Making fields of merit : Buddhist female ascetics and gendered orders in Thailand

This is the first monograph published on the lives and aspirations of Thai Buddhist nuns.

It presents a unique ethnography of the nuns' lives and examines what it means to be a female ascetic in contemporary Thailand.

It also broadens the discussion on gendered orders and Buddhism, not least by analysing religious legitimacy and authority from a gender perspective - a very timely study, given the recent struggles for recognition by Buddhist nuns and restoration of a Theravada order of female monks in Thailand.

Religion plays a central role in Thai society with Buddhism intertwined in the daily lives of the people.

Religion also plays an important role in establishing gender boundaries.The growth in recent decades of self-governing nunneries and the increasing interest of Thai women in a Buddhist monastic life are notable changes in the religion-gender dynamic.

This anthropological study addresses religion and gender relations, analysing this through the lens of the lives, actions and role in Thai society of Buddhist nuns (mae chii).

It presents an unique ethnography of the Thai Buddhist nuns, examines what it implies to be a female ascetic in contemporary Thailand and analyses how the ordained state for women fits into the wider gender patterns found in Thai society.

It raises questions about how the position of Thai Buddhist nuns outside the Buddhist sangha affects their religious legitimacy and describes recent moves to restore a Theravada order of female monks.