Making Merit: Men who do not wish to become full-fledged monks may enter the monkhood for a limited period of time twice in their life. The length of stay in the monkhood may range from a week to several months, or more. By entering the monkhood, the man is seen as gaining merit for himself and his family. Gaining merit for family members is particularly important for the women, who are unable to enter monkhood. There are Buddhist nuns in Laos, donning white robes and shaved heads, but they are still regarded as lay persons. One's merit goes to determining their happiness in their life and afterlife.
Oftentimes, one enters the monkhood immediately after a trying time their life. Peep's younger brother, Poup, has entered the monkhood following the death of his father and again after the death of a very close friend. Peep and I attended the ceremonies surrounding his entering the monkhood.
Preparation: We started the day by meeting at grandma's house to prepare Poup for entering the monkhood. First, locks of hair were ceremoniously cut from the top of his head by the important women in his life, namely his mother, grandmother, and aunt. I then had the honor of removing all the remaining hair from his head, including the eyebrows. Next, Poup removed his civilian clothes and dressed in all white. After paying respect to his family, a baci was performed and well-wishes were given. Everyone then walked to the main gathering hall in the temple located directly behind grandma's house.
Ceremony: The monks from the temple joined us and prayers were recited. Poup was asked a series of questions to ensure he was eligible to enter the monkhood. Gifts were presented to the temple. After our time in the main hall, we walked in a procession around a second, smaller prayer hall. We walked around the outside of the hall in a clockwise direction while the drum located atop the drum tower was banged. Having completed three rounds of the hall, we entered for the final part of the ceremony.
Ordination: Inside this smaller hall was located a large statue of Buddha. The monks lined up in rows and said their prayers as the ceremony progressed. Poup paid respect to the head monk of the temple and accepted into the order, officially becoming a monk. He removed his white clothes and was dressed in the typically orange robe worn by monks in Laos. Poup was now ready to live as a monk. Having just returned from studying in Japan and with the pressures of finding work, he decided to spend just a week at the temple, from October 16th to the 23rd, 2006. He did so in memory of his father.
Life as a Monk: Much of the time spent at the temple for a novice monk is learning the prayers and studying the teachings of Buddha. Poup studied with the head monk for the duration of his stay. Every monk commits himself to live by 227 precepts, or rules. These include such things as not killing any living thing, not stealing, not lying, not drinking or using drugs, and not engaging in sexual relations, among others. While there, he also assisted in the day-to-day chores of the temple.
Gathering Alms: Every morning around sunrise, the monks within the temple leave to walk the streets surrounding the temple to gather alms. As a demonstration of their vow of poverty, they make this morning trip barefoot, although they normally wear sandals outdoors the rest of the day. Any of the faithful wishing to give alms set up a chair or mat roadside and await the monks. As each monk passes by, bits of rice and other foodstuffs are placed in their alms bowls. After all monks have received their gifts, they chant a short prayer before moving on. Upon completing their route, they return to the temple for their morning meal.
Mealtime: All the food collected is consolidated and then split roughly in half. Half of the food is served and consumed for their first meal. The second half of the food is kept for the second meal, which is consumed later in the morning and completed by noon. Monks only eat twice a day.
Leaving Monkhood: At the end of his week-long stay at the temple, a ceremony was performed releasing Poup from the monkhood. This ceremony was held much earlier in the morning than his ordination ceremony. Again, many prayers are said and Poup changes out of his orange robe into street clothes. Each of the remaining monks bestow a special blessing on him. At the end of the ceremony, he is led out of the temple by a young girl, his cousin Mimi in this case. He must leave the temple prior to sunrise. A final bestowing of well wishes and presenting of gifts was done at grandma's house.