English Presenttation To Teacher Jantana khumnukul English Kanchananukroh School

Every male Thai Buddhist aged 20 or over is expected to ordain as a monk at some time during his life. The length of time is entirely up to him and his family. A favorite time for ordaining is for the duration of the three month Phansa or Buddhist Lent. The opportunity to become a monk for his parents who have raised him since babyhood. Now is his chance to repay that tremendous debt by renouncing all worldly pleasures for a while, so bringing his parents the opportunity to earn merit. Most Thai men do this once they become of age. Most do this during Buddhist lent which starts in July. During lent no-one is allowed to leave the monkhood.

The first part of the ordination is the hair shaving. Preceding this, he paid respect to his dead ancestors and then bathed the feet of his elders. Once he had finished, he prostrated himself at their feet. Then his elders and other relations all took turns in cutting a piece of his hair. At the same time they gave him a blessing for a prosperous future. None of the hair is allowed to drop to the ground, but on the lotus leaf. After he took a shower, he then changed into his white clothes. The outer garment is a bit like net curtains with a gold trimming. At this point he is now known as "naak" or "naga" in English.

After that he went for a ride around the neighborhood to announce to the spirits that he was about to become a monk. Back at the temple, he went straight to the sala which is a kind of a large meeting hall. People will come here to listen to the monks chanting and also to listen to a sermon. After the chanting had finished, everyone presented the monks with a traditional offering of incense, a candle and a flower. The final chanting is shorter and is basically offering blessings to everyone. This is when people take part in a ceremony called kruat nam. The monk then chanted a sermon for about half an hour. He read this not from a book but from words written on palm leafs

That concluded day one of the preparations for the ordination ceremony. Some people do everything in one day. He is facing towards the Buddha images and directly opposite the abbot. He is surrounded by 22 monks. They had given him a small yellow book which contained all the words for the ordination. Most of this he would repeat after one of the monks, but some sections had been underlined as these ones he had to learn off by heart.

They then went to the back of the ordination hall behind the Buddha images. Once he was properly dressed, he went to kneel down near his family in front of a single monk. Here he requested the Refuges and Precepts. This was done in Pali and he had to repeat after each line. He then prostrated three times which concluded the first part of the ordination. This is now the final part of the ordination.

They then went to the back of the ordination hall behind the Buddha images. Once he was properly dressed, he went to kneel down near his family in front of a single monk. Here he requested the Refuges and Precepts. This was done in Pali and he had to repeat after each line. He then prostrated three times which concluded the first part of the ordination. This is now the final part of the ordination.

Member N aputchon Malai No. 23 Wilairat Ruksakul No. 41 Mattayom 5/12 Kanchananukroh School