Buddhist boys carry on tradition as novice monks

Spending a week as a monk is considered a rite of passage.
WASHINGTON POST
In front of a table topped with gold-wrapped gifts and before a crowd of 100 expectant Buddhists, seven boys await holiness.
Gary Chanyasubkit, 12, looks up at the ceiling. Anton Nguyen, 11, yawns. Alec Chanthaboun, 9, and Nate Sripinyo, 11, make faces and giggle. All of the boys -- soon to be novice monks and the pride of the local Thai-American community -- slouch on their folding chairs in the Wat Thai temple in Silver Spring, Md.
The rite of passage that they are about to undertake is common among boys in Thailand. Monks are representatives of Buddha, Thai Buddhists believe, and for a boy to live like a monk for a week is to help his parents go to heaven.
"Seven boys today," declares the monk, Somsar Sakkamedhi. "Then tomorrow, they will be novices. They will learn how to be a good son, how to be a good friend, how to be a good person."
Out come seven pairs of scissors. The first step in getting closer to Buddha is to go bald.
During their recent stay at the monastery, they will be constantly reminded that they are novices, or nains, no longer boys.
Buddha believed suffering in life was linked to material goods and that giving up those things would help bring inner peace.
The boys' baggy shorts and T-shirts are exchanged for orange robes held together by safety pins. And the elaborately wrapped gifts the boys are about to receive? The contents are not what they would ask for: toilet paper, toothpaste and incense.
Daily routine
Days begin at 5 a.m., with an hour of chanting and praying in the main sanctuary; the ritual is repeated in the afternoon.
Plenty of food is brought by their mothers and other temple volunteers -- Thai noodles, whole fried fish, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets from McDonald's -- but meals are served only twice a day.
The monastery has a television room, but only movies about Buddha or the PBS channel are allowed. Game Boys are out of the question.
Chanond Eiamchim, who at 15 is the oldest of the boys, is the only one not born in the United States. Monkhood "will make me calm," says Chanond, an honor student.
The boys speak Thai, mixed with words like vicious and cool. When they see a monk, they greet him with bowed heads and hands together. They call the elderly head abbot "Dumbledore," after the headmaster in the Harry Potter books. They love the Internet and their mothers.
Nate was the first boy to agree to become a nain. He thinks it will be like a camping trip or a big sleepover because all the boys will share a small room in the monastery and use sleeping bags.
"And I get to go to heaven," says Nate, a middle school student.
So, just like that, all his friends decided to join, just as if they all decided to play basketball or wear their jeans a certain way. William Gresser, Ben Rirksopa and the others -- nobody wants to be left out.
Dwindling tradition
Only 1.3 percent of Asian-Americans are of Thai descent. Unlike other Southeast Asians, Thais aren't here fleeing war, communism or poverty. Many of the temple members are well-educated professionals, and quite a number are associated with the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington.
Still, in nearly 30 years, the Wat Thai Buddhist congregation has had no more than three novice monks at a time.
Most years, no boy volunteered. It was like a Catholic church without first Communions.
Each night at the monastery, the nains record the milestones in their journals. At the front of Nate's book is a list of his good deeds: meditating, helping the teachers spread wood chips and mulch around flower beds and picnic area, and finishing his food and taking daily showers.
In the back is the list of bad deeds: Talking a lot. Fooling around.
The older monks, whom they call luang phi or brother, want them to think about their day and improve for tomorrow.
Monk's lifestyle
Monk Phrket Subhacaro, 33, has helped guide as many as 200 boys at a time through novicehood in Thailand. He explains that the monks live simply and rely on the charity of believers. With their blessings, they wish people a good, healthy life when they receive a gift.
In Thailand, Buddhists make up about 95 percent of the population, and the religion's values of humility, simplicity and gentleness are infused into daily life.
Here, Subhacaro has had his hands full. He's never seen boys who are so noisy and talkative.
Subhacaro says that they have already accomplished so much. "Just that they came in to be ordained," he says, "at least they have the faith in Buddhism."