“People should think about what their lives will be like if they don’t do meditation. They should consider what their lives will be like after 10, 20, 30 years if they decide to just follow the way of the world. What will their hearts be like then—what will they have of value in their hearts to bring true happiness into their daily lives and the lives of those around them. And what will they have developed in their hearts to carry on to the next life, because the next life is only as good as we make it in this life."
Bhikkhu Ordination in 1956
This is the original black-and-white video of Ajaan Paññāvaḍḍho’s first bhikkhu ordination in 1956. The ordination ceremony began on the afternoon of January 27, 1956 with a long procession that escorted the monks and novices three times around the Uposatha Hall before entering that sanctified building. The procession was led in traditional Thai fashion by a serpentine figure, the mythical nāga, in the form of a man draped by an enormous and colorful dragon’s head which spewed real flames from its gaping mouth as it bobbed and weaved through the crowd of onlookers.