Bodhi Day: Anniversary of Buddha's Enlightenment - Page 4
© Yeshe Chodon
After the Buddha makes this statement, there follows a discussion of how one would be ordained. It was the aspirants, not the Buddha, who decided that one's hair should be cut and one should wear robes that revealed the right shoulder. The aspirants determined that one should recite three times the vows:
I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dharma; I take refuge in the Sangha.They needed a form, a template. Buddha had said only:
"Those who wish to receive ordination should be able to do so in their own villages, in the presence of their friends and families....Henceforth when you meet a sincere and aspiring new bhikkhu, you may ordain him wherever you may be."
He was comfortable with ambivalence about the details, but the bhikkhus were not.
This has certainly been confusing if one is looking for absolutes. Maybe we'll lighten it all up with a compilation of Buddhist humor next month!
Namaste to all.
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