A samaneri is a novice

Novice

A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...

 Buddhist nun

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

, who lives according to the ten precepts. Male novices are called samanera

Samanera

A samanera ) may be translated as novice monk in a Buddhist context. The literal meaning is 'small samana', that is, small renunciate where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the Vinaya monastic discipline, a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu, but can ordain as a samanera...

s. 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

Bhikkhuni

A bhikkhuni or bhikṣuṇī is a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic. Male monastics are called bhikkhus. Both bhikkhunis and bhikkhus live by the vinaya...

. The Theravada

Theravada

Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...

 vinaya

Vinaya

The 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...

 has 311 rules of discipline for bhikkhunis. Within Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 society, as an example, members of the Sangha

Sangha

Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...

 are expected to renounce family connections and accept the Sangha as their family.

See also

• Anagarika
  Anagarika
  In Theravada Buddhism, an anagarika is a person who has given up most or all of his worldly possessions and responsibilities to commit fulltime to Buddhist practice. It is a midway status between monk and layperson where one takes on the Eight Precepts for the entire anagarika period, which could...
  
   (pre-ordaination)
• Buddhism
  Buddhism
  Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
  
  
• International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha
  International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha
  The International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages, took place on July 18–20, 2007, was an historic event. It was a meeting of internationally recognized Buddhist scholars specializing in monastic discipline and history, as well as...
  
  
• Mae ji
  Mae ji
  Mae ji are Buddhist laywomen in Thailand occupying a position somewhere between that of an ordinary lay follower and an ordained monk. It is illegal for women to take ordination in Thailand. And they are expected to work essentially as maids to ordained monks, rather than receiving training and...
  
  
• Nuns
• Ordination Process
• World Buddhist Sangha Council
  World Buddhist Sangha Council
  The World Buddhist Sangha Council is an international non-government organisation whose objectives are to develop the exchanges of the Buddhist religious and monastic communities of the different traditions worldwide, and help to carry out activities for the transmission of Buddhism. It was...
  
  

External links

• The Bhikkhunis' Code of Discipline (Bhikkhuni Patimokkha) Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
• Buddhist Monastic Code II: Bhikkhunis
• the website of Santi Forest Monastery contains several (ancient and modern) texts on the role and ordination of women in Buddhism.
• Bhikkhuni committee of the ASA includes a large resource of articles regarding Bhikkhunis
• Monastic Resources - Training
• "Female Monks In Buddhism", by Dhammacaro (07/23/2005).
• "Vinaya Pitaka", brief description includes "Order of ordination for men and women...."