Phra Bill

It’s one of those strong Thai rituals to send the sons to the temple to become monks and if it’s only for a few weeks, being taught humility and renunciation. Even for an atheist and nihilist monks can be today’s true heros. Each morning, when driving my son to school, I meet this barefoot monk with his aides making the same old round since years. A good day starts with a decent sacrifice and offering.

Here is the story of Phra Kantisalo Bhikkhu whose name in the passport says William Callaway. Vietnam Vet William, from Phoenix, Arizona, has become Phra Bill, a Thai monk. 67 years this September, he has been through it all – maybe a key ingredient of the pondering mind and soul to become a monk. And there was this Thai woman. Today the Buddhist monk lives at the small country temple Wat Khao Lang in Lopburi.

Phra Bill gives some insights into why he became a monk, if it’s changing his life and even helping him – and how he can communicate with the abbot even though his Thai is terrible. Yes, Phra Bill does alms rounds and says chants. But there is so much more to monkhood than meets the eye. At the bottom of the page Phra Bill shares his advice to foreigners who ever thought about becoming a Buddhist monk in Thailand.

By Phra Kantisalo Bhikkhu, formerly William Callaway

This is my second go around at being a Buddhist monk. I ordained at a temple north of Bangkok in January 2006. I didn’t have a clue what it was all about. I thought I did. I was wrong. I took off the robes the first time for two reasons. One was that I was pretty much unaware of what was going on and what was expected of me and I was very uncomfortable about it. Reason two was because I had a girlfriend at the time who wanted me to disrobe and come home to Lopburi.

I had the mistaken idea she was in love and wanted to start having a good home life. As it happens in Thailand, too often, this was not really why she wanted me to come home. As too many of us farangs find out, it’s all about the money. Needless to say, it didn’t work out. Now we fast forward to three years and about a million and a half baht later. I spent many hours on the internet and read books about the Buddhist religion. I’ve been studying the Buddhist religion on and off for about five years.

I spent many hours with different abbots of numerous temples studying the same. I found this temple where I am today by accident. A British friend’s Thai wife brought me here in 2007, knowing that I was looking for a temple to practice meditation and study chanting. The abbot here doesn’t speak any English and my Thai is terrible, but for some reason we communicate. I ordained on July 3rd, 2009. I don’t have a clue how long I will stay. It just might be I will be a monk for the rest of my life. No one knows the future.

One thing I’ve noticed about myself since I became a monk is I find myself much calmer and take things more as they come. I have more patience and a whole lot less anger. I find myself wondering how this world got so screwed up. I really wonder how if there so much food on this planet, how anyone can go hungry at night. I ask myself daily if there is anything I can do about it. I now say prayers every night before I go to sleep, wishing for every living creature on the planet, to be safe, have a long and healthy life and to be prosperous.

And I really mean it. When I go on my alms rounds in the morning and say a chant thanking them for the food and wishing them the above prayer. I say it with sincerity. I try to conduct myself in a way that doesn’t blemish the Lord Buddha’s image. I spend my free time reading the teachings that the Buddha gave us and trying to understand it all. I meditate three or four times a day, hoping that some day a light will click on and I can say, ahhh, now I understand. Then hopefully I can pass that message on to others. In the meantime, I keep up the studying.

Let me tell you about a typical day in the life of a monk.

5 am: The temple bell is rung. I get up, was my face, brush my teeth, sit for a few moments in front of my Buddha altar, light some incense, say a morning chant and put on my robe and collect my stainless steel bowl to go on the alms round. We leave the temple grounds at daybreak, as soon as you can easily see the lines in the palm of your hand. Which is usually around 6 am or there about.

7.15 am: We are usually done at this time and come back to the temple to sort out the different foods and put the rice collected in one large metal container. The food is sorted out by types, chicken, fish, pork, soups, sauces and then the desserts. These are all put in separate containers and set on our dining table.

7.30 am: I’m back in my kuti, the monks’ quarters, to straighten up my room. Put away the bedding and sweep it clean.

8 am: The temple bell is rung again. This time it’s to announce that it’s time to eat breakfast. I put on my robe again, different style this time the alms rounds, and go to the dining table where we wait for everyone to be seated. There are seven of us monks here at this temple. Someone comes to the table and offers us the food. Monks are not allowed to eat any food that is not offered. Then we chant our pre-eating chants, acknowledging, thanking and giving blessings to all those who gave us the food. Actually the blessings are to every living creature, man or animal, on the planet, wishing everyone a long, healthy and prosperous life. We normally finish about 8.30 am or so.

