In Buddhist context, a
samanera (
Pali
:
,
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
:
) can be translated as novice monk. It literally means 'small
samanaA shramana is a wandering monk in certain ascetic traditions of ancient India, including Jainism, Buddhism, and Ājīvika religion . Famous include religious leaders Mahavira and Gautama Buddha....
', or small renunciate, where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the
VinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
(monastic discipline), a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a
bhikkhuA Bhikku , Bhikṣu is a fully ordained male Buddhist monastic. Female monastic is called Bhikkhuni . Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis keep many precepts: they live by the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline, the basic rules of which are called the patimokkha...
, but can ordain as a samanera. The female counterpart of the samanera is the
samaneriA samaneri is a novice Buddhist nun, who lives according to the ten precepts. Male novices are called samaneras. A woman is to be ordained, according to Theravada tradition, by both a monk and a nun, first as a samaneri. After a year or at the age of 20, she will be ordained as a full bhikkhuni....
. Samaneras and samaneris keep the ten precepts as their code of behaviour, and are devoted to the
BuddhistBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
religious life.
After a year or at the age of 20, a samanera will be considered for the higher
BhikkhuA Bhikku , Bhikṣu is a fully ordained male Buddhist monastic. Female monastic is called Bhikkhuni . Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis keep many precepts: they live by the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline, the basic rules of which are called the patimokkha...
or
BhikkhuniA Bhikkhuni is a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic. Male monastics are called Bhikkhus. Both Bhikkunis and Bhikkhus live by the vinaya...
ordination (
Pali
:
upasampadaUpasampadā literally means literally "approaching or nearing the ascetic tradition." In more common parlance it specifically refers to the rite of ordination by which one undertakes the Buddhist monastic life....
).
In Buddhist context, a
samanera (
Pali
:
,
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
:
) can be translated as novice monk. It literally means 'small
samanaA shramana is a wandering monk in certain ascetic traditions of ancient India, including Jainism, Buddhism, and Ājīvika religion . Famous include religious leaders Mahavira and Gautama Buddha....
', or small renunciate, where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the
VinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
(monastic discipline), a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a
bhikkhuA Bhikku , Bhikṣu is a fully ordained male Buddhist monastic. Female monastic is called Bhikkhuni . Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis keep many precepts: they live by the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline, the basic rules of which are called the patimokkha...
, but can ordain as a samanera. The female counterpart of the samanera is the
samaneriA samaneri is a novice Buddhist nun, who lives according to the ten precepts. Male novices are called samaneras. A woman is to be ordained, according to Theravada tradition, by both a monk and a nun, first as a samaneri. After a year or at the age of 20, she will be ordained as a full bhikkhuni....
. Samaneras and samaneris keep the ten precepts as their code of behaviour, and are devoted to the
BuddhistBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
religious life.
After a year or at the age of 20, a samanera will be considered for the higher
BhikkhuA Bhikku , Bhikṣu is a fully ordained male Buddhist monastic. Female monastic is called Bhikkhuni . Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis keep many precepts: they live by the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline, the basic rules of which are called the patimokkha...
or
BhikkhuniA Bhikkhuni is a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic. Male monastics are called Bhikkhus. Both Bhikkunis and Bhikkhus live by the vinaya...
ordination (
Pali
:
upasampadaUpasampadā literally means literally "approaching or nearing the ascetic tradition." In more common parlance it specifically refers to the rite of ordination by which one undertakes the Buddhist monastic life....
). Some monasteries will require people who want to ordain as a monk to be a novice for a set period of time, as a period of preparation and familiarization.
The issue of ordination is different for samaneras and samaneris; the rules governing higher ordination are different for samaneras and samaneris.
The female form of the samanera is the
samaneriA samaneri is a novice Buddhist nun, who lives according to the ten precepts. Male novices are called samaneras. A woman is to be ordained, according to Theravada tradition, by both a monk and a nun, first as a samaneri. After a year or at the age of 20, she will be ordained as a full bhikkhuni....
.
According to Swami Satyananda the sanskrit word Shramanera can also be translated as "labourer" and is related to the sanskrit word
AshramTraditionally, an ashram is a religious hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
(a place of work). The Buddha is said to have called his first followers "Shramaneras" or labourers.
See also
- Samaneri
A samaneri is a novice Buddhist nun, who lives according to the ten precepts. Male novices are called samaneras. A woman is to be ordained, according to Theravada tradition, by both a monk and a nun, first as a samaneri. After a year or at the age of 20, she will be ordained as a full bhikkhuni....
- Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
- Ordination process
- Unsui
Unsui , or kōun ryūsui in full, is a term specific to Zen Buddhism which denotes a postulant awaiting acceptance into a monastery or a novice monk who has undertaken Zen training. Sometimes they will travel from monastery to monastery on a pilgrimage to find the appropriate Zen master to study with...
- Shinbyu
Shinbyu is the Burmese term for a novitiation ceremony in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.It is deemed the most important duty that parents owe to their son by letting him go forth and embrace the legacy of the Buddha, join the Sangha and become immersed in the teachings of the Buddha, the...
- Poy Sang Long
The Poy Sang Long is a rite of passage ceremony among the Shan peoples, in Myanmar and in neighbouring Northern Thailand, undergone by boys at some point between seven and fourteen years of age...
- Sikkhamana
In Buddhism, a sikkhamānā is a female novice training to become a nun . In the Vinaya Pitaka's Cullavagga X.1.4, the Buddha prescribed that this training period is to be two years long, supervised by both a monk and a nun.A young woman should be ordained, according to Theravada tradition, by both...