In the Theravāda tradition, entering the monastic life unfolds in two main stages that together express a gradual deepening of commitment: novice ordination and full ordination. Before either step, a candidate typically prepares by living in a monastery as a layperson, training informally in basic discipline, chanting, and meditation, and seeking the guidance of a preceptor. Eligibility includes sufficient age, freedom from serious debts or legal obligations, and the absence of disqualifying physical or mental conditions as defined in the Vinaya. Parental or guardian consent is expected, especially for younger candidates, and the person should not already be bound by another religious ordination. This preparatory phase is less a mere formality than a period of testing whether the heart truly inclines toward the renunciant path.

The first formal step is pabbajjā, often translated as “going forth,” in which one becomes a novice (sāmaṇera or sāmaṇerī). In this ceremony, the candidate’s head and facial hair are shaved, and monastic robes are donned with the help of senior monastics. The candidate then takes refuge in the Triple Gem—Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha—and receives the Ten Precepts that define the novice’s conduct, including refraining from killing, stealing, sexual activity, false speech, intoxicants, eating after noon, entertainment and beautification, adornments, high and luxurious seats and beds, and accepting money. From that point, the novice lives under the close guidance of a teacher, learning the rhythms of monastic life, the discipline of the Vinaya, and the foundations of meditation and study. This stage functions as both a training ground and a testing ground, allowing the renunciant aspiration to mature.

When the novice is sufficiently trained and of the proper age—counted as at least twenty years in monastic reckoning—the path opens to upasampadā, or full ordination as a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī. This step requires a qualified preceptor and a quorum of fully ordained monastics gathered within a properly established boundary (sīmā). The candidate is carefully examined, both privately and before the assembled Saṅgha, regarding age, freedom from debt and legal entanglements, physical and mental fitness, and the absence of disqualifying offenses or prior failed ordinations. Such questioning is not merely bureaucratic; it is intended to safeguard both the individual and the community, ensuring that the commitment to the training is realistic and sustainable.

The heart of the higher ordination is a formal legal act of the Saṅgha, known as kammavācā. A designated monastic announces the candidate’s name, preceptor, and request for ordination, and declares that the candidate has been examined and found qualified. A motion is made and then proclaimed three times, inviting any objections from those present; if no valid objections are raised, the silence of the assembly signifies consent. At that moment, the candidate is counted as a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī and becomes fully subject to the detailed code of the Pātimokkha, with its hundreds of training rules. Afterward, the newly ordained monastic remains under the guidance of senior teachers for years, continuing to refine conduct, meditation, and understanding, so that the outer form of ordination gradually ripens into inner transformation.