A young man had developed a strong wish to become a monk from the age of fifteen. He had started studying Buddhism as a teenager and had taken refuge. He had some brain damage and a very kind heart.
Dear one,
Thank you for your letter regarding his wish to take ordination. Rinpoche has checked several times and advised that he has to practice Vajrapani, Hayagriva, Garuda every day, and do five malas of the mantra daily.
The Lama Gyupas at Kopan also need to do Drugchuma puja for him. Explain his situation so they understand.
For him to become a monk at this time looks difficult. First he needs to do these practices for some time, and then it can be checked again.
Rinpoche sent this advice to a student who had asked about taking ordination.
My most dear, most precious, most kind, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter, for introducing yourself and [writing about] the many things you did, Dharma and also the preliminary practices. I’m very happy to hear that; it’s what should happen. Thank you very much.
I checked and if you become a nun, it’s extremely good, very good.
Today I ordained one monk, a man from America. He left his family with no sorrow, no disagreement. His children were grown up and he told his wife. Even though it was difficult to leave the family, he slowly, slowly told his wife. In the end, he said she could have another husband, and then she was OK. It wasn’t a bad relationship; so many times it is like that, but here it was very good. He had already left the family and stayed in a caravan for almost one year, so his preparation was done well and then he came here.
He was ordained here today with seven geshes, more or less. He had so much back pain, that was one thing, for a long time, maybe a year. Sometimes it was worse and maybe sometimes it was better. Some days ago, he had much pain so I delayed the ordination, but he thought maybe it was cancelled and I heard from a nun that he cried. Maybe you don’t know her; she is an old, long-term American nun.
Regarding ordination, you could request the geshes, like Geshe Rinchen at Nalanda Monastery. He ordained several Sangha; he is a very nice teacher. Or you can ask a geshe in Spain.
If you want to come on pilgrimage or something, like to Nepal, spending time doing pilgrimage, even if I am not here, perhaps some geshes or Khen Rinpoche, or the elders, the geshes, could ordain you. If not, you could also be ordained by the geshe at Institut Vajra Yogini, Geshe Loden.
In the early morning you should do the motivation practice, How to Make My Lives Wish-fulfilling: The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness.
With much love and prayers ...
A student wrote asking to take ordination. Rinpoche observed that they had life obstacles and recommended several practices including animal liberation.
My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
I am sorry for the long delay in replying to your email. Regarding your request, it seems that you have some life obstacles. This is what came out for you to do:
Amitayus Long Life Sutra: 1,500 times. You need to mainly read it by yourself. You can ask your friends to read some, but mostly you should do it. If others help you by reading it, then it will help their long life as well.
You need to take a long-life initiation five times. This can be done during one long-life initiation when the torma, generated as the deity, is put on your head. The lama recites JAH HUM BAM HOH, so with the mantra, then visualize White Tara absorbing into you five times. That is like taking the initiation five times. It can be done like this, but also after some time you should try and take a long-life initiation again, so take the complete initiation a minimum of twice. You can take the long-life initiation from the geshe at your center or if there is another of your lamas around you can request it from them.
Liberate two thousand animals. This means to liberate two thousand animals or insects that were otherwise going to be killed, so you are actually saving them. Please follow my instructions on how to do animal liberation. Maybe someone at the center is familiar with the practice or you can follow the book. [Visit the FPMT Catalogue to find links to Liberating Animals from the Danger of Death.]
You can get a bag of insects that are used to feed the other animals. For example, if you get crickets or worms, there may be one thousand crickets in each bag. First take the plastic bag with the crickets around the statues, Buddhist texts, tsatsas and stupas—as many holy objects as you can set up on a table outside. So you can take the animals around those holy objects. Also, you have a stupa and a prayer wheel at your center, so you can take them around the stupa. Inside there are many tsatsas, which is good. You can do that with crickets or worms that are used for bait, so you can liberate two thousand animals like this. If you liberate large animals like cows or goats, then you have to look after them or make sure they are looked after. The important thing is to buy animals which are going to be killed.
Vajra Cutter Sutra: Recite this sutra two thousand times for purification.
You also need to do prostrations by reciting the names of the Thirty-five Buddhas [Confession of a Bodhisattva's Downfalls to the Thirty-Five Buddhas.] There isn’t a number but if you can do some every day, that would be very good.
So you need to do these things first, before you become ordained. Let me know after you have done these things, then we can check again about ordination.
As much as possible, live your life with the thought of bodhicitta, day and night and in every action that you do. Do every practice with bodhicitta motivation.
With much love and prayers ...
Rinpoche gave this advice to a student who wrote requesting ordination.
My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
I am very sorry for the many eons of delay in replying to your letter. I checked regarding your request and it comes out best for you to wait three years. It seems there is an obstacle to becoming ordained before that. It seems there are some life obstacles, so first you need to read the Amitayus Long Life Sutra fifteen times.
