Request for Ordination

Request for Ordination

Date of Advice:
February 2017
Date Posted:
October 2017

A student wrote requesting ordination and explained how he saw samsara. Rinpoche’s advice included comments about the hardship caused by the custom of dowry in India and Nepal.

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you for your letter and also for the sutras you have written out.

Regarding your request for ordination, I checked, and after five years it is very good for you to take ordination. If you still feel this way, then you can become monk. The way you explained, it seems you have the conditions to become a monk, but I don’t know what would happen to your family if you were to become a monk now. Would it affect them or not? Would your wife freak out or your children? Particularly your wife—maybe she has to become a nun first and start in that way. (I am just joking.)

It’s very important for you to do the daily motivation, The Method to Transform a Suffering Life into Happiness (Including Enlightenment). It is very important to do this.

It’s excellent what you have been doing—reciting the different mantras and practices that I told you about. That is great; a great benefit to the whole world, as you motivated for that. Thank you very much. I want to say thank you very much for all the practices you have done for sentient beings.

Yes, reality is like that, as you mention.

One thing I have noticed is that some Indian people spend the most money when their daughter gets married. If it is a poor person, for instance the Root Institute gardener— he died a long time ago, but before he died he told me he had to raise 100,000 rupees in order for his daughter to get married. That is a lot of money for such a poor family to get and trying to get the money was totally destroying him.

I spoke to the children and staff at Maitri Charitable Trust project and also at the Maitreya School. I thought to mention to people to try to change this custom which is torturing the poor people in India and also in Nepal, where they do the same thing. If just some people can start to change this custom, it would be of great benefit.

My brother’s daughter had to give a silver mandala offering and a whole altar carved from wood to the man she was going to marry. This was not at all thinking about her and was only thinking of the other family. Anyway, later they changed; she didn’t like him and now she has a second husband, who she married in Seattle.

This custom is also in Nepal, where it’s the same as India. Sorry, this is just a side talk.

What happens, marriage is one thing, enjoying the view of the worldly mind, but at the end, still there is death. I think it's all so much suffering and creating the cause of suffering again, so the way you are thinking is right. Usually each individual has a lot of attachment, usually in the world. Generally it is to sex, but then individuals have different attachments. They don't know that from beginningless rebirth we have had sex with every sentient being and there is no one that we have not had sex with.

If we don't practice Dharma, if we don't realize the four noble truths, then we will have to experience the sufferings of the six realms again, endlessly. Even people in the world with high degrees, scientists, etc., don't know about that. Sorry, I can't say everybody, but generally people don’t know. They think this is the first time and this thing is the greatest pleasure, then from that attachment, suffering and samsara become endless. People in the world have so much suffering and their mind is obscured until they meet Dharma and meditate well. Otherwise they do not understand.

Thank you! You are correct and meanwhile there are eight Mahayana precepts that you have been taking. That is extremely good, as it is done with bodhicitta. It's a really unbelievable practice that you can do and it benefits all sentient beings in this world and this country. It's really, really good, so please take them as much as you can, it's fantastic!

Please continue to meditate on the lamrim, based on guru yoga. On this basis you will get all the realizations and the most success in your life. It is important to try to achieve all the realizations in order to actualize enlightenment; in order to liberate numberless sentient beings and enlighten them. That’s the real project, the real goal of our life.

Please practice as much as you can. Life is not long, the nature of this life is impermanent and death can happen at any time. This is the foundation of the Buddha’s teachings and it was the last advice the Buddha gave before showing the aspect of passing away.

What makes your life most meaningful is meditation on the lamrim and to live your life with bodhicitta motivation. This is the best.

With much love and prayers ...