Food Scarcity and the Precarious Gift: Navigating Food Scarcity in the Making of the Myanmar Buddhist Nun

Looking at a case study in Sagaing, Myanmar, a main monastic hub, this paper explores how gendered structures of merit and monastic discipline often place Myanmar Buddhist nuns (thilashin) at a disadvantage when receiving food. At the same time, the ability to “make their own rules” and flexibility in practice may strategically help them in navigating these material constraints. Culinary knowledge formed in the villages together with thilashin food practices not only help in the formation of these female renunciants but also cement reciprocal relationships and responsibilities between monks and nuns as well as between monastics and the laity. These practices are essential for maintaining the sāsana, which are often dismissed as being insignificant as domestic duties.