Ordination as Buddhist Monks in Wat Nong Pah Pong July 2017 

This Videoclip shows excerpts of an Upasampada-Ceremony, the ordination to become a Buddhist monk, a "Bhikkhu", held at Wat Nong Pah Pong, Ubon Rachathani Province, Thailand, Ven Ajahn Chah's monastery. It was conducted on July 2nd 2017 by Phra Rachabhavanavikrom (Luang Por Liem Thitadhammo), the present abbot of Wat Nong Pah Pong as the preceptor for three candidates from Wat Nong Pah Pong and eight from Wat Pah Nanachat, the international branch monastery of Wat Nong Pah Pong, also in Ubon Rachathani Province, Thailand. Preliminary to the bhikkhu ordinations in three groups of three and one of two candidates, one white clad postulant is taking on the yellow robes as Samanera (novice). As it is the custom in Wat Nong Pah Pong, the ceremony starts shortly after 3 a.m. in the morning and closes around dawn-time. It is not accompanied by the usual festive activities of friends and relatives of the candidates, but emphasises the communal transaction of the monastic community to accept a new member into their midst by following the procedures outlined by the Vinaya, the Buddhist monastic code, that are upheld to the letter since the time of the Buddha, and carried out in Pali-language, the language of the Buddhist scriptures.