Buddhist ordination One of the greatest things in the life of a Thai man is ordination which is regarded as an act of a great merit dedicated to his parents. It is a Thai custom for a young man to enter the monkhood for a certain period of time in their life, but usually before marriage Picture 47 as Thai people believe that if a man enters the monkhood after marriage his wife is certain to receive half of the merit instead of his parents who need most of the merit so at they will be born in heaven after death. To enable their parents achieve this to their goal, most Thai men therefore take this opportunity to express their gratit parents by entering into the monkhood immediately after they reach a mature age of fru not less than 20 years old A man who has not been ordained is not considered a mature adult and he seems to gain less respect from his community while a man who has already been ordained will be called "Thit" which derived from the word "Bundhit". Bundhit means a "learned man" or "scholar". hus, in the countryside, we will frequently hear the elder people c the already-ordained man beginning with -Thit'' and then to be followed by the person's name for example Thit Chom instead of Khun Chom as we generally hear in the Thai daily dialogue. The word "Khun" is a polite form of title which is used for both man and woman Though ordination can be performed at any time of the year, it usually takes place in July or August of each year which marks the beginning of the rainy season as during this period monks throughout the country are committed to stay only in their respective temples throughout a 3-month Rain Retreat or "Khao Phansa" in Thai