8.30 am: Morning chanting. We go into the small chanting hall and sit in front of the Buddha alter. We chant our morning chants, which consist of approximately ten chants. They are as follows:

Dedication of Offerings
Homage to the Buddha
Praise for the Buddha
Praise for the Dhamma
Praise for the Sangha
Salutation to the Triple Gem
Reflection at the moment of Using the Requisites
Dedication of Merit
Transference of Merit
Sharing the Loving Kindness

After the morning chanting, which last for about an hour, unless we are given an assignment by the abbot, we usually go back to our quarters and either straighten things up, clean up around our quarters, do laundry or sit in meditation.

11 am: This time a large drum is struck. It’s hard to explain the sequence of the drum beats, needless to say, there is a certain way to strike this drum. This is the lunch call.

11.15 am: We go through similar chants for lunch as this morning at breakfast. All Buddhist monks have to eat before noon. We are not allowed to have food again until after midnight, which is the start of a new day. I don’t know of any monks who get up and eat at midnight. Most are asleep. If there are monks who do get up and eat after midnight, I’ve never seen them. Maybe they wake up in their quarters and eat then. Unlikely, but maybe.

Afternoon: This is kind of a free period. Normally the abbots and higher placed monks have visitors during this time and the other monks usually go back to their quarters. Some meditate, some take a nap, some do different chores around the temple. But normally, except for the abbot and a few higher placed monks, the monks take a nap for a couple of hours. They usually get up around 2 or 2.30 in the afternoon and look for something that needs to be done around the temple. Sweeping, picking up trash, repairing something.

5 pm: The temple bell rings again. Evening chanting. Normally, we have an hour of meditation before we begin chanting. Sometimes this is reversed, chanting then meditation. I think the abbot just breaks it up to keep us on our toes. This time, the chants vary a lot. The abbot has some he likes to chant, so there’s never any set order of the chants. We will chant the ten earlier chants, and then go on from there another six or seven chants. We always end our chanting periods with Transference of Merit and Sharing Blessings and Loving Kindness. Our day normally ends about 7 or 7.30 pm.

Then it’s free time again. Sometimes we sit around with the abbot and ask questions or the abbot will ask us about our day and if we are having any problems or complaints. Of course, no one complains. And our problems are miniscule.

This is a typical day. Some days they change. We might have to go to someone’s house to partake in a chanting ceremony for a sick mother or grandmother. Sometimes we go to different temples to listen to some high ranking monk giving a discourse on Loving Kindness, walking the alms rounds or about how we should watch our demeanor around our supporters.

As a foreign monk, it’s really difficult. Especially if you don’t read Thai and only speak Thai a little.

This is when you really need a understanding abbot to help you. A lot of Thai abbots would like to have a foreigner in their temple, but don’t have the necessary patience. I’ve run into a lot who think it’s remarkable that I’m even there. Of the other six monks here at my temple, none speaks English. We communicate by some small Thai, some small English, an English-Thai dictionary and just patience to explain this or that.

The monks here think it’s really remarkable that I have learned the chants and the correct procedures at the different ceremonies. I think I’m lazy in not learning more Thai and even more chants.

I’m now planning on going back to Phoenix, Arizona, to stay at a Thai Buddhist temple there in early December. It will give me a chance to visit with my mother and sister who live in Phoenix. I know the Thai abbot at the temple there and he’s delighted to have me there.

Finally, here’s my advice to foreigners who would like to become a Buddhist monk here in Thailand:

First of all, all the procedures for ordination are in Thai and Pali. Written in Thai and/or Pali. You need to find a book that has the Thai and Pali written with English letters if you don’t read Thai and/or Pali characters. You might be able to find that book at Wat Mahathat in central Bangkok. I got mine from Ajarn Winai, the abbot of Wat Promkunarm in Phoenix, Arizona. If someone is really interested, I can give you the contact details of that Phoenix temple.

You should find a Thai Buddhist temple that you are comfortable with. If you don’t speak Thai, you should find one where either the abbot speaks English, which is very rare, or where they have a monk who does. It’s going to take more than just going to a temple and saying to the abbot, hey bud, I would like to ordain as a monk. Even Thai’s don’t do that. They go to ordain at a temple where they know the abbot and probably most of the monks there. You have to build up a relationship with the abbot at the temple. You have to convince the abbot that you are sincere about learning Buddhism.

Once you have that relationship built, then it’s a pretty straight forward approach. You learn the necessary chants, how to pronounce the words correctly and how to chant the right cadence. It took me a month the first time and about two weeks the second time. I stayed at the temple the whole time during both of those periods. You have to focus. I practiced with a monk every day, and practiced with the abbot every evening. And after you got it all down, you’re still going to be nervous at the actual ceremony.

