Ordination Guidelines & Protocol
Upāsaka/Upāsikā Ordination
Arahanist Order of Canada
Introduction: The Meaning of Upāsaka/Upāsikā Ordination
Upāsaka/Upāsikā Ordination is a formal ceremony through which a committed lay practitioner enters a long-term course of spiritual training under the guidance of the Arahanist Order of Canada. It is intended for those who aspire to devote themselves to the systematic cultivation of Sīla, Samādhi, and Paññā while living at or maintaining a close, continuing relationship with the monastery.
This ordination is distinct from a temporary observance of the Eight Precepts. It marks a sustained commitment to the renunciant path, with an emphasis on ethical discipline, meditation, Dhamma study, sense restraint, and the development of inner happiness independent of worldly pleasures.
The candidate undertakes the Eight Precepts and agrees to follow the guidance of the appointed teacher and the resident monastic community. The ceremony is conducted formally by the monastery’s resident monastics, who receive the candidate’s commitment and establish the basis for continuing spiritual instruction.
An ordained Upāsaka or Upāsikā remains a lay practitioner and does not receive monastic status. Instead of monastic robes, the candidate wears white yogi clothing, signifying a life increasingly directed toward purity, simplicity, discipline, meditation, and renunciation.
The purpose of this ordination is not merely to adopt a religious identity. It is to establish a stable foundation for sustained spiritual practice and to prepare the practitioner for deeper renunciation according to their capacity and circumstances.
Part I. Preparation for Ordination
1. Understanding the Commitment
Before ordination, the candidate should understand the meaning and responsibilities of becoming an Upāsaka or Upāsikā within the Arahanist Order.
This commitment includes:
- Undertaking the Eight Precepts as the foundation of daily conduct.
- Maintaining white yogi clothing as the customary dress of the ordained lay practitioner.
- Participating regularly in meditation, Dhamma instruction, and other assigned training.
- Practising restraint in speech, conduct, sensory enjoyment, and personal habits.
- Cultivating Samatha and Vipassanā under appropriate guidance.
- Accepting instruction and correction from the appointed teacher and cooperating respectfully with the resident monastic community.
- Maintaining a long-term commitment to the spiritual life rather than treating ordination as a temporary retreat experience.
The candidate should understand that this ordination is a serious spiritual undertaking. It calls for consistency, patience, humility, and a willingness to reorganize daily life around the cultivation of liberation.
2. Confirmation of Readiness
Before the ceremony, the teacher should meet with the candidate to discuss their motivation, understanding of the Eight Precepts, practical circumstances, and readiness for sustained training.
The teacher should explain the expectations of residence, daily practice, participation in monastery life, and continuing instruction. Where the candidate will reside at the monastery, practical arrangements should be established in advance.
The purpose of this preparation is to ensure that the candidate enters ordination with a clear understanding of the commitment being undertaken.
3. Clothing and Personal Requisites
The candidate should prepare a clean set of white yogi clothing suitable for meditation and monastery life.
White yogi clothing is not monastic robe attire. It is the customary clothing of the ordained lay practitioner and expresses simplicity, restraint, and commitment to spiritual training.
The candidate should also prepare any personal requisites requested by the monastery. Clothing and personal possessions should be simple and appropriate to a disciplined environment.
4. Preparation of the Ceremony
The ceremony should take place in the monastery’s Dhamma hall or another suitable place of practice. The resident monastics should be present to witness and conduct the ordination according to the monastery’s established procedure.
The candidate should arrive clean and prepared, wearing or carrying the white yogi clothing designated for the ceremony. The altar and ceremonial space should be arranged beforehand.
Part II. The Upāsaka/Upāsikā Ordination Ceremony
1. Entrance and Homage
The candidate enters the Dhamma hall and pays respect to the resident monastics. The ceremony begins with an atmosphere of composure, reverence, and recollection of the purpose of renunciation.
The presiding monastic welcomes the candidate and briefly explains that the ceremony marks the formal beginning of a sustained course of lay spiritual training within the Arahanist Order.
2. Formal Request for Ordination
The candidate requests ordination three times.
Candidate: Okāsa, ahaṃ, bhante, Upāsaka/Upāsikā yācāmi.
Permit me, Bhante. I request Upāsaka/Upāsikā ordination.
Dutiyam’pi, ahaṃ, bhante, Upāsaka/Upāsikā yācāmi.
For the second time, Bhante, I request Upāsaka/Upāsikā ordination.
Tatiyam’pi, ahaṃ, bhante, Upāsaka/Upāsikā yācāmi.
For the third time, Bhante, I request Upāsaka/Upāsikā ordination.
The candidate then makes the principal request for Upāsaka/Upāsikā, repeated three times.
Candidate: Sabba-dukkha-nissaraṇa-nibbāna-sacchi-karaṇatthāya, Upāsaka/Upāsikā maṃ, bhante, anukampaṃ upādāya.
For the release from all dukkha and for the purpose of directly realizing Nibbāna, please ordain me Upāsaka/Upāsikā, Bhante, out of compassion.
Second request: Dutiyam’pi, sabba-dukkha-nissaraṇa-nibbāna-sacchi-karaṇatthāya, Upāsaka/Upāsikā maṃ, bhante, anukampaṃ upādāya.
