Becoming a Monk

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Alan's Ordination at Wat Luang Phor Sodh, December 10, 2000

When the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2000, I was already thinking about how I might celebrate the next New Year�the beginning of the third millennium. After some thought I decided to fulfill my mother�s long-standing dream by ordaining as a monk in her homeland. My New Year would be spent in Thailand, where, by the Buddhist calendar, they�ve been in the third millennium for 543 years already.

There was no question about where I would ordain. The Venerable Abbot Phra Bhavana Visutthikhun at Wat Luang Phor Sodh has been a close family friend since I was very young�I have always fondly referred to him as "uncle" and he warmly welcomed me to ordain there. The dates were chosen by some sort of cosmic calculation that was beyond me (because I was born on a Saturday came into the equation at some point). I would ordain the day before the last full moon of 2000, and disrobe the day before the first full moon of the New Year, which coincided with my late grandfather�s birthday. What a neat calculation that was!

I wanted to brush up on my Thai, which was a bit rusty (foreigners who ordain should speak, read, and write Thai fluently), and learn some chanting. I received a script and recording of the Pali chanting I�d need to recite in the ordination ceremony, but one minute into the first
listening I thought to myself, "this is impossible"! How my American father once did this, I had no idea. But as December approached, I found myself chanting in the car, chanting in the shower, even chanting in my sleep. I just wondered if I would actually get the whole thing memorized by "the big day" or not.

Lighting joss sticks in front of the shrine

The most common question my friends had for me was why I was going to become a monk, which was hard to answer in a way they would understand. The biggest reason was to gain merit for my family, and especially for my mother, as women have no chance to ordain for themselves. My friends also asked me if I would really have to shave my head (yes), would I have to be
a vegetarian (no), would I beg for my meals (not exactly alms food is a bit different from begging), and a host of other questions I couldn�t answer yet.

Since I live in Japan and the rest of my family live far apart, my ordination would be a much anticipated family reunion. For this joyous occasion, not only my parents but also my three siblings, brother in-law, and 9-month old nephew would be there. (My 97-year old grandmother lives only 20 minutes from the Wat, so she had the shortest distance to travel!) The last time I saw my older sister she was 7-months pregnant. Now she had an adorable baby boy. All our friends and relatives in Thailand were thrilled to see him, not least of all our uncle, the Venerable Abbot at Luang Phor Sodh. My sister hoped to have her son�s hair cut in a Buddhist
ceremony meant to cleanse and purify a newborn baby. In Thai Buddhist tradition, this meant shaving the baby�s head. In the case of babies who appeared weak or ailing, a tuft of hair on the top of the head would be left to grow while the rest of the head would continue to be shaved.
This would become a sort of top-knot to be cut off when the child had become strong and healthy. But for my vibrant and charming nephew, the Venerable Abbot just cut a little hair off the top, and blessed him with holy water sprinkled on his head. My nephew was very well behaved
throughout. He really seemed content and happy (I think he was also fascinated by the orange robes, as he never took his eyes of the Venerable Abbot)! The following day was set to be my turn for a haircut, but much more than just a bit off the top.

I woke up early on ordination day and my jet-lagged brother graciously ran through my lines for the ordination with me. It looked good. The head shaving was quite fun for everyone, as family members and friends took turns cutting off locks of my hair. My brother in-law took the biggest
chop right off the top, but everyone enjoyed having a go at being barber-for-a-day. Then one of the resident monks shaved off my hair, which neither hurt nor tickled, even when he shaved off my eyebrows (a tradition for monks in Thailand). The breeze was cool over the top of my head and everyone had a smile on their face, so I was very interested to see for myself what I looked like. When I finally caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror with my shaved white head without eyebrows, my upper body covered with a white cloth, all I could think was "who is that alien?"

Before the ordination ceremony began, I went down to the stream with my hair gathered on a lotus leaf and floated it away on the gentle current. I knew I should make a wish or a resolution at this point, but I didn�t know what to think, what I would learn, or what was in store for me over this next month. All I could hope for was that I would go along smoothly, peacefully, and detached like my old hair floating down the stream.

Although I�d hoped to relax a bit and go over my lines again, the time had been flying by, and it was already time to start the ordination ceremony. We all made our way to the Bot, which I have always found very beautiful. The design is classical Ayutthaya architecture, but done all in white. The atmosphere there is one of absolute purity and goodness. Before entering the Bot, my family, relatives, and entire entourage assembled and walked around the Bot three times. Many Pali chants have sections that are also repeated three times, always to pay homage to the Buddha, to the Dhamma teachings, and to the Sangha community of monks. The resident farang monk and my mentor at Wat Luang Phor Sodh, Phra Walter, told me that I should be mindful during this walk, but I was already excited and nervous about the ceremony which was about to start.

