Life Lessons

Palms pressed together in a sign of respect, Philip Sriployrung bows three times and then extends his arms to accept the saffron robe.

Moments later, with his beaming parents watching from across the temple, the 13-year-old Glendale youth is officially inducted as a novice monk at the Wat Thai of Los Angeles temple.

The two-hour ceremony, in which Philip and cousins Salanyu Inmaung, 10, and Seeharj Inmaung, 9, vow to adhere to the ten precepts required of novices, is a rare local enactment of a centuries-old Buddhist tradition.

For two weeks, the boys live and study at Wat Thai, sleeping on floor mats and forgoing play, music, laughter--even dinner--to immerse themselves in Dhamma, the teachings of Buddha.

“In the Thai tradition this is a very important ceremony. It signifies a turning point in life,” said the Venerable Supharb Sikkhasabho, a monk who lives at the North Hollywood complex. Wat Thai, with its school, community center and ornately decorated sanctuary, is the largest Thai temple outside of Thailand.

“It is not really easy. You must obey the rules, and you can eat only two meals a day, the last at noon. . . . But when they finish the course they will know how to behave as Buddhists,” Sikkhasabho said.

“The family is always very happy when their boy makes the decision to become a novice,” said Philip’s father, Theerapol Sriployrung. “It is a celebration. It brings honor to the family.”

Becoming novices does not commit the boys to a lifetime as monks, Sikkhasabho said. Rather, they are participating in a spiritual rite of passage like a Christian confirmation or a Jewish bar mitzvah. At the end of the two weeks, they return to their families and resume their previous lives.

The ceremony starts with family members carefully cutting locks of the boys’ hair and placing the strands in golden bowls. After the family members take their turns, a monk finishes the job with a set of electric shears.

The shaving of the hair, the highest point on a person’s body, is an important step in the induction, symbolizing the transcendence of vanity, Sikkhasabho said,

After being shaved, the boys don white robes and are led to the front of the temple. There, they join a procession of musicians, dancers, friends and family members--150 strong. They walk around the temple three times in a show of respect for Buddha.

Inside, the boys kneel before five monks sitting in a row. Behind the monks, a 20-foot golden Buddha looks out over the worshipers from atop an altar of gilded tables, flowerpots and bowls of fruit.

The head monk, or preceptor, explains the ten rules the boys must follow, asking them if they wish to proceed.

Softly, the boys whisper their acceptance.

“This is a tradition of the Thai people,” said the preceptor, the Venerable Phra Sirithamwithet. “Every person, even the king, should become a novice or a monk at some time in their lives.”