Full context:   Observance does not need to be temporary, however: some lay devotees choose to undertake the eight precepts continuously to improve themselves in morality. The eight precepts are also undertaken by people preparing for ordination as a monk, sometimes called anagarika in Pāli or pha khao in Thai. Furthermore, many nuns in Buddhist countries, such as the mae chi in Thailand or the dasa sil mata in Sri Lanka, observe the eight or ten precepts all the time as part of their way of life.