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Abstract

This study aims to examine the lived experience of boy novices in two Buddhist temples in Vietnam and Thailand. Lodged within the overarching framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and taking into account the impact on children’s overall well-being, this study uses phenomenological qualitative research design to bring about the narratives of young boys in such religious sites. Primarily, this study looks at the (a) reasons for entering the temples, (b) the issues and concerns that each boy encountered while on the temple premises, and (c) how they overcame the daily demands of monastic life while studying and being a child. Methodologically, this study conducts in-depth personal interviews and ethnographic accounts of the young novices and senior monks in both countries’ popular temples, that is, the Thai Wats - Theravada temple (in Pathum-Thani province) and the Vietnamese Chùa- Mahayana temple (in Hue city). The findings suggest that the boy novice tradition in both countries exemplified several defining features and salient provisions affirming the general principles enshrined in the UN convention on the rights of children. Consequently, this study found out that the monastic life that the children have led allowed them to gain a mental mechanism that can regulate their emotional response to an otherwise “stressful” circumstance. Ultimately, it highlights the continuing prominence of religion in contemporary Southeast Asia.

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