If you found the correct temple, the abbot will put together the people you need for the ceremony. Someone has to donate the robes to you. Someone has to donate the alms bowl to you. Someone has to take care of all the little details that need to be done, like food for the monks and people who go to your ordination. If you find the correct temple, the abbot will take care of all these details, because there is always someone who wants to make the merit by donating their time and money towards supporting a monk.

So my bit of advice is, first, find the correct temple. Find the correct abbot. After that it’s just a matter of being sincere in your quest. Anyone needing any help I will be glad to help all I can. There is a temple in the northeast of Thailand called Wat Pah Nanachat. Northeast of Udon Thani Ubon Ratchathani. It was made by Ajarn Chah, who is now dead, and run by foreigners.

I think the abbot now is either British or German. I understand there’s a lot of foreigners there. But I also understand it’s not easy to stay there unless you are really, really dedicated.

(BD: A remarkable journey Phra Bill! During my own seclusive time in India years ago a Hindu priest told me instead of reciting holy chants I could as well chant the whole night “Coca Cola, Coca Cola” – it wouldn’t make any difference he said. But there’s much more to it than meets the ear, isn’t it.)




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September 29, 2009 | Filed Under Being Farang, Culture Shock, Society, The Interview 

Comments

6 Responses to “Phra Bill”

  1. Peter Gadd on September 29th, 2009 11.16 am

    Thanks for an interesting insight into the monkhood. One thing that you should correct is that Wat Pah Nanachat (or International Forest Temple translated directly) is in Ubon Ratchathani province. I know; I live in Ubon and I have been to the temple several times. It is so peaceful.

  2. Robin on September 30th, 2009 8.11 pm

    This was very interesting. I’m confused, though, that Phra Bill chants his thanks as he collects alms in the morning. I thought that monks are not supposed to thank the people putting rice etc. in their bowls, because thanking the donors deprives them of making merit for their donations — ? I read that somewhere but have no other knowledge about the process. Can anyone answer this? I’m just curious about the alms/merit-making process. Thanks!

  3. chdarat on October 5th, 2009 11.58 am

    Gratitude and generosity are at the heart of the Buddhist teachings and the goal of a Buddhist is not simply merit makings.

    Making merits is a way of cultivating these qualities.

    So monks can and do say thank you. There is no rules that prevent them from doing so. Often they don’t say the word out loud but their demeanour should suggest humility and gratitude which to me is a way of thanking. They also give you a blessing by chanting in Pali which again is a way of thanking.

    Just a reflection, in Thailand, Buddhism has become cultural tradition and have adopted so many rituals from animistic and Hindu traditions that have very little to do with the historical Buddha. Plus many of the meanings behind rites and rituals have been forgotten and people simply adopted the rituals.

    Sad for me who feels that Buddhism is a way of life, something that is immediate, effective and beautiful and to do with mastering this human condition now in this lifetime and not merit banking for the future.

    Buddhism is freeing and never weigh you down.

    For anyone that wants to access English Buddhist teachings and reflections on the internet then try:

    http://www.amaravati.org/abmnew/index.php/teachings/audio or http://www.dhammatalks.org.uk

    You can even watch on YouTube:

    http://www.youtube.com/user/dhammatube

  4. geomark on October 6th, 2009 9.35 pm

    Actually I read him to say that they acknowledge and thank while chanting just before eating, not when they collect alms. I was a monk and as we learned we do not thank lay people while on alms round. Indeed, the gratitude flows in the other direction, from lay people to monks for being fertile ground in which to sow seeds of merit, so to speak.

    I am very happy for Phra Bill. He has chosen a way that is so much better than so many other foreigners who come to Thailand.

  5. Matt on November 6th, 2009 8.40 pm

    Thanks for the great story Phra Bill on your ordination.

    I have been in BKK a long while a farang and very long standing devout Buddhist with weak Thai and having great difficulty finding a temple in BKK to ordain.

    Anyone out there could let me know of temples where I could contact the Abbot and hopefully geta yes would be very much apreciated.

    Many thanks
    Matt

  6. chdarat on November 9th, 2009 11.27 am

    If you are serious about this, I mean choosing this as a way of life then I would consider Wat Pananchart:

    Wat Pa Nanachart
    Bung Wai Village
    Warin Chamrab,
    Ubon Ratchathani 34310
    THAILAND

    Wat Bovorn near Kao San road do have a western order. Here is a link where you can read up:

    http://www.bangkoksite.com/temples/WatBovorn.htm.

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