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Asāmaṇera (Pali;Sanskrit:श्रामणेर,romanized: śrāmaṇera), is a novice male monk in aBuddhist context.[1] A female novice nun is inPali:sāmaṇerī, and inSanskrit:śrāmaṇerī orśrāmaṇerikā. InTibetan Buddhism, a female novice nun is known by theTibetan language termgetsulma, and a male novice monk is agetsul.[2]
Thesāmaṇera is a Pali language diminutive equivalent to the Sanskrit termśrāmaṇera, which indicates anascetic practitioner. Therefore,sāmaṇera might be said to mean "small or young renunciate (ascetic)". In some South and Southeast Asian Buddhist traditions, the term refers to someone who has taken the initialpravrajya vows but not theupasampada or full ordination. Thepratimokṣa rules do not apply to them and they do not take part in the recital of the rules onuposatha days.
The Sanskrit wordśrāmaṇerikā is the feminine form ofSanskrit:śrāmaṇera.
The account provided in the literature of South Asian Buddhism (and adopted by other Buddhist traditions) is that whenGautama Buddha's sonRāhula was seven years old, he followed the Buddha, saying "Give me my inheritance." The Buddha calledSariputta and asked him to ordain Rāhula, who became the first sāmaṇera.
The King (Suddhodana), discovering that now his grandson and a number of young men in the royal family had requested ordination, asked the Buddha only to ordain a minor with the consent of his parents or guardian. The Buddha assented. This rule was expanded to include the spouses of those intending to join the Order of monks and nuns.[3]
In the Vinaya (monastic regulations) used by many South Asian Buddhist sects, a man under the age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikṣu (monk) but can be ordained as asāmaṇera.Sāmaṇeras (andsāmaṇerīs – the equivalent term for girls) keep the Ten Precepts as their code of behaviour and devote themselves to the religious life during breaks from secular schooling, or in conjunction with it if devoted to formal ordination. In other cultures and Buddhist traditions (particularly Northeast Asia, and those in the West that derive from these lineages), monks take different sets of vows and follow different customary rules.
The Ten Precepts upheld bysāmaṇeras are:
Ordination differs betweensāmaṇeras andsrāmaṇerīs.
After a year or at the age of 20, asāmaṇera will be considered for theupasampada or higher ordination as a bhikṣu. 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.
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The novice ordination of women, according to the traditionalvinaya, is conferred by monks, and by nuns when possible. Novice nuns (Standard Tibetan:getsulma, orSanskrit:śrāmaṇeras andśrāmaṇeris) honor their vows of theTen Precepts as their code of behaviour.
After a year or at the age of 20, a novice nun can be ordained as a fullbhikṣuṇī (Pali:bhikkhunī). The ordination rituals depend on the nun's specific tradition of Buddhism, while the number of their precepts increases substantially.
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