Hello Everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and have a great day, Stay safe!
I finished my three brother’s monk’s ceremony successfully. I spent my 3 days annual leave from my current job to attend my three older brother’s Monk ceremony. Yes! It is time for me to write the story about the ceremony.
My family and I, we have been preparing for the ceremoney about one month ahead before the ceremoney to be began in the month of February 2020.
For me personally, I worked very hard and paid closer attention to this event.

2.The inspiration to be monks

Do you know why my three brothers have decided to become Monks? Here is the answer:

According to them, they are Buddhists and they believe that “It is a good thing to return the blessings to their parents by following Buddha”.

Many Lao respect Buddhism. If parents have sons, they can be monks at least one time in their life. Lao call as “Bod ບວດ”

“Men are monks to merit their parents’ sainthood”. Because, parents are the people who give us life. Moreover, Parents feed and take care of their children until they become adult.

This festival was made possible because of my 3rd brother, Bismarck’s primary aspiration. He was very active in Buddhism and the main goal was to “Pay back the blessings of the parents, especially the mother”. We initially planned to run from 14th -15th March 2020.

But due to the spread of COVID-19 virus in our neighbouring country, China at the end of 2019 to January 2020, and still remaining a bad situation. Laos is already in the country for surveillance of the disease, so we discussed urgently to expedite the festival on 29-Feb-2020 to 01-March-2020.

The place of worship is at Ban Nakhea (Hom17), Xaythany District, Vientiane Capital, and would take the place to Wat Sokyaisayyaram. This temple is located on the 450th year old road, Sokyai Village, Xaythany District, Vientiane.

2.Preparation of Monks Ceremony.

Organizing the ceremony of my three brothers to be monks is not easy but its not impossible. Generally, Lao family is already familiar with the festival. Most ceremonies are popular during the evenings or the lunar months around the month of October every year before the March of next year; because there will be no rain during this period, the weather is not too hot. The weather is so nice.

Meetings and talking between host families is the first thing to do before this event. Then, we will get the conclusion in the end, for example a budget and a plan. I have three brothers and an older sister, so I am a last child of the family. The total of six hostesses, include our mother.

As a result, I am a key person who will take action of the preparation on the event, which the summary will be submitted to the group in advance to be fully informed. Lastly, it is the host and the major faith-maker who makes the most decisions or financiers for the event. As I have done my brother’s past preparatory experience, I think there are five main reasons for this:

3. Five main types of preparations for the event

3.1  Prepare your mind and be ready for the celebration.

It means that the host of faith is a believer in Buddhism, having a pure mind, wanting to practice rituals and dedicating, sacrificing, devoting time to healing the Buddha, the father, the mother, the Buddhist nun and the patriarch in particular.

3.2 Enough Financial Arrangement (Money Preparation) and Preparation of Wardens.

Financing is a major factor or the first and important when organizing an event, which I cannot deny as a catalyst for this. Because every item related to the materials are based on money. We pay for the cost of supplies, food, and so on. You should have budget on your mind before you start to do the event. It is true that you won’t get more money from cash on guests’ invitation card. So, your mind should be getting ready to pay your money for this.

(Photo taken by a man in the room)

3.3 Information of Package preparation.

For those who want to organize monks festivals, I suggest that you should hire an organizer to prepare for the kits, because the shop owner or the person who is responsible for arranging the goods and accessories. The preparation of this story will be very detailed even if you have two options:

3.3.1 Purchase of new kit from stores.

Buying a new kit from a shop is probably the best option that I would like to recommend. But you should also be careful because some stores use second hand material that may buy second hand kit from any temple. Therefore, you should be aware of observing, checking and comparing what is new or old at the time of delivery, so you can tell the shop for changing immediately.

 

I have 3 markets where to buy New Kits and One Organizer.

3.3.1.1 Phonthong Savang Market

Open daily from 6:00 to 20:30

Location: Phonthong road, Savang village, Chathabouly district, next to Butterfly office, Laos.

3.3.1.2 Kuadin market

Open daily from 8:00 to 15:00

Location: Nongchan village, Sisattanak district, Vientiane capital, Laos

I have shop owner’s name card as below photo. You should set up all materials before the ceremony will begin at least 2-3 days. In case, something is not inappropriate, you can change immediately.

3.3.1.3 Nongniew Market

Open daily from 8:00 to 15:00

Location: Nongniew village, Saythany distirct, Vientiane capital, Laos

3.3.2 Purchase of second hand tools from the Temple (Taking a kid at the Temple)

Another way, but I don’t recommend it. It would be quite difficult and time-consuming if you didn’t know anyone in a monk society. The meaning is that I want tell you frankly that you do not know or have any relationship with the monk, which you will waste your time going to 5 to 6 temple, but you cannot get as per your purpose;  As seller will take a kit from monk before you go there already.

