Tag Archives: rules

After you’ve qualified and learned the basic rules to becoming a Buddhist monk, you then can be ordained. Ordination isn’t an easy task and can be as complicated and time consuming as preparing for a wedding. Your very first task should be …

Is it ok for a monk to wear shoes? Use a phone? Own an iPhone? Drive a car? Eat steak at Sizzler, use a computer, use Facebook, shake hands with a woman, use money, etc.?

I really tried to be a good monk by reading and following all the rules. But, it turned out many of the rules are really strange and the monks simply ignored/violated them. Let me explain . . .

In my previous posts I talked about the rules to follow before becoming a monk. After becoming a monk there are 227 more rules one must follow, called wenai, which is something like a highly expanded version of the 10 Commandments.

My new life as a monk was one of perpetual confusion. I would only manage to get by on a daily basis by observing and imitation. But one particular day of massive confusion stood out as the most memorable, of which I’d like to share.

Before even becoming a monk there is a list of qualifications (อันตรายิกธรรม) you must first pass. You will be asked about each qualification along with additional questions about why you would like to be ordained. Below is the ordered list of 13 qualifications.