Over the last few days I have been attending the ordination of a Buddhist monk named Benz, in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. You will find a full explanation of the process of the ordination of a Buddhist monk on my blog the Temples of Thailand, plus there are lots more photographs. However I thought I would share some of the photographs here, so over the next few days I will provide a pictorial montage of the process I observed as a young Thai man prepared to become a monk, thus following the tradition of most Thai men over the age of 20.
Today’s photograph shows an older ordained monk finishing shaving the hair and eyebrows from the soon to be monk. This symbolism dates back centuries when only royalty(who were rich in worldly goods) had long hair and it is said that the Buddha shaved his head to show that he renounced all such possessions. The removal of the eyebrows is thought to be a specific Thai Buddhism tradition.
Prior to the arrival of the monk family and close friends(myself included) had cut the hair on the new monks head with scissors till it was short enough to be shaved. The hair was collected in lotus leaves and none was allowed to fall on the floor. Previously when he was a baby his head was also shaved, in a Thai baby ritual, and the hair saved in a lotus leaf.
Before this part of the ceremony had commenced Benz had symbolically washed the feet of his parents, signifying the debt he owed them and that he was repaying their care by making merit for them by becoming a Buddhist monk.
You can see what happened next in tomorrows photograph when Benz gets covered in Turmeric.
Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D 55mm Lens
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