My Ordination Experiences (part 3)

When we joined the Dhammakaya Temple, I was very happy to learn that they also had ordination programs. My first time ordaining, I did it alone. Since it was during the school year, not many people are willing to ordain during that time. We were unaware that there were ordination training programs during the summer, but I had a wonderful and enlightening experience ordaining alone nonetheless.

I joined the Dhammadayada Program (the name Dhammakaya gives to the youth training programs. "Dhamma" is wisdom; "Dayad" is an inheritor; therefore Dhammadayadada means the inheritor of wisdom.)

The first thing everyone does is get registered. We fill out all the necessary paperwork like who they can contact in case of an emergency, the rules and regulations, health examination conducted by nurses and doctors and lastly a short interview with a monk. The monk will usually ask a number of questions like: What made you decide to ordain this year? Do you think you can wake up early? Are you willing to work on building good habits to better yourself? 

After registration is finished, we also have a bag check. The bag check is to help the trainees take out all unnecessary items and give them to the parents to take home. Usually things like cell phones, iPods, video games, or anything else that may disrupt the training and peaceful atmosphere.

The training itself is only two weeks long. One week as a layperson learning how to be a novice, then one week living as a novice. Although some of the kids will not be happy to be away from their technology, they end up appreciating their possessions more later and some learn the valuable lesson of what is a want compared to a need.

The first days we begin with teamwork exercises and getting to know each other. It is a wonderful first day because anyone that is new gains many new friends right from the beginning. We start by having fun and beginning a special project that our year will be responsible for. The project would be something beneficial to the temple, the followers or the kids. Some examples of projects we would do could be building a small stairway, planting trees, cleaning various parts of the temple, or sometimes installing or building a basketball court that the kids can enjoy during weekends. I have found that these kind of projects would truly create a good feeling of teamwork and friendship within the young men.