For the second time, for the release from all dukkha and for the purpose of directly realizing Nibbāna, please ordain me Upāsaka/Upāsikā, Bhante, out of compassion.
Third request: Tatiyam’pi, sabba-dukkha-nissaraṇa-nibbāna-sacchi-karaṇatthāya, Upāsaka/Upāsikā maṃ, bhante, anukampaṃ upādāya.
For the third time, for the release from all dukkha and for the purpose of directly realizing Nibbāna, please ordain me Upāsaka/Upāsikā, Bhante, out of compassion.
After the requests, the candidate places the robes before the preceptor as directed.
3. Acceptance by the Resident Monastics
The presiding monastic confirms that the candidate has received the necessary instruction and understands the commitment.
The resident monastics formally accept the candidate’s undertaking into the community’s programme of Upāsaka/Upāsikā training. The presiding monastic may then offer a brief admonition on the purpose of renunciation, the importance of keeping the precepts, and the necessity of diligent practice.
This acceptance establishes the candidate’s formal relationship with the monastery and its training community.
4. Taking the Three Refuges
The candidate takes refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha, reciting the traditional formula after the presiding monastic.
Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Dutiyampi Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Dutiyampi Dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Dutiyampi Saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Tatiyampi Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Tatiyampi Dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Tatiyampi Saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
The Three Refuges establish the spiritual orientation of the candidate. They express confidence in the path of liberation, the teaching that leads toward liberation, and the community that preserves and practises that teaching.
5. Undertaking the Eight Precepts
The presiding monastic administers the Eight Precepts, and the candidate repeats each training rule.
1. Refraining from taking life
Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi
I undertake the training step to abstain from destroying the life force.
2. Refraining from taking what is not given
Adinnā-dānā veramanī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi
I undertake the training step to abstain from taking what is not given.
3. Refraining from sexual activity
Abrahma-cariyā veramanī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi
I undertake the training step to abstain from unchaste conduct (conduct contrary to Brahmacariya).
4. Refraining from false speech
Musā-vādā veramanī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi
I undertake the training step to abstain from false speech.
5. Refraining from intoxicants
Surā-meraya-majja-pamā-daṭṭhānā veramanī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi
I undertake the training step to abstain from fermented drink, distilled liquor, and intoxicating substances—the ground of spiritual laxity.
6. Refraining from eating at improper times
Vikāla-bhojanā veramaṇī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi
I undertake the training step to abstain from taking food at improper times.
7. Refraining from entertainment and adornment
Nacca-gīta-vādita-visūka-dassanā mālā-gandha-vilepana-dhāraṇa-maṇḍana-vibhūsanaṭṭhānā veramaṇī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi
I undertake the training step to abstain from dancing, singing, playing music, and distractive shows and music; and wearing garlands, perfumes, cosmetics, for the purpose of beautification and ornamentation.
8. Refraining from high and luxurious beds and seats
Uccā-sayana mahā-sayanā veramaṇī, sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the training step to abstain from high beds and luxurious beds.
At the conclusion, the candidate recites:
Imāni aṭṭha sikkhāpadāni samādiyāmi.
I undertake these Eight Training Precepts.
This may be repeated three times in accordance with the ceremony’s adopted liturgical practice.
The Eight Precepts are not merely ceremonial declarations. They establish the discipline through which the practitioner reduces dependence on sensory pleasure, simplifies daily life, and creates favourable conditions for meditation and insight.
6. Formal Declaration of Commitment
After undertaking the Eight Precepts, the candidate makes a declaration of long-term commitment.
The following English declaration may be used:
I undertake to live as an Upāsaka/Upāsikā under the Arahanist Order of Canada, maintaining the Eight Precepts and wearing white yogi clothing as the customary expression of this commitment. I will cultivate Sīla, Samādhi, and Paññā; train diligently in meditation; study and reflect upon the Dhamma; and follow the guidance of my appointed teacher and the resident monastic community. I understand that this ordination establishes a continuing commitment to spiritual training and the cultivation of the path leading toward liberation.
The candidate then pays respect to the presiding monastic and the resident monastics.
7. Receiving a Pāli Name
The preceptor gives the Upāsaka/Upāsikā a Pāli monastic name, according to the naming customs of the Arahanist Order of Canada.
The name may serve as a reminder of the qualities the Upāsaka/Upāsikā is encouraged to cultivate or of the spiritual direction of the renunciant life.
The preceptor announces the name clearly and explains its meaning where appropriate. The Upāsaka/Upāsikā should be instructed in the correct pronunciation and use of the name within the renunciant community.
8. Final Admonition and Blessing
The presiding monastic offers a final instruction, emphasizing the following principles:
- Keep the Eight Precepts sincerely and consistently.
- Practise meditation regularly rather than relying on occasional periods of enthusiasm.
- Cultivate Samatha to develop stability, collectedness, and tranquillity of mind.
- Cultivate Vipassanā to investigate experience with wisdom and develop disenchantment with attachment.
- Simplify personal habits and reduce unnecessary dependence on worldly pleasures.
- Maintain respect for the teacher, resident monastics, and fellow practitioners.
- Regard inner happiness, tranquillity, and the development of wisdom as essential foundations of renunciation.
- Treat ordination as the beginning of sustained training, not as the completion of spiritual development.
The ceremony concludes with homage and a blessing for the candidate’s diligent progress on the path.
