I’m seriously thinking of ordaining in the next few years. At first, I thought I needed to become rich enough to save money for my parents and relatives, but I’m not the only son in the family so I don’t need to carry that burden. I also thought I needed to enjoy sensual pleasures enough to the point where I am fully satisfied but I realized sensual pleasures can’t never satisfy me because I would keep wanting more. I also wanted to experience sensual pleasures in the deva realms as well, but recently I want to abandon desire for sensual pleasures completely. I don’t want to have desire for sensual pleasures for millions of years as a deva. I also don’t want to come back to the human realm because birth, aging, and death are suffering. I no longer want fame or wealth. I’m not saying these things simply because I don’t want to work or because I’m tired of the grind, but because I have considered the nature of suffering in life and the shortness and uncertainty of life. I want to make the most out of the time I have. A human only lives around 80-100 on average. I did feel tired of the grind in the past, but now I have overcome that and I’m ready for classes and internship this semester, but I know that the Dhamma offers a more refined happiness than the happiness of householders.
I want to work fully towards attaining the deathless and being free from craving. I hope I will be able to ordain in the next few years and attain at least stream entry in this very life. In this life, I’ve decided to use the full strength of my youth towards attaining Nibbana. I think it will be a life well lived. It won’t be wasted.
My parents have also given me the green light to ordain in the next few years after I graduate from college and have a stable career.
Just go to a monastery after graduation, how long until graduation?
You don’t need to have the hassle of finding a job just to abandon it.
When the interviewers ask what’s your 5-year plan, and the answer is: become a monk, then really, you got very low chance of getting hired.
The world is changing, jobs are going to be taken over by AI, don’t try to snatch the decreasing number of jobs with those who have no plans to ordain.
I even know of young monks who didn’t finish university, especially considering this is the age of AI, university degrees are getting worthless. As long as you’re sure you will not fall in love, you can still finish the degree up, just to appease your parents.
Is having a stable career part of the condition for parental approval?
I know of young monks who just go into robes after graduation, no shame in having no work experience. There’s a risk of being hooked by girls, or whatever the next generation of entertainment there is.
Also, seeing that you’re from the USA, the dollar currency is going down (plane tickets going to get more and more expensive), USA collapse will get worse and worse down the years, better get into robes faster before societal collapse makes it much harder.
Thank you for the taking the time to reply to this, Venerable Sir.
Roughly 2 and a half year. It will depends on how many courses I take per semester but I’m expecting to graduate late 2027 or early 2028. Early 2027 is also a possible graduation date but I’m not sure yet.
Yes because they said they spent a lot of money on my education so they don’t want it to go to waste. I have made money from an internship before and I’m heading into another internship so I guess my education is already not a waste. My parents’ reason for me getting a stable career first is I will get a lot of money and will be able to do good deeds. Lately, I realized that I don’t need to make the path long. I have already done good deeds and I will continue to do good deeds after I ordain. So, ideally, I want to ordain after my graduation. I don’t want to spend x amount of years as a householder doing good deeds and working when I can just ordain and do good deeds as a monk, meditate and learn about the Dhamma.
Yes the US seems to be declining. I’m actually from Myanmar. I’m just in the US for studying and potentially working here. Even after graduation, I would still need to apply for an h1-b visa to stay in the US and that visa is like a lottery so I don’t know if I will get it.
Not sure if USA is safer or Myanmar at this point, or when you graduate. Anyway, stable is a tricky word, it can mean a lot of years. Not just 3 months at a job, and it’s not easy to land one anyway for the 5 year ahead interview question.
One possibility is to work at a monastery, then you get to be a bit closer to the monks, but it’s also likely low pay and you get to sniff out if the vinaya of that place is good. Still, it’s a bit of torture to be so close, yet not in robes.
No student loans when studying in USA, indeed, your parents had misinvested in you. Is it cheaper to just cut the loss if you quit now and just ordain? Don’t be dragged by the sunk cost fallacy. Provided that you’re sure you will never disrobe.
I think it would be cheaper. If it was up to me alone, I would be okay with ordaining now. I already received an associate degree in computer science. I will get my Bachelor’s in roughly 2 and a half year.
I’m thinking of what kind of lifestyle I should have as a monk. I could either just meditate in a forest Pa Auk monastery in Myanmar until I die, or I could keep the door open for traveling to monasteries abroad and meditating in different places to keep my mind fresh and not dull. I think I would have to update my picture on my passport if I choose to travel around the world to different monasteries as a monk. I’d rather just stay in a secluded forest monastery and not travel but I think it might be good if I update my passport when I ordain so that if I want to travel I would be able to do that and not feel trapped in one place or country.
I think if I get full support from my family and guidance from monks, then I’m sure I will never disrobe. It would be good to receive guidance from monks and hear their life stories. I hope I won’t need to do any paperwork as a monk but it would be good to receive guidance on that as well.
Thank you for the advice, Venerable Sir.
I really hope I can ordain soon. I think I’m finally ready now. I’ve decided to ordain by 2029. I don’t have any regrets now. I want to become a monk and practice the Dhamma and succeed.
Yes.. be a career monastery worker.. in robes.
But actually, you are better off trying it earlier than later. Because then you can put it on your resume. Also you can tell them you got it out of your system. You can tell them that the majority of monks end up disrobing.
I’m not a monk. I do have a lot of life experience. Would you say you excel at self-discipline? How long have you gone without indulging in your worst habits? When you are by yourself what is your mind like? How does it tend to behave?
I wouldn’t say I excel at it but I guess I am okay at it just enough to do what I am supposed to do like studying for a test or doing my homework.
I haven’t played games or binge watched shows in a while but I’m still addicted to music. I like to listen to music and long for the day when I can ordain and practice the Dhamma fully. I also long for the heavenly realms but at the same time I want to go beyond the desire for sensual pleasures. When I am by myself, I try to do good deeds everyday like paying homage and offering water to the Buddha at home.
The thing I struggle most with is choosing between different paths like whether to live as a lay person or become a monk, or to strive for Buddhahood or Paccekabuddhahood, or to just aim for Arahantship in this life or to just become a Non-Returner and then live as a Brahma or to just attain Stream Entry and live as a deva. Lately, I’ve been thinking that I should just practice the Dhamma and accept whatever path I am meant to take. I don’t know what kind of vows I might have made in my past lives so I can’t rule out any possibilities.
