THE FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND ETHICAL SELF THROUGH CELIBACY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDONESIAN BUDDHIST  AND CATHOLIC NUNS

Izmy  Khumairoh; Fransisca Fortunata Riana

Authors

Izmy Khumairoh Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Central Java, Indonesia
Fransisca Fortunata Riana Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Central Java, Indonesia

Keywords:

Tantrayana-Tibetan Buddhism, Catholic, Women's Agency, Total Institution, Identity

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The opportunity for women to actualize themselves in non-domestic and masculine spheres, like religion, has become more accessible nowadays. Women are fully permitted to commit themselves to God's path by living a celibacy life even though they need to deal with several challenges. As highlighted in this research, Indonesian Buddhist and Catholic nuns had to face a difficult life path before they were firmly engaged in their new identity in monastic life. Their holy aspirations to achieve the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey as nuns conflicted with the socio-cultural values deeply embedded in Indonesian society, which define the ideal female figure. Briefly, this study investigated how Indonesian Buddhist and Catholic nuns confronted their changing identities and negotiated multiple tensions to maintain their commitment and self-agency by devoting their lives to religious orders.

Methodology: This research employed a qualitative method as a suitable approach to gather more comprehensive data on the personal journeys of Buddhist and Catholic nuns. It involved in-depth interviews with several Buddhist nuns from Tantrayana-Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Malang Regency, East Java, and Catholic nuns from the Order of St. Francis in a church in Semarang City, Central Java. By comparing the two traditions of women's celibacy across different religions through a phenomenological approach, this study explored the gradual transformation of women who aspired to become Buddhist and Catholic nuns, starting from the mortification phase, through desocialization to the resocialization phase, based on Erving Goffman's concept of total institution.

Main results: As a voluntary total institution, the monastery implied a subtle distinction from the involuntary total institution-the mortification phase is not portrayed as a loss of selfhood but rather as a manifestation of devotion for the nuns. Moreover, fellow ascetics are not seen as new authority figures but rather as guides who support them amid the upheaval of shifting identities. Other research findings showed that both Buddhist and Catholic nuns also experienced difficulties from internal forces. They encountered in-between situations during the mortification phase since they had to drop their old identities that had been embedded for years. With help from religious viewpoints, they managed to get through this phase by reinterpreting their previous social roles and integrating them into their new identities.

Involvement to Buddhadhamma: This research explored the application of Buddhism in contemporary contexts, integrating modern scholarship with traditional Buddhist knowledge to cultivate wisdom and morality within the Buddhist framework. There are many Dhamma lessons to be learned from the struggles that women faced in fully engaging spiritually through joining the sangha (Buddhist Religious Community) as nuns. Under pressure from the socio-cultural environment, they had to redefine their social and spiritual roles wisely by practicing anatta (Selflessness). This is indirectly related to the concept of tanha (Attachment), which is represented as the cause of dukkha (Suffering) and must be renounced by Buddhist ascetics to ease their spiritual path toward achieving bodhi (Enlightenment) and vimoksha (Liberation from the Cycle of Birth and Death) easier. Furthermore, karuna (Compassion) served a vital function in connecting existing identities with new ones rather than eliminating the former.

Conclusions: The presence of other monastic members is crucial for Indonesian Buddhist and Catholic nuns. They work as a support system in maintaining religious agency through celibacy and navigating the dynamics of identity change. The social roles attached to old identities could be reconciled by combining them with spiritual roles through reinterpretation in the framework of religious teachings (Idea of Karuna and Serving God), forming a unified personality of Indonesian Buddhist and Catholic nuns.

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