ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the monastic education of Buddhist nuns in Sri Lanka, especially of silmātā-s and bhikkhunī-s. I contend that contemporary advances in Buddhist female monastic education intensify some divisions among Buddhist nuns’ communities while enhancing their agency. One example is the inaugural registration of Buddhist nuns’ educational institutions and the appointment of a fully ordained bhikkhunī as a ‘director’ or ‘coordinating-instructor’ to oversee them. Another is the private and state financial support for Buddhist nuns’ educational facilities. Furthermore, an increasing number of women are qualifying for ordination in these communities, indicating a rivalry for public education funds. The research was conducted through in-depth interviews with silmātās, bhikkhunīs, and state officials. The chapter begins with a survey of historical approaches towards female renunciation in Buddhist education, identifying religious women’s status as low and marginal. The text then discusses the difference between the two groups, whereby both silmātās and bhikkhunīs have unregistered monastic education institutes with inadequate resources. There is a common ground for negotiating with state authorities, rather than resistance, as both communities grapple with all of these constraints: the agency of these religious women is neither active nor passive, but rather results in creative conformity.
