In Search of Legitimacy: The Case of Buddhist Nuns in Burma

Although there once was an official lineage of "female monks" [bhikkhunis] in Burmese Buddhism, nearly equal to male monks in status, the last Burmese bhikkhunis died out over 700 years ago. In the lineage's absence, women in Burma today who wish to renounce lay-life now become thila-shin. These women follow a similar discipline and lifestyle as their bhikkhuni forbears, but do not enjoy the prestige and legitimacy that accompanied bhikkhuni ordination. By contrast, the monks' legitimacy remains indisputably intact, and they enjoy supreme religious social status. While thila-shin still live highly meaningful and rewarding lives, their lack of full legitimacy burdens their day-to-day lives and long-term spiritual aspirations in very concrete ways (e.g., scares resources, limited career opportunities). However disadvantaged their situation, I argue that the thila-shin are indeed making modest gains in establishing legitimacy and respect for themselves in the eyes of the Burmese laity. In the fall of 2005 I carried out ethnographic research among thila-shin in Bodh Gaya, India and Sagaing Hills, Burma. Based on my experience living with the thila-shin, it seems that, rather than voicing objections, thila-shin are working quietly within the existing power structure to negotiate a dignified social space for themselves as legitimate nuns. I will discuss strategies that thila-shin employ on a daily basis to improve their collective status. These strategies include observing a code of discipline stricter than the monks', maintaining harmony with the monks, and cultivating positive relations with the lay community.