under Thai Sangha Laws you find this entrance:
>
> *ANNOUNCEMENT*
>
> “It is unallowable for any Bhikkhu to give the Going-Forth to Women
>
> Any woman who wishes to ordain as a Samaneri, in accordance with the
> Buddha’s allowances, has to be ordained by a fully ordained Bhikkhuni.
> The Buddha laid down the rule that only a Bhikkhuni over 12 vassas is
> eligible to be a Preceptor (pavattini).
>
> The Buddha did not allow for a Bhikkhu to be the preceptor in this
> ceremony. Unfortunately, the Bhikkhuni lineage has since faded and died
> out. Since there is no more fully-fledged Bhikkhunis to pass on the
> lineage, there is henceforth no Samaneris who have obtained a proper
> ordination from a fully-fledged Bhikkhuni.
>
> Therefore both the Bhikkhuni and Samaneri lineage has died out. So any
> Bhikkhu who gives the going forth to a woman to become a Samaneri, it
> can be said that that Bhikkhu is not acting in accordance with the
> regulations the Buddha laid down. In essence, he is following his own
> guidelines and diverging from the guidelines that the Buddha laid down.
> This is something that will jeopardize the Buddhist Religion and is not
> a good example for other Bhikkhus.
>
> *Therefore, all monks and novices, in both Nikayas are forbidden to
> ordain any woman as a Bhikkhuni, Sikkhamana, or Samaneri from this day
> forth.”*
>
> /- Phra Bancha Somdet Phra Sangharacha Jiao Gromluang Jinawarn Siriwad/*
> (18 June **2471)*
>
>              An Official Announcement from the Sangha Committee Meeting
> minutes, Book 16 pp157
>
> What I heard is that it seems that the 1928 ruling has nothing to do
> with a 'Sangha Act', or with the Mahatherasamakhom, but is an Official
> Announcement from the Sangha Committee Meeting minutes, Book 16 pp157.
>
> Jampa Tsedroen
>
> Karma Tsomo wrote:
> > According to Kulavir Prapapornpipat of Chiangmai University, the Sangha
> Act of 1928 prohibits Thai monks from ordaining Thai women:
> >
> > “ANNOUNCEMENT
> > No Monks or Novice can Ordain Women as Pabbajita*
> >
> > According to the Buddha’s dispensation, women who want to be samaneri
> must be ordained by bhikkhunis. The Buddha allowed bhikkhunis who have been
> ordained for more than 12 years to be a pavattini, which is an upajjhaya (a
> spiritual teacher). He did not allow bhikkhus to be upajjhaya [for
> bhikkhunis]. Since the bhikkhuni lineage was extinguished long ago and there
> is no bhikkhuni to preserve samaneri ordination, therefore there is no
> samaneri to continue the lineage. All of them are extinct. A person who
> gives samaneri ordination is establishing that which the Buddha did not
> establish and removing what the Buddha established. He is an enemy of the
> religion and a bad model.
> >
> > For this reason, monks and novices of any sect are prohibited from
> ordaining women as bhikkhuni, sikkhamana, or samaneri from now on.
> >
> > Announced on June 18, 1928
> > Krom Luang Shinnavorn Siriwat
> >
> > *As it is used here, the term pabbajita is intended to include bhikkhuni,
> sikkhamana, and samaneri.
> >
> > This announcement appeared in the Statement of the Sangha, vol.16, p.
> 157.”
> >
> > Kulavir Prapapornpipat, “Visible and Invisible Obstacles Facing the
> BhikkhuniMovement in Thailand,” Buddhist Women in a Global Multicultural
> Community, ed. Karma Lekshe Tsomo (Kuala Lumpur: Sukhi Hotu Press, 2009), p.
> 201.
> >
> > Apologies for omitting the diacritics.
> >
> > Karma Lekshe Tsomo
> > Theology and Religious Studies
> > University of San Diego
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > buddha-l mailing list
> > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Bhikshuni Jampa Tsedroen (Dr. phil. Carola Roloff)
> Committee of Western Bhikshunis (CWB)
> Steilshooper Str. 312 | D-22309 Hamburg
> Phone & Fax +49-40-646 04 894
> http://www.jampatsedroen.de
>
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>