You also need to do the short White Tara meditation practice each day. If you have received a great initiation or even a lower tantra initiation such as Chenrezig, you can visualize yourself as White Tara. Otherwise visualize White Tara on your head or in front of you, [emanating] white nectar beams. Then you can recite the mantra, and think that all the sickness, spirit harm, obstacles, negative karma for your life, and negative karma and delusions collected from beginningless rebirths are totally purified.
In the morning, after blessing the speech and doing the daily motivation practice The Method to Transform a Suffering life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment), you can do White Tara meditation.
You also need to liberate one hundred animals that would otherwise be killed, so that means fishing bait, worms or any other animals that would be fed to others. Please follow the instructions in my book, Liberating Animals, on how to do animal liberation correctly.
Set up an altar outside on a table and put as many tsatsas and pictures as possible on it. You can make offerings to the holy objects, so also put out water bowls. Then take the animals, the insects and so forth that are going to be liberated around the altar as much as you can. Each time you take them around it creates the cause of enlightenment, [according to] how many tsatsas and pictures you have on the altar—if you have one hundred tsatsas or pictures, then it creates one hundred causes of enlightenment for each insect or animal you have taken around. Therefore having many holy objects on the table is very important, so please follow my book on how to do the practice.
Billions of thanks for offering service at the center. You should know that you are offering service to all sentient beings. Through the center you benefit all sentient beings because all the people who are coming to learn Dharma there will later generate bodhicitta motivation and whatever actions they do—meditation, prayers, prostrations, whatever—are for sentient beings, as much as possible. That’s how the center enlightens all sentient beings, so your service at the center is service for all sentient beings, for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for Lama Yeshe, for numberless buddhas and for Mickey Mouse, me.
Please continue to make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta day and night and in every action you do.
With much love and prayers ...
A former monk who had disrobed asked Rinpoche if he could take ordination again. Rinpoche responded with advice about the importance of understanding the lamrim, whether a lay person or a monk
My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much for your kind email. I do understand your needs and feelings.
Now for you, the most important thing in your life is to study Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. Please read it five times from beginning to end. Whatever you don’t understand, write down the questions and discuss with an elder student who has studied the lamrim or with a geshe who has a good translator.
Understanding the lamrim is the most important thing, whether you are a lay person or a monk. To understand the lamrim as much as possible, to leave an imprint as much as possible—whether you are a lay person or a monk, this is the most important thing.
Later, when your mind is very, very strong, you are allowed to be a monk again if you wish. Actually in the Tibetan tradition you can be ordained three times in one life if you are a man, but you cannot take ordination again if you are a woman. In the Thai tradition you can, and in the Chinese tradition you can re-ordain eight times if you are a man and for a woman four or six times, I’m not sure. I’m not sure if they made this up or if there is a reference from the great pandits in the texts.
In the Tibetan tradition I haven't seen the text that says a man can become a monk three times but for women it is not allowed. I think this is because women easily disrobe, if it were allowed.
When you are very strong, if you want to, then you can become a monk again.
Please live your life with bodhicitta in every action that you do, day and night.
With much love and prayers ...
Rinpoche gave this advice to a student who wrote about ordination.
My dear one,
Regarding your question about being a nun, this is most beneficial for sentient beings and for you, but when to become a nun is the question. Perhaps you need stronger meditation on renunciation, along with the lamrim meditations that I advised, then can decide. Then after some time you can take ordination, but not right now.
You have to realize that the works of this life are meaningless. Our attachment is from beginningless rebirths, but still we are not free from the oceans of sufferings of the six realms.
You have to realize that future samsara is in the nature of suffering, like being in prison. It’s like being caught in prison—you don’t want to be there for even a second, you want to be out—or like your naked body is sitting on a thorn bush. You can’t stand it even for a second. Like that, the nature of suffering is unbearable.
It’s like your own body being caught in the center of a fire, where every second is unbelievable suffering. Being in samsara is like that, from the lowest hot hell, the inexhaustible hell realm, from there up to the form and formless realms, the tip of samsara.
This doesn’t mean you have to wait until you have these realizations, but you should have a strong understanding that this is what you need, then you can become a nun. That way you can enjoy being a pure nun and you will have the strength to be a pure nun.
Otherwise you won’t last and after some time—a week, a month or years—then disrobe. Being a nun is more uncomfortable, more suffering, and it doesn’t fit your attachment to suffering. Then you may think, “This is not for me.” Or some people may think that you haven’t checked well before you became a nun, so they think that you have made some mistake.
The first Western person ordained by His Holiness Dalai Lama; he was ordained by His Holiness then after some time he left to go to America. Either the same day he arrived or the next day he disrobed.
With much love and prayers ...
