Sunday 13 February 2011

Monk for a Month- Novice Buddhist monk Initiation Wimbledon London

I was very privileged to be at the ordination of Choti Punyo , the son a friend of my wife at the Thai Temple Wat Buddapapidha in Wimbledon South London. He had learnt the chants in Pali he needed to make at the ceremony and we all partook in the cutting of his hair before leaving to walk around the Vihara 3 times.This is a joyous occasion and you can see from the evident smiles on the faces and represents the passage of a Thai boy to a man. In his time in the temple he will follow the 10 Buddhist precepts, rising at 4.ooam and finishing eating solid food before 11.00am - the food being given by the lay Buddhists who come to give alms to the monks. I hope to do this one day myself as a time to reflect and initiate personal change. Good luck to Nick I hope this affects his life for the good.

Here's the video I made of the occasion.