The previous day Phra Walter had run through a "dress rehearsal" of the ceremony with me, but it all seemed a little bit different when people were actually there. I lit my joss sticks in front of the Bot and happily chanted my lines. Things were going smoothly as I entered the Bot and continued with the "going forth". By this time, the Venerable Abbot and 12 monks were in their places in front of the Buddha images, and my family and friends were seated on the floor, men on the left and women on the right.

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The next part of the ordination was acquiring a full set of robes, which were presented directly by my parents, with all others present touching them, like a human chain, so that everyone was involved. When I took the robes to the Venerable Abbot I realized that there is quite a bit of
walking on one�s knees in this ceremony! That�s something I had skipped over in the dress rehearsal. And in case I should happen to forget my lines, I was assured that my "helper" would whisper me a prompt (much like the person under the stage in a play). This was reassuring in
theory, but it turned into a distraction for me. I had memorized some of my lines with a pause between lines, which always brought a prompt from my helper, which in turn threw me off my "rhythm". At some points, other helpful monks would chime in as well! I guess they have been to
so many ordinations that they could prompt me in their sleep. I wonder if any of them were sleeping�

Although all but a few people present were either Thai or fluent in speaking it, my ordination was unique in that the Venerable Abbot explained everything in English. This was very helpful for me (but perhaps not as helpful for my grandmother and other Thai relatives). Then taking my robes and walking on my knees again, I was reminded by Phra Walter to turn left and go out the back of the Bot. Three seconds later, I was turning right and going out the front of the Bot. I guess
I did have a bit of stage fright after all! Outside the Bot, several monks had me out of my white robes and securely tied in my orange monk�s robes faster than I could say "I�m never going to learn how to tie this thing". And now, standing in my monk�s robes, I realized for the first
time that this moment I�d been thinking about for the past year had really come. As I walked back up the steps into the Bot I also realized that I had no idea what came next in the ceremony. My mind was a complete blank!

The monks dress Alan in his new Buddhist robes

What actually did come next was taking refuge in the "Triple Gem" (the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha) and taking the 10 precepts which would initially ordain me as a novice. Since this part was simply repeating what was said to me, I only practiced the pronunciation of these lines.I
hadn�t actually memorized them�and repeating the lines was more difficult than I had anticipated. Especially the 8th precept (abstaining from the use of garlands, perfumes, unguents, and adornments), which starts with "MALA-GANDHA-VILEPANA-DHARANA-MANDANA-VIBHUSANATTHANA-VERAMANI" all in
one breath. My helper had turned into a small cheering squad of helpers who broke this tongue-twister down into smaller parts for me. My mother felt sorry seeing me struggle and discreetly placed a copy of the script in front of me. I really appreciated her help, but I�d had my glasses off since the head shaving and I couldn�t see a word on the page! Also, my
pronunciation wasn�t quite up to par, and I had to repeat a few lines until I got it right but I did make it through. Officially I was ordained as a novice at this point.

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The rest of the ceremony went smoothly and consisted of higher ordination, or acceptance as a full-fledged monk. This included asking the Venerable Abbot to be my preceptor, making sure I had a full set of robes and alms-bowl, receiving a new name in Pali, and answering the interrogation of the Sangha. This set of 13 questions are mostly yes / no questions in Pali asked in a pre-determined order. Some of the questions might seem a bit strange to a modern day ordainee "do you suffer from leprosy?" and, "are you a human being?" were two that made me snicker. But these questions are not only simple tradition; my further study of the ceremony
showed a deeper meaning in many of the inquiries. (You shouldn�t laugh at the Vinaya, I suppose.)

Following my formal request to the Sangha and their acceptance, the Venerable Abbot officially welcomed me as a monk at Wat Luang Phor Sodh. But before breaking for many photo opportunities in and around the Bot, the Venerable Abbot spoke seriously and meaningfully to me about the role and responsibility of being a monk. I would gain merit for myself and my family, but I would also learn the Dhamma, and I would try to live my life mindfully, following the 227 precepts of the Vinaya, and paying homage daily to the Triple Gem.

Following the ceremony, when I first greeted my family as a monk, I had to keep firmly in mind that I should not return their wais. That was a hard thing to do, especially to my own parents and grandmother! Instinctively I wanted to hug my younger sister, but one rule of the Vinaya prohibits any physical contact with females. Instead, feeling a little bit sad but mostly happy, I smiled at my sister and reminded myself not to wai her back.

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