Thai girls spend school holiday as Buddhist nuns

A Buddhist nun speaks with novice Thai nuns at the Sathira Dammasathan Buddhist meditation centre in Bangkok April 20, 2012. A small but growing group of Thai girls are choosing to spend part of the school holiday as Buddhist nuns, down to having their heads shaven. This year, to celebrate 2,600 years since the Buddha gained enlightenment, the Sathira Dammasathan centre arranged for the ordination of 137 women between the ages of five and 63. The ordination involved shaving their hair off and living as a Buddhist nun for 20 days, including going on rounds to collect alms from worshippers at dawn, wearing simple white cotton clothes, and daily meditation classes. [Photo/Agencies]

A Buddhist nun speaks with novice Thai nuns at the Sathira Dammasathan Buddhist meditation centre in Bangkok April 20, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]