Sakyadhita Sri Lanka

History

After the disappearance of the Bhikkhuni Order in Sri Lanka in the 11th Century, following the revival of Buddhism by end of the 19th Century and influenced by the famous reformer Anagarika Dharmapala, in 1907 the first aramaya of Dasa Sil Matas (10-precept-mothers) was established in Sri Lanka.

This movement of renunciants – although not accepted being part of the Buddhist Sangha in Sri Lanka – are observing the 10 precepts of novice nuns. There have been over 4000 such renunciants during the last few decades. They leave the household life, shave their heads, don yellow robes and live a simple life in small nunneries, scattered around the country, under the guidance of a Dasa Sil Mata nun teacher. The communities with whom they live support them with food, medicine and other basic needs. These nuns in turn attend to the spiritual and social needs of the communities. Many nunneries run pre-schools and Dhamma schools, and provide counselling for women and children. Nuns also play a special role in initiating community programmes or as advisers to community development authorities.

In 1993 a group of Buddhist women under the leadership of Kusuma Devendra and Ranjani de Silva, among others, all being co-founders and members of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, organized the 3rd International Conference on Buddhist Women in Colombo. This conference was a big success as public attention was directed to the situation of Buddhist women in Sri Lanka, their need of a much better education and the need of re-establishing the Bhikkhuni Order. The above mentioned conference organizers registered in 1994 "Sakyadhita” in Sri Lanka to promote the goals laid down by Sakyadhita International and the ones discussed during the 1993 Colombo Conference.

With the introduction of the Bhikkhuni Ordination in the Theravada tradition in December 1996, today – by mid 2004 – there are around 400 Bhikkhunis in Sri Lanka and about 800 Samaneris waiting to be qualified for Higher Ordination.

These Bhikkhunis now perform certain religious and ecclesiastical activities on an equal footing with the monks, and thus enjoy better religious and social status – nevertheless they are still waiting to be officially recognized as part of the Buddhist Sangha in Sri Lanka.