Ive done it in Thailand, obviously a bit of a different experience probably though. But i generally recommend it. Especially temporarily, its enriching for you practice even if you decide to disrobe and return to laylife. And as for permanent ordination, well, i think its great to do it temporarily first to see if you want to do it permanently. I feel like you cant really know if you want to ordain permanently until you’ve at least tried it temporarily first. If you go in striving for permanent ordination, it may be too big a leap for you.
I certainly feel this is a strong advantage of the Burmese and Thai culture of short term ordination vs the lifetime commitment culture of sri lankan ordination culture. You get to try it, and even if you went in never intending to be permanent you may actually realize thats what you want to do. And if not, no big deal, at the very least you know and it can be very helpful for your lay practice once you return to laylife anyways.
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Thanks bhante. I am ordaining at a pariyatti monastery in Yangon and my family has known the abbot since I was a child. We asked him about me wanting to learn and he said its fine so I am assuming it will go as planned.
I also considered pa-auk monasteries but people told me that they focus heavily on meditation more.
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Unfortunately, I cannot support your decision if you are ordaining at a monastery that uses money, and certainly cannot support your decision if you have not even checked. You are making a grave mistake. And generally speaking, if they are not on the list I gave you, it is almost certain they use money.
If you want, you can go to Varanasi monastery instead. It is across from the Tiger Beer factory. I can give you the contact info of the abbot. You are asking for trouble by ordaining at the “family” monastery. Read this article below carefully.
While I encourage temporary ordinations, they should not be taken lightly as a joke or casual encounter. You are playing with fire, setting the stage to belittle vinaya. Your first experience sets the stage for later wrong view on monastic life. This is one reason why some monks are against temporary ordinations.
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