Temple of learning

EDUCATION: In Thai Buddhism, only boys get educational support from the temples as novices. A group of nuns in Ratchaburi and Lamphun Provinces want to give the same opportunities to poor rural girls. Their efforts -- combining spiritual training with textbook learning -- may also provide an alternative to the mainstream education system which stresses competition and learning by rote.

by KARNJARIYA SUKRUNG

Girls with shaven heads would cause quite a stir at most schools, but at Dhammajarinee Witthaya, it's part of the school uniform.

Students at the nunnery school in the northern province of Lam Phun wear the white robes of Buddhist nuns, and their daily routine follows a similar strict regimen.

The discipline of a religious life would seem suffocating to many youngsters, but the students here accept it wholeheartedly because it is the only way for them to get an education.

"I don't mind having my head shaved and living like a nun," said Orawan, a teenage student at Dhammajarinee Witthaya.

"My parents cannot afford to send me to school, and all I want is to be able to study," she said.

There are 34 "little nuns" at Dhammajarinee Witthaya, ages ranging from nine to 20. They come from different parts of the country, mostly from poor villages in the northeastern and central provinces.

They represent a special group of Thai girls as they are the first to have the chance to get an education with the support of the Buddhist clergy, an option that boys have always had.

"Every student has to enter the nunhood," said Khun Mae Arun Petch-Urai, the director or Mother Superior of the nunnery. "Buddhism gives us rules of behaviour which make it easy for us to live together in harmony as a community.

"Besides, it is for the safety of the children. People automatically feel respectful for nuns, and that serves as a shield of safety to protect our young girls," explained Khun Mae Arun.

Founded in 1991, the Dhammajarinee Witthaya School in the Pa Sang district of Lam Phun province is supported by the Nuns Institute which is based at Bangkok's Wat Boworn Nives Viharn. The school gives young nuns free education, dharma lessons, shelter, food, and other essentials.

As nuns, all students have to observe eight moral precepts for devout Buddhists, namely no killing, no lying, no sex, no stealing, no intoxicants, no beautification or entertainment, no meals after noontime, and no sleeping on thick mattresses.

They also have to follow the principle of a 'wholesome course of action,' consisting of honest deeds, words and thoughts, as well as other rules of polite behaviour.

"But children are children," said Khun Mae Arun. "I am realistic, so we are not too strict with them. They can still enjoy their adolescence and play together, but within certain limits."

The school offers two levels of non-formal high school education, each taking two years to complete. Soon they will also offer an elementary level class for those students who need it.

The school routine begins early in the morning, with all nuns congregating in a one-storey, all-purpose hall for prayers and meditation, followed by dharma studies. Formal lessons for academic subjects such as mathematics, English, and science are scheduled in the afternoon.

Senior nuns serve as teachers, and older students tutor the younger ones. The school also gets occasional help from teachers at nearby schools or those from the Non-Formal Education Department of the Ministry of Education.

The free education, however, extends only as far as the end of high school. For students wanting to pursue a university education, the school offers an interest-free loan which must be repaid within five years of graduation.

So far, three graduates from Dhammajarinee Witthaya are doing just that. Two are studying at the Sukhothai Thammathirat, and the other at Ramkhamhaeng University. All are still nuns, for it is one of the conditions of getting the loan.

Apart from mainstream education and religious training, students at Dhammajarinee Witthaya are also taught handicraft skills such as smocking, knitting, and sewing. Embroidery work improves concentration, and the skills could earn them some income in the future.

Even when students decide to remain in the nunhood, they have to support themselves. This is because nuns are not financially or culturally supported by public donations in the way monks and novices are.

Smocked pillows, knitted gloves, socks and scarves made by the young nuns are for sale at the school. Khun Mae Arun, already in her 60s, often makes the long journey to Bangkok to sell the girls' crafts at Wat Boworn Nives Viharn. Part of the proceeds go into the girls' bank accounts which will be returned when they finish school.

Similar to the Benedictine priests, the Dhammajarinee nuns live lives of simplicity and humility by living close to nature and trying to be as self-sufficient as possible.

At the sanctuary, the 36 nuns, both young and old, live and share the work as one big family. Students are divided into three groups, each taking their turn to clean, cook, attend to the gardens, and other chores.

At present, the Department of Public Welfare pays half of Dhammajarinee's expenses. But a budget of 30 baht per day per person from the department is certainly not enough.

It is also difficult for the Dhammajarinee nuns to get community help because they live quite far from the nearest villages. Consequently, they have to grow their own food.

The nuns have turned their six-rai plot of land, which was a deserted rice field when they first settled there five years ago, into a productive orchard which yields abundant bananas, longans, lychees, mangoes, cucumbers, chilies, pumpkins, and beans.

"We hardly buy any fruits or vegetables from the market. We live on what we grow, and there's also some left over to sell," said Khun Mae Arun.

Farming is not just a way for the school to cut costs. It also on the curriculum.

"Students have to know farming. I want them to be grateful to the land and trees which give them food, to know who they are, and where they are from," explained Khun Mae Arun.

Therefore, planting and taking care of trees, garden flowers, and plants around the compound is the duty of every nun.

Living in a women-only community means that the Dhammajarinee nuns have take on the so-called "men's" jobs such as fixing roofs, cutting paths, digging wells, plumbing, and other building works.

"Women have to learn to stand on our own feet, to help ourselves without depending on others," said Khun Mae Arun. Such training is important for girls because it helps strengthen their confidence, as well as independence, she said.

"Working is a good way to use our time. And the students may find these maintenance skills useful when they grow up," she added, pointing at smooth earthen roads in the compound, thatched rooves, and a small well which are all the work of the Dhammajarinee nuns.

Though the project is only in its fifth year, Khun Mae Arun is satisfied with the school's method of education which equips the students not only with academic knowledge, but more importantly, spiritual guidance.

"Humans are burnt by greed, passion and anger. No textbook learning can help ease this human suffering. But I believe that two years of praying, sitting meditation, and other religious training that is offered here will be able to do that.

"When children receive proper education, which includes moral training, they will have both intellectual knowledge and good thoughts which will help them know how to control themselves and live their lives well."

The Dhammajarinee Witthaya School in Pa Sang District, Lamphun Province cannot be directly contacted by telephone. However, those wanting to contact the school can call Khun Mae Arun Petch-Urai at the Nuns Institute, Wat Boworn Nives Viharn, Bangkok, 282-2711, or call Khun Mae Chansuoy Cherdchairit at Wat Muang Mang, Chiang Mai on 038-206-067.

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