ABSTRACT

The Buddha instituted a fourfold society consisting of bhikkhus (monks), bhikkhunfs (nuns), laymen, and laywomen. We can glean information about the very inception of the bhikkhunf lineage from authentic sources such as the Vinaya Pitaka. 1 According to these texts and their commentaries, members of the Sangha were considered worthy of great admiration and respect, and spiritual progress was regarded as possible primarily for those "unburdened by the shackles of household life." The goal of brahmacariya ("the holy life," that is, celibacy) was upheld as good, divine, and holy. Today, as more and more educated women awaken to the responsibility of searching for solutions to social ills, choosing a life of renunciation may be even more worthy of respect than it was in the days of the Buddha.