3.4 The Monks appointments, liaison with temples, ritual and material preparation.

Monk appointments are the most important task and needed to be completed earlier. After the man is being consulted, he prepares to arrange a free time at work. So, first of all, the host would have to make an appointment with an old man or “Salavat” in Lao (A old man who led the rituals performed the festival and who were well-connected to the monks, perhaps the monk was formerly a monk).

I recommend choosing a local Buddhist man, do not to hire a man from another province if he does not know the monk or professor. After you have made a pilgrimage, making an appointment with the junior monks to attend the intercession is a monumental task. To be able to become a rabbi, there must be an additional 20 monks for the ceremony. Mostly, it will be with the monks of the host village and surrounding areas.

Note: Auspicious monk is a Buddhist monk who attains at least 20 monks followers and is appointed by a Buddhist monk. The chaplain is a senior teacher who has been officially ordained by the monks and assigned to perform a ritual ceremony.

The Buddhist chaplain is a senior teacher of monk who is very important and important for conducting the rituals so make an appointment with the patriarch before making an appointment with him: An appointment or a chaplain will have to make a wedding (the fifth sign is to bring five flowers and five finishers as well). One at a time. There are 1 bhikkhus for one clergyman (3 bhikkhus also need three bhikkhus).

3.4.1 Documentary papers that the bishop or clergyman must prepare

• Voucher (license plate) is a form filling in the chaplain’s profile and approved by the authority.
• Certificate of Address
• Family book or ID card.

3.4.2 Relationship prepared with Temple

Relating to the temple here means choosing which temple the monk would go to forfeit. So it’s a job for a pastor to make and choose for himself. That they would choose to practice meditation, practice Buddhism, and practice Buddhist teachings. For my brothers, they chose the pagoda as a place of confession.

3.5 Host’s house, time and guests, food preparation.

Host’s house

House preparation is to prepare that your home has a yard/area that can accommodate at least 100 guests as per your plan, as well as a parking space, to keep your home clean. The issue of day safety is that you have to go home and say to organize, the village will prepare village guards for the day’s security; there will be a fee 300,000 Kip for them as per village regulations.

Time and guest Arrangement.

You should schedule the right time. The great time of ceremony should be Saturday or Sunday, because it is weekend. So, many guests will come to your event. The date is up with the number of Lunar calendar for example High moon.

Preparing the number of guests is another important task as well, as it will need to be consistent with your budget, estimating the number of guest and in-active guests in detail. My brother’s wedding is a booking for 200 restaurant cards, (three times for restaurant delivery) but about 350 invitation cards. Example of the invitation card will be like this:

Photo: invitation card.

 

4.    One day preparation at the market

Friday, 28-Feb-2020 My alarm clock went up at 5:30 am, it was a reminder to me that I would have to get up early in the morning to buy a lot of things to prepare meals for my family, relatives and back up my guests in case of malnutrition, as planned. The market that I would like to buy is the Land Bridge Market, located in the center of Vientiane Capital Nongchan Village, Sisattanak District, Vientiane, Laos. Hehehe … Of course, I’m not going to be alone, I’m going to need a helper and shopping for sure, so my sister-in-law and my aunt will be helping me with this trip as they are traveling from outside the country to help with this. When we arrived at the market around 6 AM, we were in a hurry to get out of the shop as he had ordered them before the market closed at 8:00 am. The goods we buy will be gathered in an orange building, a building located in the middle of the market square with patrons watching for fear of loss.

4.1 A few details for the Kuadin market:

Morning Weather at Bridge Market from 4:00 to 8:00 am: The Ground Market will be a morning market with a variety of goods such as pork, beef, fish, ribs, rice, food, vegetables, fruits and more. As I have noticed, fresh vegetables and fruits are very cheap. Another important caveat during shopping in this market is that you hear the word “wheelchair or Lor Lor in Lao” behind or in front of you, which means that they tell you to wait ahead; otherwise you may be tempted by Lor Lor. Another thing about shopping at my home market is that I have many things to load. If you buy a lot of goods you can call on them so that you do not have to carry a heavy load, the charge I use the wheel today is 20,000 Kip per time.

Also, today is a family day for the arrangement, getting relatives to prepare for tomorrow. After I returned to the market and got home at 10:00 am; At 11:00 am I had to go out to get my aunt and her aunt, as my mother told us, the bus station, the north bus line and Phonkeo village. By 4:00 pm, I had finished receiving both of them and arrived home. By 5:00 pm, my sister, who had arrived from Phonhong, Vientiane, arrived at Nakao’s house. We also have dinner together and have a discussion on the day’s work.

