dharma (Sanskrit), dhamma (Pali) - teachings of the Buddha (See Wikipedia)
venues - places where an event takes place
sell like hot cakes - sell a lot (hot cakes = pancakes)
virtues of - the good points of
reserved for - kept specially for
devout - with deep religious beliefs
ordination (noun) - ceremony for becoming a monk
ordained (verb) - participated in ordination
purely by chance - was an accident, not planned
queued up - standing in a line
Pali - the ancient Indian language used to write Buddhist books (See Wikipedia on Pali Canon)
secular - not religious
objectivity -
determined - sticked to plan, didn't give up
stay on - not leave, remain at the place