Pra Nui

At 6:30 in the morning 10 of us (not so awake) crammed into 3 taxis to head to what we envisioned a small, quaint, ceremony at Wat Dhamakaya but unbeknownst to us it turned out to be a grand affair...12,000 men getting ordained as monks. A friend of the group was being ordained. As we walked lost among the million of Thais dressed in white, I felt uncomfortable in my bright blue skirt and gray sweater. We found Nui's family and quickly got settled in. Of course all the people around us stared at the 10"farangs" (Thai for foreigners) not only cause we were there but we clearly were wearing an array of colors and not the required head to toe white that every other person was wearing. Nui's mother passed the bright orange robe around for each of us to say a prayer and bless it. As it passed my friends hands I anxiously awaited my turn. When I was handed the robe, I closed my eyes, said a little prayer and my first tear of the day was shed. Then the procession began...in walked the monks, two by two, dressed in all white. When Nui stopped in front of us, his 3 year old nephew (Bing) immediately started calling out Nui's name...begging for him to turn to us...Bing could not understand why Nui was not paying attention to him. Next, in unison all the monks sat in front of their family and friends and chanted a prayer. After that, Nui's family placed his new monk robe in his arms, then in a flash he stood up, and all the monks filed out. As they walked away I looked at some of their faces...some were happy, some were sad, some where lost in thought, and some were crying...and tears once again streamed down my face. Next there was a 5 hour break while the new Monks changed and meditated. All the visitors were provided free food, coffee, and water. Food at temples are considered the best food as people only donate the best food to the monks. As 8 members of our group decided to leave Lauren and I decided to stick it out and stay. And I can not even begin to explain to you how utterly happy I am that I chose to stay. Nui's mother invited us to her home to rest. There she gladly provided Lauren and I some white attire. At 4pm we made our way back to Wat Dhamakaya to watch the remainder of the ceremony. Immediately I saw a sea of orange and for the third time, I teared up (Yet another one of those breathtaking sites of Thailand). Then the procession of the monks began again...they walked two by two again and stood before their family and friends and then they sat before us and started chanting. I closed my eyes and listened to the world around me. I understood not one word of the chant but I was very much in the moment and a feeling of calmness washed over me and you guessed it...I cried again. At this moment I knew I was a part of the most amazing, beautiful, peaceful, thought provoking, and selfless ceremony I had ever seen. After the chant, the monks were able to talk with their family and friends for a few minutes. Lauren turned super shy (the very opposite of her personality) and I sat there quiet as a mouse trying to take it all in. We agreed on meeting Nui after the ceremony at a designated area to talk in more detail about the monkhood. And before we knew it, it was time for the monks to head back. After the ceremony we indeed met Nui and one of his monk friends to learn more about the Buddhist religion. As a newly ordained monk and us as lay people we must be lower than the monk, so Nui and his friend sat on chairs as we sat with our feet pointing away from him on the ground. As we relaxed, the questions started coming...how to focus while meditating, daily alms, the 227 monk rules, etc. We sat there for hours asking question after question. When we mentioned how emotional we had been throughout the day, Nui simply smiled and said that "our hearts are open". Most foreigners who witness such an event, watches from a distance and walk away unscathed but we were so fortunate to have an up close and personal front row seat to it all, we were able to let it all soak in. We finally said our goodbyes and well wishes to Nui and his friend. Looking at the time it was 9:30pm as we stepped into the taxi (where did the time go?). Lauren and I started a discussion about the days event and a flood of emotion overtook me and I started sobbing. I could not believe what a magical, serene, tranquil ceremony I just attended. In the end, when we returned home, Lauren instantly sat at her computer and started typing her thoughts of the day as I laid in bed pondering life. Lauren asked me if she could read me what she wrote and I closed my eyes I listened to the words she so eloquently wrote and since my emotions were already on overtime the tears naturally came. I was so happy to be party of such a spiritual, uplifting, and glorious day.