Clergy and religious life
The Buddhist Sangha
The Sangha, in its narrow sense, is the community of ordained monks (bhikkhus, Sanskrit bhikshus) and nuns (bhikkhunis, bhikshunis), one of the Three Jewels together with the Buddha and the Dharma. Its life is governed by the Vinaya, the monastic discipline that tradition traces to the Buddha’s own rulings, which sets out rules of conduct, procedures for ordination and the way communities settle their affairs. Three Vinaya lineages survive: the Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, the Dharmaguptaka in China, Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan, and the Mulasarvastivada in Tibet and Mongolia. There is no single head of Buddhism. Seniority within a community is counted from the date of full ordination, and authority rests with teachers, abbots and, in some countries, national monastic councils recognised by the state. Robes differ in colour and cut from one tradition to another, but all descend from the patched cloth robe of the early mendicants.
- Ordained life
- Teachers and abbots
- Traditions
Orders and states of life
Ordained life
A candidate first takes novice ordination, the pabbajja, receiving robes and ten precepts. Full ordination, the upasampada, is given to those aged at least twenty by a chapter of monks, and in the case of nuns traditionally by both orders. It binds the monk or nun to the full Vinaya code, which in Theravada has 227 rules for monks and 311 for nuns.
Teachers and abbots
Authority in the Sangha comes from seniority, learning and office. Abbots lead monasteries, preceptors give ordination and teachers transmit texts and meditation. Some countries organise the Sangha nationally: Thailand has a Supreme Patriarch and a Sangha Supreme Council, and Tibetan Buddhism has its own scholastic degrees, schools and recognised reincarnate teachers.
Traditions
Monastic life has taken distinct forms across Asia. In Japan, after a government decree of 1872 allowed Buddhist clergy to eat meat and marry, most temple priests came to marry and pass temples down in families. Japanese Zen keeps strict training monasteries, but its priests are often better described as ordained clergy than as lifelong celibate monks.
Teachers and abbots
Sangharaja (Supreme Patriarch)
sangharaja (Pali); Somdet Phra Sangkharat (Thai, สมเด็จพระสังฆราช)
Addressed as His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch (Thai: *Somdet Phra Sangkharat*)
The Sangharaja, king of the Sangha, is the senior monk recognised as head of the monastic community in several Theravada countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and Laos; Sri Lanka instead has the chief prelates (mahanayaka) of its fraternities. In Thailand the Supreme Patriarch presides over the Sangha Supreme Council, which governs the monasteries of both main orders, the Maha Nikaya and the Dhammayuttika. Since a 2016 amendment to the Sangha Act he is appointed by the king. The office is administrative and exemplary rather than doctrinal: he has no power to define teaching.
What the figure wears
- Upper robe uttarasanga (Pali); jiwon (Thai, จีวร)
A large rectangle of saffron-ochre cloth wrapped around the body, leaving one shoulder bare, as monks wear it within the monastery and at ceremonies.
- Lower robe antaravasaka (Pali); sabong (Thai, สบง)
A wrapped cloth of the same saffron-ochre, worn around the waist like a long skirt and reaching below the knees.
- Rank fan phat yot (Thai, พัดยศ); talapat
A ceremonial fan with a long handle and a richly embroidered, gilded face, held upright before the chest; its design shows the bearer’s ecclesiastical rank.
- Outside services
- Daily dress is the same robe set as any monk, with the robe drawn over both shoulders outside the monastery. Senior monks may use a plain palm-leaf fan when chanting and teaching.
- Insignia
- The embroidered rank fan and the ecclesiastical title conferred by the state; no crown, staff or special robe colour.
Ordained life
Bhikkhu (fully ordained monk)
bhikkhu (Pali); bhikshu (Sanskrit); phra (Thai, พระ)
Addressed as Venerable (Pali *Bhante*; Thai *Phra*, Burmese *U*)
A bhikkhu has received full ordination and lives by the complete Vinaya code. He owns little beyond his robes, bowl and a few requisites, does not handle money in strict practice, eats only between dawn and noon, and remains celibate. His days are given to chanting, study, meditation and teaching. Monks depend on lay supporters for food, and the morning alms round is a central exchange in Theravada societies. In much of Southeast Asia men may ordain temporarily, for a rainy season or a few weeks, and return to lay life without stigma.
What the figure wears
- Upper robe uttarasanga (Pali); jiwon (Thai)
A large rectangular robe of orange-saffron cloth, sewn in a patchwork of panels and wrapped to leave the right shoulder bare.
