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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Becoming A Monk (Part 2)

In my previous writing I gave you an account of a ceremony I attended for a young man to become a monk. I thought that perhaps you might be interested in what this means in more tangible terms. There are rules and expectations that may not be known to people not familiar with the Buddhist faith as it is practiced here in Thailand.

I should start by saying that like many other religions, there are various sects. In Christianity as an example there are different faith practices; Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist etc. In Buddhism there are similar different sects. many people are familiar with the Dali Lama, a man who heads the Buddhist practices of Tibetan Buddhism. There is also Zen Buddhism and Soak Gaki International (SGI) Buddhism that is based in Japan, among many others.

In Thailand it is estimated that 95% of the population, practice the Theravada school of practice, with elements of Hindu and Chinese influence. So in some areas, such as the north where influences from Laos and Cambodia have been strong, the practices will be slightly different in some respects to those practices in the south.

As I said in the previous writing, every young man is expected to go to the temple and spend some time as a monk.
By doing so he is making merit, for his own misdeeds and those of his family. He is also getting a deeper understanding of the Buddhist teachings and hopefully through reflection can incorporate theses into his daily life. There is a common belief that a man who has spent time as a monk will make for a better husband, because of their self-reflection and practices.

There is a great picture of the King, in his robes for the time he spent as a monk, so regardless of station, it is widely accepted and practiced that the young man will spend time as a monk.

I wrote about the ceremony I attended and this is only part of what happens. Prior to that actually happening the young man is expected to study and practice the teachings and then must seek permission to go to the temple and be a monk from the abbot. He is questioned about his desire to do so and his knowledge of the practice. The abbot will fix a date for the young man, based on celestial positions and seasons. Typically this is done during the rainy season, but it can be done at any time. In the rainy season, we have seen many billboards and news articles sending out calls for people to come to be ordained. We have a friend who is now over 30 who has yet to go to spend time as a monk, and I would always point out the posters and remind him that it was not too late.

It is expected that during the time in the temple you will practice the temple language, study and meditate. There is much to study and much to practice:
There are the 4 Nobel Truths; that suffering exists; that there is a cause for suffering; that there is an end to suffering; and that in order to end suffering you must follow the 8 fold path of having the right ; Understanding; Thinking; Speech; Conduct; Livelihood; Effort; Mindfulness; and Concentration. . Then there is the eight fold path. And then there are the 5 precepts; Do Not Kill; Do Not Steal: Do Not Lie; Do Not Misuse Sex and Do Not Consume Alcohol or Other Drugs. There are also an additional 228 Rules. You can get more detail and information from the internet if you wish to understand in more detail what this all means in practical terms.

The day begins early, with most rising before sunrise and bathing and dressing and then beginning to walk, in many cases many kilometers, barefoot with what is referred to as your alms bowl. The alms bowl is what people will put food into as you walk the streets. People will approach and kneel on the ground and offer food, or sometimes money which is then put into the bowl. The monk himself does not take the offering (alm), it is placed by the persons seeking blessing into the bowl. In no circumstances must a woman ever touch a monk. On a trip once to Luang Prabang in Laos, the local guide book that is distributed free everywhere, they lay out the ritual for alm giving. It is pretty straight forward, but still people tend to have not read it. A monk, when they are making the alm walk, are in a constant state of prayer, almost transfixed, and they do not stop to pose for photos or smile. You never stand in a higher place (ie: over a monk), you do not touch their robes or their person. And speaking of photo's it is not acceptable to rush to the monk to get a good portrait shot with your flash operating. It never ceases to amaze me how many people do that. In Laos I watched in horror as tour buses would drop off people to see the very impressive sea of saffron robes making the walk in the morning form the many temples. And they would be pushing and shoving and flashing away, almost a mob scene. It really does distract from the whole solemnity of the event.

Once the walk is finished and the bowl is full, but not over full (ie, they must be able to put the lid back on the bowl) they return to temple, where they assemble and sort the food. The collecting and sorting of alms is also subject to many rules. The monks have a portion for offering to Buddha, a portion for themselves and the rest is distributed to the poor and needy and the many temple cats and dogs. All of this is completed prior to mid-day. Monks do not eat after that time, until the next day.

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