Today I woke up at 4:30am, having not been able to sleep until about 2:00am. This was so I could experience alms round where monks would walk on set routes around the local area to receive offerings of food from the lay people. They would either go alone or in pairs. The shift would start at 5:00am and each pair or individual would leave the temple in 10 or 20 minute intervals. I guess the routine varies with different monasteries and routes. I was supposed to follow the deputy abbot on the alms round but I couldn’t find him. Instead I followed another monk at 5:40am.

He was a very pleasant fellow and he asked about my history and why I wanted to become a monk. He also said that he was going to Birmingham in the near future. He advised to follow the practice diligently and that from now on, the chance to get ordained again would be few and far in between. We walked from the main gate of Wat San Jao all the way out to the main road and back again. The entire trip took about 1 hour 20 minutes. There were people the whole way to provide food for the monks. A handyman from the monastery followed with a cart so food would be transferred there from the alms bowl. The monk that I followed ended up with enough food for about 10 people.

Every now and then lay people would bow and ask for a blessing. They would never ask directly, but it was implied in their posture as they woud get on their knees and do the anjali. I guess I will need to learn that blessing too eventually. There were so many stray dogs in the area which was not surprising, I heard them all last night. The monks walk bare-footed of course. On reaching the monastery again my back was aching terribly. I thought it would be easy given how much I walk in the UK.

My parents came to visit today so we had lunch together. I detected a hint of dissatisfaction from the abbot when he heard that they would be coming every day until ordination. I think he wanted me to get acclimatise to monk life properly without distractions. He had also given an official name to be used as a monk which is Dhammapalo which apparently means the guardian of Dhamma.

Otherwise we had a big lunch and I’ve got resources to survive the next few nights. It’s a little perplexing too that there are so many different versions of the Ukasa chant and it’s not easy to know what the order will eventually be.

In the evening there was a longer than usual evening chanting session because apparently today is Wan Phra. There was also some meditation afterwards. I was then given a particular version of the Ukasa chant by the abbot. All I have to do now for the preparation is, learn the differences from the version that I had been studying, learn the 10 precepts in Pali that I will need to recite and remember the name Dhammapalo. Shaving without a mirror was a little challenging but not too bad.

Terms

añjali Joining the palms in front of oneself as a gesture of respect; still widely used in Buddhist countries and India today.

Wan Phra (Thai) Literally: ‘Holy Day’. A weekly Buddhist holiday, corresponding with the lunar phases.