- Lower robe antaravasaka (Pali); sabong (Thai)
A wrapped cloth of the same colour, tied at the waist and reaching to the shins, worn by all monks beneath the upper robe.
- Alms bowl patta (Pali); bat (Thai, บาตร)
A round bowl of black-lacquered iron or clay, one of the few requisites a monk may own, held at the waist to receive offerings of food.
- Outside services
- On alms round in the morning monks walk barefoot with the robe drawn over both shoulders; in the monastery one shoulder is left bare as a sign of respect.
- Insignia
- None beyond the robes and bowl; seniority is counted in rains retreats (*vassa*) since ordination.
Ordained life
Samanera (novice)
samanera (Pali); shramanera (Sanskrit); nen (Thai, เณร)
Addressed as Novice (Thai *Nen*, Burmese *Ko Yin*)
A samanera is a novice who has received the lower ordination, the pabbajja, by shaving his head, taking robes and accepting ten precepts, including celibacy and not eating after noon. Novices may be ordained as children, traditionally from about seven years old, and many boys in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos spend some time as novices, often during school holidays. They live under a preceptor, study chanting and scripture and do monastery chores. At twenty a novice may request full ordination as a bhikkhu.
What the figure wears
- Upper robe uttarasanga (Pali); jiwon (Thai)
A saffron robe like a monk’s, wrapped to cover both shoulders, as is usual for novices and for monks outside the monastery.
- Lower robe antaravasaka (Pali); sabong (Thai)
A wrapped saffron cloth tied at the waist, reaching to the shins, the same garment worn by fully ordained monks.
- Outside services
- Novices wear the same robes as monks, keep ten precepts rather than the full code and spend their days in lessons, chanting and work around the monastery, such as sweeping the grounds.
- Insignia
- None; novices sit behind fully ordained monks and are distinguished by age, precepts and duties rather than dress.
Teachers and abbots
Lama (Gelug monk-teacher)
lama (Tibetan, བླ་མ་); geshe (dge bshes)
Addressed as Rinpoche (precious one) for a senior or reincarnate lama; otherwise Geshe-la or Lama-la
In Tibetan, lama translates the Sanskrit guru and properly means a qualified teacher, not every monk. The Gelug school, founded by Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), stresses monastic discipline and scholastic study. Its monasteries award the geshe degree after long training in logic, philosophy and debate, the highest grade being lharampa. Tibetan Buddhism also recognises tulkus, teachers identified as the reincarnation of a predecessor. From the cap colour of its monks in ceremony, the Gelug is often called the Yellow Hat school.
What the figure wears
- Maroon robes zen and shamthab (gzan, sham thabs)
A long maroon shawl wrapped over the shoulders and a pleated maroon skirt tied at the waist, the standard dress of Tibetan monks.
- Dhonka dhonka
A yellow sleeveless shirt worn under the maroon shawl, leaving the arms bare; a garment particular to Tibetan monastic dress.
- Yellow pandit hat ser zhwa (yellow hat)
A tall, crested ceremonial hat of yellow wool, worn by Gelug monks at assemblies and teachings and giving the school its popular name.
- Vajra dorje (Tibetan, རྡོ་རྗེ་)
A small ritual sceptre of metal with prongs at both ends, held in the right hand, standing for skilful means and compassion.
- Bell drilbu (Tibetan, དྲིལ་བུ་)
A hand bell with a vajra handle, held in the left hand and rung in ritual, standing for wisdom; vajra and bell are used together.
- Outside services
- Daily dress is the maroon shawl, skirt and dhonka, without the hat; Gelug monks carry the yellow hat folded over the shoulder or wear it only for ceremonies and debate.
- Insignia
- The yellow ceremonial hat, the vajra and bell, and for a geshe the degree itself; high lamas may sit on raised thrones and wear brocade.
Traditions
Zen monk / priest
sō (Japanese, 僧); unsui (trainee), oshō (和尚, priest)
Addressed as Osho-san or Roshi (old teacher) for a recognised master
Japanese Zen, chiefly in the Soto and Rinzai schools, centres on seated meditation (zazen) and, in Rinzai, on the study of koans. A priest receives initial ordination (tokudo) and later trains in a monastery as an unsui, before receiving dharma transmission (shiho) from a teacher and qualifying to run a temple. Since the Meiji government’s decree of 1872 permitted clergy to marry, most Japanese temple priests have married, and many temples pass from father to child, though monastic training remains celibate in practice.
What the figure wears
- Koromo koromo (衣)
A black, ankle-length robe with very wide, hanging sleeves, tied at the waist; the standard robe of Japanese Zen clergy for meditation and services.
