Motivation to seek ordination and join the Sangha

What is your motivation if you are indeed seeking to ordain as a monk or a nun?  

I would hope it would be for the best reasons; however, I have read so many autobiographies since the 1990s of so-called modern seekers most who failed to remain robed that I should address motivation first.

If you become a monk or a nun in the Buddhist tradition called the Sangha then your motivation should be seeking Enlightenment for yourself while being a monk or a nun in Buddhist robes.  

However, people become monks or nuns for much different reasons.  Some reasons are for the fad of it, professional aspirations, supporting politics, supporting the underdog, to stand out from society, attain fame, get money, emotional satisfaction, making history, legitimizing views, infiltrate and conquer, escape, to help others, gay rights, women's rights, feminism, and many others.

Popular causes highlighted in Buddhism tend to attract people's attention.  Countries that have troubled histories in Buddhism tend to polarize people's views regarding Sangha behavior and authority. History is often ignored in light of headlines.

Those seeking ordination need to really take the time they need to explore their motivation.  If you are politically or fashionably orientated then you are facing more obstacles if you indeed achieve the goal of becoming ordained in robes.

Seek out stable long standing communities of Sangha to observe, be observed and understand how they work, practice and live.  If you go into the robes without knowing the language, culture, history or even the basics of how you are expected to live and survive in robes then you are indeed in for a really rude awakening and may become frustrated and negative in your own life.

Mental health in those seeking ordination, you must be conservative here. People do your work on yourself.  Make use of therapy and therapists before you try to join a monastic community.  Have plan of safety if you suffer form chronic mental illness. If you are good at putting it in place, taking care of your needs diligently then you should have no problems in your monastic life.

Yep, I'm a Buddhist nun!

Amituofo!
Hope you all are doing well. I'm a Buddhist 佛教 nun, a bhikshuni 比丘尼, a dharma master 法師 from the Chinese Buddhist Mahayana tradition.  I left home a little over 10 years ago. I'm from Iowa, trained in a little temple in Chinatown of Brooklyn, NY!
My tonsure temple (the place where all people start when they wish to be examined and see if they are accepted and suitible for monastic life) is a traditional Chinese pure land temple. Most of the people there are from mainland China.  I have a tonsure master (a monk or nun of qualifying years as bhikshu or bhikshuni who accepts the person for beginning training as a sramanera/sramanerika or in the west like the Catholics call a novice).
I did my training immediately in the aftermath of Sept. 11th tragedy in 2001.  I stayed training at Xi Fang Temple in Brooklyn.  Due to the disaster I was sent to assist as a translator for the people who needed a mandarin speaker ( I wasn't trained, just did what I was asked to do as I was able to understand native speakers better than the ABCs who only learned their family dialect). I enjoyed this very busy time. And was transferred to Flushing to a second temple to help out there, then went to Taiwan to ordain at Yuan Heng Temple in Gaoshiung, Taiwan. It was in the winter in NYC and very humid there but pleasant mostly.
This ordination was the Triple Platform Ordination. That means classes were taken then the sramaneri vows were taken with 5 strip robes given, then more classes were taken and a bhikshuni ordination was performed with 7 strips robe and 9 strips robe worn above the 5 strips robe along with the alms bowl and the monastic staff.  Then more classes and the bodhisattva ordination was given and the option of receiving burns in rows of 3 burns was given; i received 3 rows of 3 by my own request and all who received rows were required to kneel to the karma acarya and request it.  We were told we could make our personal vows upon the receiving of the rows of burns, which I did do.
To help us repent and purify ourselves we had bowing repentance every night until we were to go to bed. This was good for us to do, I enjoyed this very much reciting Namo Shijiamouni Fo. for a couple of hours and half. Very nice practice for meditation and mind training.


More for later, have good evening.