Master Jing'an spoke first in the following silence, "This should not interrupt the ceremony. Let us continue indoors." The rest of the monks chorused, "Very well."
They walked back as a group towards the prayer halls, still shaken. But these were not ordinary people. They were monks trained in meditation and martial arts from a very young age. Their ability to stay calm in such events was as good as a veteran soldier's.
Soon everybody was gathered inside, and the slight bit of nerves they carried were dispelled with the chanting of sutras and the rhythm of the drums.
Ren sat on a raised platform, as Master Jing'an and two other elder monks circled around him holding wet straight razors, ready to shave his hair. All three of them grabbed a tuft of hair each, and simultaneously, with practiced smoothness, shaved the tufts from the root. Master Jing'an said, "Hereby we remove the Three Poisons on the path of monkshood - Greed, Hatred and Delusion. May these never let you stray from your path."
The entire monastery intoned, "Amitabha…"
Then the three seniors proceeded to shave his head, tuft by tuft. Master Jing'an said, "Each strand of hair represents a shackle, binding you to the materialistic world of sins and foolishness. May you break free, and rise to the spiritual realm of enlightenment."
"Amitabha…"
"May you seek the light of knowledge, and with the mirror of benevolence, let it shine around the world."
"Amitabha…"
As the shaving ceremony finished, the monks waited in silence as Ren washed his head, which was now clear, pale, rough skin, uncovered by his previous silky locks.
Then he went down to his knees in front of Master Jing'an, as he waited for the next part of the ceremony.
The naming.
"Child" Master Jing'an said, "You are Ren Alaric and you shall always be Ren Alaric, but that is your material identity. Today, you become a monk, and hence, I shall bestow you with a spiritual identity. After you accept your Dharma Title, you will officially be a monk. Some, like me entirely shed their previous names, and others keep both names as their own. What you do is ultimately your choice. Do you understand, Ren?"
Ren simply nodded, waiting in silence. He had spoken very less today, different from his usual dry humor and insightful words. But that was due to a strange instinct of his. It told him that today was an important day, and that a very large change was about to occur in his life today. So, he simply waited. Calmly waited for that change to happen.
And he was not wrong.
In a deep, powerful tone, Master Jing'an spoke, "In the Monastery Of The Quiet Palm, we are all a family, and hence our Dharma Titles all start with Jing, meaning calm or stillness. And in your eyes, child, I see a depth of wisdom I have not seen in anyone in my life. So, your Dharma Title shall be… Still Depths, Jingyuan!"
All monks in the hall, numbering in thirty to forty, stood up swiftly, and cupped their hands in the traditional Chinese salute, saying, "Amitabha. We greet Young Monk Jingyuan."
Ren stood up, cupped his hands towards the monks, and calmly replied, "Amitabha. Jingyuan greet his family."
In that moment, Ren Alaric, the noodle-killed enlightened being, officially became… a monk.
And… something extreme mind-blowing happened.
A voice rang in his mind, giving him the greatest shock of his two lives.
[Ding!]