Visit to female monk monastery (Peeksuni)

On December 4th we were invited to a ceremony call Taut Katin. This is the ceremony to bring necessities to monks after they have completed their 4 month annual rains retreat.  Our friend Rachanee Valls was one of the sponsors.  The temple is about 1 hour south of Chiang Mai near Chom Thong.

It is a real family affair with people from all walks of life and all ages taking part in the "merit".  What was very unusual is that the monks at this temple are women not men.  When first entering the temple we thought we saw monks eating breakfast, but at some point I guessed they were women not men.  The robes are the same color and of course all their hair, eye brows etc  are shaved.  The lineage of female monks was lost in Thailand but not in Sri Lanka, so the "abbot" of this monastery went to Sri Lanka to be ordained and that then allows her to ordain others.

The role of female monks in the Thai Buddhist bureaucracy is still hotly debated, some monks recognizing the women while others do not.  And even in Thai lay society the role of females as teachers of the Dhamma is open to debate.

Here are some photos of the day



Here is some video of the event.  I love the music ....


click here to see a map to the temple

View trip to Wat Nee Taraam in a larger map