It Is Up To You

Many people ask me for help to send them to Thailand to become a monk. I ask them why they don’t become a monk in the UK, as there are many Western temples in the UK, it might be easier for them. They usually reply, "We like the original way, as Thailand seems rich in good monks and meditation teachers. Thai monks also preserve the Theravadan, or elder tradition." "Yes, it is reasonable", I say. This reminds me of the 1960s when many Westerners went to Thailand, searching for a good teacher. I call that time the ‘teacher hunting’ period. It was a glorious period. I say this because thanks to that time the teachers they found are now well known monks, or meditation teachers.

At that time, there were three senior monks well known to Westerners. They were: Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Buddhadasa and Ajahn Payutto. Ajahn Chah was a meditation master; Ajahn Buddhadasa was a Scholar and meditation master and Ajahn Payutto was a Scholar monk who is still alive now. People mainly followed Ajahn Chah, as he was a meditation master and his way of teaching was simple and easy for them to understand. But sometimes he gave hard lessons to his followers. He did this just to train them to control their desire. For example, when his lay followers wanted to become a Buddhist monk, they approached him and he asked them, "Do you want to become monks now?" They answered with strong desire, "Yes sir, we definitely do." He said coldly, "Well! Then you have to wait for a while." They thought, "What? Why do we have to wait? Aren’t we really ready to take full ordination?" Some followers, like Ajahn Jayasaro, knew about this. When Ajahn Chah asked him about ordination, he said, "It is up to you, sir!" Then he was granted ordination.

"It is up to you, sir!," is one way of showing respect in the Theravadan tradition. It is short and precise and conveys trust, respect and gratitude. In fact, a teacher knows those of his students who are ready to be ordained. But if there is strong desire for ordination he will not let it go ahead. Having done something without strong desire is good as we cannot be distracted easily, especially to the wrong path.

"It is up to you!" can be said to test students who want a decision when they ask for advice. It can convey trust, responsibility and confidence to them to think, or decide what to do by themselves. Many times when I am asked to make a decision for other people, I answer, "It is up to you!" I will leave students to think about and decide what to do by themselves. "It is up to you!" is not only short and precise, but in another sense also carries other positive connotations which are useful in our daily life. Now I shall leave you to think about it, "It is up to you, sir!"