5.    Day 1: Monks Celebration Day, Saturday: Saturday, 29-02-2020

Finally, the day of the ritual is about to begin. All family members, relative are ready and invited guest who have received more than 200 invitations are ready as well. All guests will be included in the neighborhood together with the family and relatives. We woke up at 5:30 AM and heard the roar of birds, the morning chirp along with the rising sun into the sky. The 5 sets of kits are adorned with a small spark of light. When the lights are on, there is a lot of light and bright light. They have been prepared for many days.

Have you ever attended a chaplaincy in Laos or Thailand? If so, you can share your thoughts and experiences down below. I appreciate all the comments and feedback to develop my portfolio.

5.1 Saturday’s ceremony

• Baci or small party for give a little gift to the 3 men before they will become momks at 9:00 am
• Hair cut or braided by family, relatives, and then dressed in a suit from 9:00-10:00 am.
• Guests come in the morning meal and have lunch from 11:00-12:30 pm.
• Prepare to go to the Temple for a Mass and Mass Ceremony at 12: 30-16:00 pm.
• The cotton yarn will be wrapped around the house with the cotton thread wrapped around the hands of the guests, guests and guests attending the evening prayers from 16:00 to 17:00.
• Guests come for the evening meal and dine 16:00 – 21:00 pm.

5.2 History of Naga Parade

Did you know that before become a mon, there was a Naga Parade? As I read through the article, there is an old saying through the elders. Since ancient times, the Buddha had become a human being and had become a monk until the sleep of his body. In Buddhism. He said to the Buddha, “Let any name be applied to Buddhists, and it is requested that the name be called instead of the name of the person who is to be worshiped or first.”

5.3 Naga Parade on Saturday 29-Feb-2020

What It Means to Know

The Monks parade is a large group of Buddhists who number between 10-20 people and up. They will walk around in a series of steps, along with three monuments at the temple where the abbey will perform. This ritual may be similar to the caravan or candle, as it will also perform three rounds.

Did you attend any of the Naga ceremonies? You may try to get in touch if the opportunity arises. The first parade will be the monastery. At the beginning of the bell, between the chants will be a symphony, and the song will be a local song which will be accompanied by a cheerful, cheerful, joyful spirit filled with Buddhist faith and contentment.

The parade will be conducted by all three men. This time it will be our mother, aunt and sister who take the three of them as his companions. Some parades may use a horse, the former being most likely a three-mile round walk.

Copy or paste the video.

Later, people in the parade sat down to pay homage to the monument, and the three naga converts into completed monks.

In the final stages of the parade, the ceremony ends. All the monks, including the old and the new monks, were ready to walk out of the monument, carrying their orange bags, and passing through the people attending the ceremony to swab them with a cash wound of 1,000 kip, 2,000 kip. The woman who wears the scarf places the cloth on the floor with her head down and allows the monks to walk through it.

I myself followed the ritual. As far as I understand, we believe that it will be a blessing to life, to good luck, for the goodness of these Gods to supply us. This is the last step of the monk living outside the monastery, separated from their place of residence. The three new gods also took photos with their family, relatives and friends. They actually live at this temple for the next seven days. Finally, the family and guests returned home.

 

5.4 Information for Guests for joining Monk event.

Do you know what to do when you are invited to a festival in Laos? You may be invited to attend a monk festival if you are a foreigner in Laos, with friends, social and contacts in Laos. Because of the host tradition, the organizers may have known, interacted, approached each other to honor, to know, to love, and to meet. You will receive the following invitation card:

Maybe you didn’t get the card if you were a close, close relative. But your friend will schedule an appointment for details, such as when, where. You too can attend.

6.  Day 2: Monks Celebration Day, Date: Sunday 01-March-2020

Morning Protocol on 01-March-2020

• There will be nine monks for Morning arm at the house from 7:00 am – 9:00 AM.
• Families, relatives and guests with dusk from 7:00 am to 9:00 AM.
• After the Morning arm ceremony ends, the breakfast is served from 7:00 am to 9:00 AM.

6.1 The steps to take when you join this event are as follows

1) Find a seat at the table provided you should accompany other invited guests. It’s okay if you go it alone.

2) Typically, if someone would approach comes and invitations on video, if you do not have invited you to the white envelope and write your name on the front of the pack as well (in case you need to put a few or even just be your regular guests know he put between 100,000 to 200,000 kip or more. I know the familiar, to help bring his God Greater ability to finance them. The money will be used to host guests from the festival and materials used to prepare food for yourself).

