Vinaya Training Monastery

I’m preparing for ordaining and was originally thinking of a place with a meditation focus but a certain Venerable recently recommended to me to start out at a Vinaya training monastery to make sure I get a strong foundation. I’m wondering if Venerable @bksubhuti or anyone else would have recommendations for a Vinaya teaching monastery where the commentaries and sub commentaries are respected that would be suitable for a foreigner who speaks only English. So far I have heard of the following:

  1. IIT (although I understand they won’t be accepting new applicants for a while, and I’m not sure if they ordain or if one must already be ordained to apply)
  2. Na Uyana
  3. Ranagirilena Forest Monastery

Thank you!
:pray:t3:
Sam

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I would recommend Pa Auk monastery in Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar. I went there before to visit and it was wonderful, peaceful and secluded from world.

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I think that na-uyana is going to be your best bet and has all of the options of a meditation monastery and offers learning as well. There are 4 or so monastery experiences in a single place.

You will get a more focused meditation experience at Pyin Oo Lwin. However, the focus comes at a price and you will get a meditation center experience even though it is a monastery for sure. However, it seems as though pa-auk POL is not accepting new applicants or nobody is applying to stay there. My friend told me that the count at the most recent uposatha was just a hair over 100. That is down from maybe 235 or more during the beginning of the pandemic. I think it was maybe even 300+ before the pandemic.

One person I knew, read my article and where to ordain and chose rangiri. It didn’t work out for him even before he went to rangiri. He came to IIT but eventually that didn’t work out either. You can check with IIT if they will accept new people for ordination earlier. They are still having new novices come, but it is rare and special. If you are young, IIT might be good. You can ordain in Na-uyana and then join IIT when they open up. IIT will be a lot of work. I recently left IIT because I finished the memorization sections for nissaya muttaka and it was getting to be too much for me. I think a young person will do fine there.

Best wishes. I hope things work out for you.

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Thank you Bhante!

I appreciate your kind and thoughtful response. I will be coming to Sri Lanka in September and hope to visit these places before making a final decision, but from what I have heard Na Uyana does seem ideal in many respects.

Will you still be living in Sri Lanka then? I have benefitted greatly from your blog over the years and would love to meet you and make an offering if possible :pray:t3:

I’m enrolled in Kelaniya for an MA in Buddhist Studies. It goes until the end of December, 2025. Therefore, I think I should be in Sri Lanka during September, but we never know. You can send me an email, it is easy to find on my website. I’m very happy americanmonk.org has helped you. Na-Uyana is a good choice and has the full facilities to support your long term. That is another thing I have not written about Na-Uyana or Sri Lanka in general. You will have extreme trouble switching a tourist visa to a residential visa. It takes about 2 months to clear the pre-process with police reports etc.
So if you are just looking to come and check places out and then leave the country and come again, then that is a plan that will work. If you wish to come and stay, you should do this ahead of time. But the chicken or egg problem happens… you need to have a place sponsor you and you want to check out the places first.

There is a reason why 250 monks are at na-uyana (I think it is that number… or maybe it was 150… does not matter… it is big for Sri Lanka). Monasteries are big for good reasons.

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OK I will get in touch by email closer to September. Yes I have heard about that visa situation, my plan is to come on a tourist visa, extend as long as possible, then go to Bodh Gaya and the other sacred sites in India while I wait for the resident visa to come through.

An advantage with IIT is that a competent and approachable instructor in Abhidhamma is there- Ven. Maggavihari.

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IIT is loosely connected to Na-Uyana by a good “relationship”. If you ordain at Na-Uyana and you intend to go to IIT after things open up and before 5 years, then you should express that to the Abbot (Bhante Ariyananda) before you ordain, etc.

Na-Uyana will also have great teachers there too. It depends on what you are looking for. The best vinaya monastery is a place that can keep you interested and inspired. You have to look at what you are personally wanting in order to keep yourself in robes.

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thank you Bhante, this is very valuable advice!

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