- Kesa kesa (袈裟)
A brown robe sewn from rectangular patches in the manner of the early rag robe, draped over the left shoulder and under the right arm.
- Zori zōri (草履)
Flat sandals of straw or woven rush with a cloth thong between the toes, worn by monks outdoors and on temple grounds.
- Outside services
- Work clothes, *samue*, a loose jacket and trousers in indigo or brown, are worn for cleaning, gardening and chores; the koromo and kesa are worn for zazen, services and ceremonies.
- Insignia
- The kesa itself, given at ordination, and for teachers the small *rakusu* or a ceremonial fly whisk; prayer beads (*juzu*) and a ringed staff are used in rites.
Ordained life
Bhikkhuni (fully ordained nun)
bhikkhuni (Pali); bhikshuni (Sanskrit); biqiuni (Chinese, 比丘尼)
Addressed as Venerable (Chinese *Fashi*, Dharma teacher)
A bhikkhuni is a fully ordained nun bound by the nuns’ Vinaya, traditionally ordained by both a chapter of nuns and a chapter of monks. The order of nuns died out in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia centuries ago but survived in East Asian Mahayana, where Taiwan now has more nuns than monks. Since the 1990s, ordinations with the help of East Asian nuns have revived the Theravada bhikkhuni order, notably in Sri Lanka. Its acceptance varies: some national Sangha authorities, including Thailand’s, do not recognise it.
What the figure wears
- Haiqing haiqing (海青)
A grey full-length robe with very wide sleeves and a crossed collar, worn by Chinese monastics for services and formal occasions.
- Kasaya jiasha (袈裟)
A brown-ochre patchwork robe draped over the haiqing from the left shoulder, leaving the right side open, worn for ceremonies and recitation.
- Prayer beads nianzhu (念珠)
A string of beads, often 108, used to count recitations of the Buddha’s name or of mantras.
- Outside services
- Day to day, Chinese nuns wear a simpler grey or brown jacket and trousers and soft shoes; the haiqing and kasaya are put on for chanting, ceremonies and teaching.
- Insignia
- The kasaya and prayer beads; as with monks, a nun's seniority is counted from the date of her full ordination.
Questions people ask
Is there a Buddhist equivalent of the Pope?
No. Buddhism has no single head or central authority. Each tradition and country has its own structures: Thailand and Cambodia have supreme patriarchs, Sri Lanka has chief prelates of its monastic fraternities, Japanese schools have head temples, and Tibetan schools have their own heads and senior lamas. These leaders have influence within their communities, but none speaks for all Buddhists, and the Vinaya itself gives authority to the community of monks and nuns acting together.
Can Buddhist monks leave the monastery?
Yes. In Theravada countries ordination is not necessarily for life, and a monk may disrobe through a simple formal declaration and return to lay life. Temporary ordination is common in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, where young men often ordain for a rainy season as a rite of passage. In Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism vows are generally taken with the intention of lifelong commitment, though leaving is also possible.
Why do Buddhist robes come in different colours?
The Vinaya asks that robes be dyed to a dull, impure colour, so that monastics do not wear fine cloth. Local dyes and customs did the rest. Theravada robes range from bright saffron to dark brown, often varying by monastery or forest tradition. Tibetan robes are maroon with yellow. Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese monastics wear grey or brown robes with an ochre or brown kasaya, and Japanese clergy usually wear black with a coloured kesa.
Can Buddhist monks marry?
In nearly all traditions, ordained monks and nuns are celibate, and sexual intercourse is one of the gravest offences in the Vinaya. Japan is the main exception. In 1872 the Meiji government lifted the legal ban on clergy eating meat and marrying, and over the following decades marriage became the norm for temple priests in most schools. Some Tibetan traditions also have non-celibate tantric practitioners, called *ngakpa*, who are distinct from the monks.
What is a tulku?
In Tibetan Buddhism a tulku is a teacher recognised as the rebirth of a deceased master, continuing his work. After a lama dies, senior teachers search for a child using signs, dreams and tests, and the child is enthroned and educated for the role. The practice began with the Karmapa lineage in the thirteenth century and spread to all Tibetan schools. Tulkus may be monks or, in some lineages, lay teachers, and they often receive the honorific Rinpoche.
Sources and further reading
- An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices – Peter Harvey (Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition 2013)
- Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo – Richard Gombrich (Routledge, 2nd edition 2006)
- The Buddhist Monastic Code – Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Metta Forest Monastery, 1994)
- The Tibetans – Matthew T. Kapstein (Blackwell, 2006)
- Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism – Richard M. Jaffe (Princeton University Press, 2001)