Women under the Bo Tree Buddhist nuns in Sri Lanka [Paperback]

A lively examination of female world-renunciation on Buddhist Sri Lanka.Tessa Bartholomeusz explores the relationship between female world-renunciation in Buddhist Sri Lanka and attitudes about women and the religious vocation more generally. A lively history of Buddhist female renouncers on the island is combined with insights derived from the experiences of modern Buddhist women.Tessa Bartholomeusz explores the relationship between female world-renunciation in Buddhist Sri Lanka and attitudes about women and the religious vocation more generally. A lively history of Buddhist female renouncers on the island is combined with insights derived from the experiences of modern Buddhist women.Tessa Bartholomeusz explores the relationship between female world-renunciation in Buddhist Sri Lanka and attitudes about women and the religious vocation. She gives a history of Buddhist female renouncers in Sri Lanka and recounts her own field experiences of contemporary Buddhist women who have chosen to live celibate and cloistered lives. By presenting the point of view of the women themselves and describing their role and vocation in present-day Sri Lanka, the author puts a new perspective on the island's Buddhist culture.Preface; Acknowledgments; Notes on pronunciation; Dramatis personae; Part I; Introduction: The tradition of Buddhist female renunciation in Sri Lanka; 1. The ancient order of nuns in Sri Lanka; 2. Nineteenth century Ceylon: the emergence of the lay nun; 3. Theosophists, educators and nuns; 4. The Sanghamitta Sisterhood; Part II; 5. The Institutionalisation of tradition; 6. The lay nun in transitional Ceylon; 7. The Dasa Sil Mata in contemporary Sri Lanka; 8. Novitiates, western lay nuns, and cave dwellers; 9. The Sri Lankan Bhikkhuni Sangha: trends and reflections; Epilogue: Women under the bo tree; Appendices; Notes; Bibliographies; Index. This book represents a significant and welcome departure from most studies of women in Buddhism ....[It] is an excellent rlƒ@