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9 Ordinations & the International Scene "Dhamma is forthright. It can be seen and known only by the forthright" (Phramonkolthepmuni) Luang Phaw never refused anyone who came to him with a request for ordination. He considered that ordination was not just becoming a member of the Buddhist order, but was an ordination of the mind itself. During the ordination of one Khantiko Bhikkhu¹ Luang Phaw announced in clear and resonant tones: "You have now had the faith to present to me the dyed yellow robes that are the victory flag of the arahants, as prescribed by the Blessed One, in the middle of this assembly of monks, requesting to become a bhikkhu in the Buddha Sasana, as a sign of your good intention to ordain on this occasion." Luang Phaw paused and lifted up his eyes to gaze mo- mentarily into the eyes of the ordinand:² Your first duty in this ordination is to arouse faith — that is a firm belief in the Grace of the Triple Gem — the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha— because your ordination has been granted in the tradition of the Blessed One who established Buddhism. Your first step in the study of the virtues of the Blessed One... ¹. The account of this ordination was also referred to in Bechert, H. (1966) Buddhismus, Staat und Gesellschaft in den Ländern des Theravāda, Part 3, (Hamburg: Metzner) p.542 ². from Magness ibid. p.19 119