Child ordinations

A much-loved child actor who portrayed a Buddhist monk on screen has recently been ordained in real life. The news is generally received quite positively. It is an indication of the difficult and often unpopular conversation on child priests, ordination and child rights that must be had, irrespective of its highly charged, emotive and subjective nature.

Buddhism has been a part of Sri Lanka’s culture for centuries and the ordination of young boys as novice monks is a well-established tradition. It is a practice that is meant to instil discipline, self-control and religious values in the younger generation. Even three or four generations ago, before free education became a right of every child, the most educated individuals within society were the priests. In Sri Lankan villages, the temple was a place of education and nurturing. A child being ordained was in fact very much an opportunity for that child to be educated while his siblings and contemporaries were destined for menial, labour intensive work. This education often was not limited to religion but expanded into other disciplines such as traditional medicine and astrology making the village priest a highly respected member of the community.

Times have however changed while some of these traditional institutions have not. The general law of Sri Lanka stipulates that the minimum age of marriage and the voting age is 18 years, and the age of consent for sexual relations and the minimum age of employment as 16 years. Even with regard to the age of employment and consent there are further safeguards in place with the welfare of the child taking primacy. These age limits are imposed because there is a general understanding that a child is not able to make life altering decisions at a younger age. It may go against the principles of autonomy and freedom to choose but these laws and limitations have more often than not been safeguards for children.

In other Theravada countries like Thailand and Cambodia all males are expected to ordain as monks for a short period, usually for three months. In this tradition there is no dishonour or stigma in disrobing after the stipulated time. In fact, the whole purpose of the activity is to spiritually prepare young men for their adult lives. Yet in Sri Lanka disrobing is associated with great stigma and ostracisation. Thus, a child monk, ordained at a young age is stuck in the priesthood with little choice or agency to determine his own life once he becomes an adult.

The education provided for a monk is also different to that of other children. The ‘Piriven’ or the monastic schools, despite coming under the Ministry of Education, are limited in scope and do not provide the same educational choices as in the mainstream. A child monk will never have the options available to other children to choose his preferred line of study, play a sport or learn music or art. As an adult he would be manifestly ill prepared to face life outside a temple.

All this is without factoring the numerous cases of abuse and mistreatment of young monks reported in recent years. The incidents range from physical abuse to sexual assault, and they all highlight the vulnerability of young monks who are placed in the care of senior monks. The abuse will deeply scar on the lives of these young boys.

However difficult this subject may be, this discussion must be had. Children should not be ordained into any priesthood simply because they do not have the ability to make an informed decision of such magnitude. It is the Government’s duty to protect all children, especially those who are vulnerable. This includes protecting these children even from institutionalised religion.