What is the best age to ordain? I want to ordain in 3 years. I will be 25 by then. Is 25 a good age to ordain? If it was up to me alone, I want to ordain tonight. I feel like I’m fully ready, but my parents won’t let me ordain before I graduate college. They probably won’t let me ordain until I have worked at least 1 year as a software engineer.
I hope they don’t postpone my ordination again when I’m 25.
Entry level software engineers are almost a dead job now with ai.
There is not so much of a special age to ordain. The younger you are the easier you can learn the texts (don’t put that aside). However, the younger you are the more you can “grow out of ordained life”. It is all difficult even at older ages. Nevertheless, the earlier, the better. See how long you last. Try doing a Goenka retreat or two first.
Thank you for the answer, Venerable Sir.
I found this Goenka meditation retreat in New York. https://ny.us.dhamma.org/courses/10-day/
I think it’s a great start.
Also, I want to memorize the Digha Nikaya and the Patimokkha before I ordain. I hope I can do that within 3 years.
https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/782910208
This is for pātimokkha memorising, at 4 new cards a day, it’s 9 months to finish. DN is longer than this, I doubt it will fit within 3 years unless you step up and do more than 4 new cards per day.
Thank you for this, Venerable Sir. Is there something like this for Digha Nikaya and other parts of the Tipitaka?
I have SBS chanting book, but audio still need to replace to the lastest one before I can release it. It’s still thinner than DN.
You can make your own.
Can you explain a bit of what you mean by this? That if you ordain while very young, by the time you are older you will be tired of monk life? Just curious
The mind changes like the wind. The younger the mind, the more it changes. However, the more moldable and plastic it is. The amount of samanera’s in many monasteries usually outnumbers the monks (in Myanmar). The young kids also may have many cravings to do adult things as well. Usually people go through a big change at age 29 and again 40. I myself, walked into a monastery with intentions to ordain 1 day before my 30th birthday. The opposite can happen for those who are already in robes.
While below is “saturn return”, we are not talking about the stars.. rather psychologically, it is a time of reaching adulthood and change is usually sought after even though the person will not follow through. The other psychological time for change is mid-life crisis and generativity & stagnation stage.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/we-make-our-big-life-decisions-at-29-39-and-so-on.html
That’s interesting, Venerable Sir. Would you recommend me ordaining at age 25 or 29. Age 29 is my second option for ordaining and I did consider it, but I just can’t wait any longer, so I want to ordain as soon as possible and 25 seems to be a good age. I’ve been wanting to meditate at Pa Auk since I was 13. Now I am 21. I will turn 22 this year.
When you feel the dhamma urgency. That is the time to ordain without waiting.
I thought that was what you were talking about.
It’s hard to make the calculation. Ordaining very young (e.g. 18) probably does run the risk of disrobing later in life. But plenty of people who ordain later also disrobe. And the chances of ordaining probably drop for every year you put it off.
So in the end I think this is the best answer.
Yes.. there are so many good points and bad points to different ages.. but if you are ready, then ordain as soon as possible. It is a rare chance to ordain, even for a moment.