Chancellor of the University of Ruhuna Ven. Akkuretiya Nanda Thero emphasised that novice Buddhist monks’ are entitled to the rights of children and that children of age below 12 shall not be ordained.
Speaking to ‘Mawbima’, the Thero urged all headquarters of Buddhist orders to take immediate measures to foster a mechanism in this regard.
Ordaining a novice monk is performed under the guidance of a senior monk, and the responsibility of taking care of that novice monk like a parent is assigned to that senior monk, the Thera noted.
Recalling that Buddhist monks who committed immoral behaviour had existed during the era of the Lord Buddha, Ven. Akkuretiya Nanda Thero stressed that a number of disciplinary rules are imposed to monks in this context.
Even in the present, such immoral behaviours are committed by some monks, the Thera alleged, adding that there is no mechanism to monitor such conduct, nor the headquarters of the Buddhist orders serve in this regard.
If senior monks behave in compliance with the disciplinary rules imposed to them, no cases of abuses will be reported from religious places, the Thera added.
MIAP
