I am a lay practitioner located in the U.S. who is seriously considering trying to pursue ordination in the next couple years. There are many different considerations in my heart around this, and I have a few questions I was hoping to pose to the community here:
Is it possible for someone to ordain as a Bhikkhu with a Bhikkhuni preceptor and in a Bhikkhuni community? I know there are some communities with both Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni residents (Empty Cloud, Bhavana Society), but I feel like I have primarily heard of Bhikkhunis going forth under the guidance of a Bhikkhu, and not necessarily any situations that were the other way around. Asking primarily from a Vinaya perspective, knowing that this is something individual communities may not allow even if it is permitted in the monastic rules
From my understanding there are some varying views on those living with HIV / AIDS going forth, and that different communities approach these situations differently. This is a pretty niche question, but does anyone know of any communities where there is or might be some openness to ordaining someone living with this condition? I have reached out to a handful of places (Abhayagiri, Amaravati, Cittaviveka, Empty Cloud, Bhavana Society, Jetavana) and received a variety of responses
Thank you for considering these inquiries and sharing the path! It is a gift to have this forum to connect with others along the path
The Vinaya has an allowance for Bhikkhus to ordain Bhikkhunīs but not vis-versa.
Who your preceptor is doesn’t need to matter overly much as long as they give you permission to go train with a community you do feel inspired by.
The Vinaya does not mention AIDS specifically (for obvious reasons!) but it does mention similar diseases. So, it’s up to each preceptor to decide how to apply the Great Standards in this case and the aspirant (and other monastics!) should accept their judgement (either way!).
If you are non-binary then you kind of have to ‘pick a team’ for the purposes of ordination. (I say this with a great deal of cringe and metta). As Ven Khemarato said, this doesn’t prohibit you from living elsewhere after ordination, as long as your preceptor deems it suitable. There is a small community of people interested in trans* ordination opportunities - you can DM me if this is useful for you.
My recommendation would be to travel around and stay with different communities and see which community/ies fits you best and then start talking with them from there.
The only reason I would see HIV being a problem is if the medication you need is prohibitively expensive. The US medical system confuses me, so maybe it’s not a thing.
Im a bisexual boy aged 20 years and i would like to get ordained. I live in sri lanka and i asked from native monasteries and got really bad comments. Please please please help me to get ordained. Thank you so much
Welcome to the D&D forum! We hope you enjoy the various resources, FAQs, and previous threads. You can use the search function for topics and keywords you are interested in. Forum guidelines are here: Forum Guidelines. May some of these resources be of assistance along the path.
If you have any questions or need further clarification regarding anything, feel free to contact the moderators by including @moderators in your post or a PM.
I don’t know what options are available in Sri Lanka. Being bisexual or gay isn’t against the Vinaya. There are many bisexual and gay monks around. There are definitely monasteries in Thailand and the West where you can ordain. I would imagine that there are wise and kind monks somewhere in Sri Lanka who have a different understanding of the Vinaya. Wishing you all the best with your aspiration to ordain.
There are countries that offer free treatments for HIV (and other chronic diseases). They may be an option for those who need these medications in a daily basis.
(I say this with a great deal of cringe and metta). As Ven Khemarato said, this doesn’t prohibit you from living elsewhere after ordination, as long as your preceptor deems it suitable. There is a small community of people interested in trans* ordination opportunities - you can DM me if this is useful for you.