Student Of The Path

Bhikkhu_Jayasara · Post by **Bhikkhu_Jayasara** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:52 am

jayantha.tumblr.com/post/131754726598/o ... ordination

ONE WEEK TILL ORDINATION

As of tomorrow I have one week until my Sāmaṇera(novice monk) ordination. Since I have been documenting my “journey into homelessness” these last few years, I figure it might be beneficial to document my experiences as I come down to the final days of lay life.

While this ordination is important, and I am excited about it, I am also tempering this excitement with the fact that it is only the next step in the process to becoming a Bhikkhu, with Sāmaṇera ordination I am half way there. The day I become a Bhikkhu is the day I have been waiting for, for half a decade now.

That being said I had a thought occur to me at lunch yesterday that a week from now I’d be sitting in robes eating from a bowl, and that would be only a small part of the changes I will need to adapt to. The past half year or so has seen me memorizing all of the lines I need for my going forth, two of which from a sutta where the Buddha explains the 10 things that those who have gone forth should always keep in mind, has become a focus for me:

+ **“I am now changed into a different mode of life [from that of a layperson],” should be reflected upon always by one who has gone forth.**

+ **“I must now behave in a different manner,” should be reflected upon
always by one who has gone forth.**

The past few months have seen me becoming more keenly mindful of my actions, some of which conform with monasticism, and some of which stem from 37 years of lay life and I’ve had to gradually work on habitually changing. A year into monastic living it is still an ongoing practice for me to learn how to “slow down” in body, speech, and mind.

Once I don the robes, I take on a 2600 year old tradition and my actions not only reflect upon myself, but that tradition and all other fellow monastics. This responsibility is not lost to me and I would never want to do anything through my actions that would harm how the sangha is viewed.

As I continue to go deeper into the practice, I see even further how much one must give up to attain the goal(Nibbana) and truly live this life as the Buddha intended, including the very notion of self itself. Truly going for the goal of the holy life is no easy thing, a goal that I’m not sure I’ll come close to in this life, but I see no other point to becoming a monastic then the ending of dukkha. The line below is part of my request to the senior monastics to be given the going forth:

+ **Venerable Sir, accepting this orange robe, please give me the going forth for me to practice the holy life to overcome all samsaric suffering and attain Nibbana]**

and of course we have the Buddha's final words, which have called to me for years now and can be seen at the top of jayantha.tumblr.com: **"Appamadena Samppadetha"**- "strive with diligence" towards the goal.

Truly living this life will be hard, and only time will tell if I have what it takes, but I know from experience that if I continue to practice insight will comes in its own time, so I continue to do the best I can in following the path of the Buddha. It is well said many times in the suttas that becoming a monk doesn’t guarantee you peace and happiness, but having to actually put in the work will. I could sit around living a comfortable monastic life, or I can go for broke and live this life the best I know how, only time will show the results.

SarathW · Post by **SarathW** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:01 am

Bhikkhu_Jayasara · Post by **Bhikkhu_Jayasara** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:49 pm

Ordination is complete on 10-31, more pictures and write up to follow

Nicolas · Post by **Nicolas** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:54 pm

Marcin · Post by **Marcin** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:23 pm

Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu!

samseva · Post by **samseva** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:03 pm

Congratulations.

ryanM · Post by **ryanM** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:51 pm

Anumodana! Now be sure to update your profile picture!

SarathW · Post by **SarathW** » Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:55 pm

Anumodana.

Bhikkhu_Jayasara · Post by **Bhikkhu_Jayasara** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:33 am

public photo album is up for those interested : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 56d2c2d3c8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bhikkhu_Jayasara · Post by **Bhikkhu_Jayasara** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:07 pm

phpBB .

Video of the ordination is up for those interested in what one of these is like. A brief outline is the first few minutes me chanting, getting my hair cut, going out to be shaved and put on the robes for about 30 minutes or so while Bhante G gives a dhamma talk, then coming back for more chanting and the end.

SarathW · Post by **SarathW** » Sat Nov 07, 2015 2:15 am

Thanks for posting the video.
The sound recording of Bhante G is not very clear due to echo .
It appears very interesting.
Perhaps you can give us a written script of the talk when you have a free time.

Bhikkhu_Jayasara · Post by **Bhikkhu_Jayasara** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:57 pm

SarathW wrote:Thanks for posting the video.
The sound recording of Bhante G is not very clear due to echo .
It appears very interesting.
Perhaps you can give us a written script of the talk when you have a free time.

He spoke on a variety of topics and I had a laugh when I finally watched the video because it seemed like he kept having to think of topics to speak on because it took so long for me to get everything shaved and dressed haha.

as for new stuff:

I was asked by Bhante G to participate in the Thanksgiving retreat, so I did my first Dhamma talk and Q&A as a monastic this past week:

Dhamma talk on Dana:

phpBB .

Q&A on a variety of topics:

phpBB .

SarathW · Post by **SarathW** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:05 am

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu

You have selected a very appropriate topic for the occasion.
It appears you try to cramp lot of information in a very short time.
It is very informative and very interesting.

You handle the Q&A very well.
I invite you to participate more in our Dhamma Wheel discussions.

Sound quality of the video is very good.

Sabba papassa akaranam,
Kusalassa upasampada,
Sacitta-pariyodapanam,
Etam Buddhanusasanam

[Sabba (All) papassa (evil) a (no) karanam (do)
Kusalassa (Good) upasampada (do, cultivate)
Sacitta (one's mind) pariyodapanam (purify)
Etam (this is) Buddha (Buddha's) anusasanam (advice )]

http://www.glbvihara.org/tut3.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SarathW · Post by **SarathW** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:10 pm

I found it is a very interesting idea to read a Random Sutta in Access to Inshight.
Just type "Random Sutta" in search button and you will get a sutta to read.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sea Turtle · Post by **Sea Turtle** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:46 am

Thank you for the clear and insightful talk on dana. Extremely comprehensive -- covering what the Buddha taught about generosity and then providing practical, every day examples of how to apply it.

Appreciated the personal reflections; particularly enjoyed the croissant analogy. Very beneficial.

Looking forward to learning from the Q&A as well.

Dhamma Wheel

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