BECOMING A BHIKKU

A bhikku is a lay follower of Gautama Buddha.  The word "bhikku" is Pali from the Sanskrit "bhiksu" meaning a beggar.  Such a person follows a special way of training, practices, and meditation. 

The bhikku passes through two stages, the first when he is received into a Buddhist brotherhood as a novice.  Most orders will admit individuals no earlier than age sixteen, although some may take them as young as five. The young ones are usually called "samanera," cognate with a Sanskrit word meaning to wander.  The young monk dresses in simple robes and accepts the precepts of the community.

In some of the Theravada Buddhist countries, most of which are in Southeast Asia, it is the custom for virtually all young men to become samanera lasting from three months to three years.

At age twenty approximately, if the young monk wants to continue in the monastic life, he petitions his brotherhood for full admission.  He must be seconded by his spiritual master and one other monk.  He must be free of obligations, and be free of contagious diseases and bodily infirmities, and must have the permission of his parents.

While both the new bhikku and the community assume that his ordination is to be permanent, he still may leave voluntarily later, or even be expelled for some grave offense.  But from now on, so long as he remains attached to a brotherhood, he will follow its discipline.

Noteworthy is that the Buddha went beyond Hinduism which confined participation to the upper castes.  The Buddha allowed anyone to join a brotherhood.  Early bhikkus included not only several kings, but also outcastes, including a robber, a scavenger, a fisherman, a cowherd, and a barber.