3) You also bring an invitation card to the host in the house at the point of entry, and you can ask people at work if you don’t know where. There may be other hosts offering you convenience, inviting you to sit. If there are people who send you cards together, you can find some ready-to-eat food, sit back, and send the invitation back. But usually: Most guests will send out invitations before the meal.

 

6.2 When or what time should you join the event

You can choose to attend the festival 3 times but you are as comfortable:

1) Go to the beautiful time of day 1 of the event, so that you will have the following activities: Attend a parade at 3 temples after lunch from 11:00 to 16:00, Day1.

2) Go to the time of the first day of the festival, to listen to a prayer at the hostel and to have dinner at 16:00 – 21:00, Day1.

3) Go to the morning of the second day of the event to go in the morning and have breakfast 7:00 am to 9:00 AM, Day2.

Or you may join for all three times. It can be possible if you have free time to go the event.

6.3 Daily activity of 3 new monks 7-8 days as monks (29-Feb-2020 – 07-March-2020)

• To get up at 5:00 am, cleanup, cleaning of the temple area.
• 6:00 -7: 00 AM, to give-arm are located in the temples.
• 7:00 -8: 00 PM, Monks Return to Temple for breakfast.
• 9:00 – 1:00 AM To do as workers for New building construction work.
• 11:00 to 12:00, to have lunch
• 13:00 -16: 00 AM Back to work on new building.
• 17:00 -20: 00 PM, Flowing

7.    Welcome party for the three brother back home on Saturday 8-March-2020

Today, 8-March–2020 is exactly the same as Sunday and is up to 15 December 4, 2563. Finally, my three brothers’ healing speeches will end after they have spent at least seven days from 29-Feb-2020 to 08-March-2020; I do not know what the experience is like because I am not a male and cannot be a monk. I’m a female if you want to be a bishop only. My family is also preparing to host the three of them at Wat Sokyai since Saturday 7-March-2020. So my first wife’s wife was staying at my house for a while now. My sister-in-law came with her two sons and prepared a bag of bananas to celebrate with a bracelet ceremony, welcoming the three brothers’ home.

In addition, my mother prepared and arranged for girls around the age of 6-8 years, all 3 of whom will be monks to resign from the monastery to walk from the monastery to the temple (the girls who can do this must be holy girls).

Around 5-6 am on 8-March-2020, the two girls were ready to arrive at the house to get ready for the trip.

It took about 10 minutes when we arrived at the monastery, and we were gathering at the temple’s main mosque and there were dozens of people from this village, along with several neighboring villages, to pray, performing Buddhist rituals on the daily rituals of the temple.

At about 9 am, after the ceremony, the monk and his family went to another monastery, which is the monastery of the monkhood of Wat Sokyai: This teacher is called “Monk Teacher Serm”.

He is well known in this area. His lead in the classical tradition of the three gods, with one phrase that I remember, would be the phrase: May we, We all are going to leave from being monks from today onwards … All three bowed their heads in reverence, with the words spoken by an adjunct professor and a chaplain. The teacher also told the three of them to change their clothes, and my older brother went to do the cleaning.

After that, the three girls held a log and allowed the three men to walk behind them, leading them to the main gate, terminating the ritual, resigning as a monk in the life of the three men.

The leaving ceremony was completed. Then, we have a small party, call Baci in Lao. This is a welcome back party for my three brothers backing home today onward.  The party will have very closed relative only.

8.      Conclusion of Monk festival

Regardless of your race, ethnicity, nationality. No matter what religion you are, you are rich or poor, but you are good.

Self-restraint is an important part of organizing. Monk festival can be arranged in temples. For those who are active in Buddhism and Buddhism will be practiced. In fact, it is not desirable and much money or money can be made. You can go to Monk festival with many families, many of whom will do so without spending a fortune. Lastly, if you want more information about Buddhism you can consult, ask for comment with the pagoda near you but it is convenient. Begin you can be a novice. You can develop later on.

It would be great if you can share me any of your religious events below. I would respect to all kind of religions.

On behalf of my family, I would like to sincere thanks Thank you very much for example relative, all guests, and local villagers for joining us. I hope that this is kindness from what we can do naturally.

My brother’s feeling, Mr. Sisunh

Successfully our three brothers completed to the task, to be gentlemen as monks in Buddhism.

Thank you very much to all, relatives, friends, especially Monk Serm.

May this charity help protect me, my family, every guests who came to the festival, or who may not also. You all always are happy, comfortable, healthy, and prosperous

Link to my brother post

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3028814167163248&id=100001040844044

. My mother’s feeling.

My Mother’s name is Mrs. Savong. The happinest person for this event is our mother. She cried when the small Baci at the house. Why does she cry? Lol…The tear of enjoyment, She cried because she is so proud to her three sons.

She is very enjoy today and she dance while walking around the main temple.