Lao Buddhist monks, who live according to strict rules in poverty and humility, is the image of the Buddha and the embodiment of the laws he formulated. The monks strive to leave all links with the worldly life behind them in order to attain liberation and salvation. They have given up their family and their work and are entirely dependent on alms
(or takbat ) lay people which they collect at dawn during their daily round for alms.

The precepts of the order family restrict the monks' personal belonging to eight items. These include their robes, which consist of three pieces of plain material: the undergarment, antaravasaka; the outer garment, uttarasanga, which is wrapped around the body like a toga and covers one or both of the shoulders, and the samghati which is usually just folded and worn over the left shoulder. The robes are orange, saffron or brown, and the material is sewn together in an elaborate, traditionally prescribed way. The lay people give these robes to the monks during their ordination or at the annual kathin festival, a deed which earns them special merit.

Banphasa: the ordination of a novice
Between the age of twelve and twenty, male adolescents enter one of the monasteries for a limited time. The monks' strict precepts apply only partially to the novices; nevertheless, they too are governed by stringent restrictions. They are not allowed to kill even the smallest living creature, to steal, to have sexual relationships, to lie. Eating and drinking are restricted; they are not allowed to dance, to listen to music, to adorn and lives in the monastery enjoys special recognition. His parents also treat him with respect and the same restraint that is expected from everyone who visits the monks.

The ordination in the monastery is preceded by a su-khuan rite in the novice's home. During this ritual the novice ceremoniously transfers to his mother the merit he is earning by entering the monastery. But the other members of this family also gain religious merit from the young man's deed as it is believed that it will generally improve the conditions of life and, in particular, it will have a positive influence on future life. The transfer of merit to others is of special significance in Lao Buddhism; its distribution is concrete, almost mathematical: half of the merit earned by a novice on entering a monastery benefits him personally, a quarter benefits his mother and the remaining quarter is shared by the father, the people who have donated offerings and the other family members.