Thailand's football boys prepare to rule as Buddhist novices

MAE SAI, Thailand – Young soccer teammates and coaches rescued after being trapped in a cave in northern Thailand attended a Buddhist ceremony on Tuesday to prepare to become novices and Buddhist monks. Eleven of the boys and their coach prayed ancient relics and offered drinks and desserts placed in gilded bowls to the spirits during a ceremony in a Buddhist temple.

Boys, aged 11 to 16, will become Buddhists Novices at a ceremony on Wednesday, while the 25-year-old coach will be ordained as a monk, said Parson Pratsakul, the governor of the Chiang Rai Province. The 12th member of the team who was trapped in the cave will not participate because he is not Buddhist.

Wednesday's ordination ceremony will be held in another temple on a Chiang Rai summit before the group returns for more than a week. at Wat Pha That Doi Wao temple near the northern border of Thailand with Myanmar. This temple is close to the houses of the group, which facilitates the visit of friends and relatives.

"This temple will be where they will reside after ordination and I hope that they will find the peace, strength, and wisdom of Buddha practice," said the abbot by Acting Temple, Phra Khru Prayutjetiyanukarn

Buddhist males in predominantly Buddhist Thailand are traditionally called to order and enter the monastery, often as novices, at some point in their lives to show their gratitude, often to their parents to raise them.It is believed that once a person is ordained, she earns merit which is also extended to the parents.

"The ordinations are supposed to give us peace of mind ", Said Sangiemjit Wongsukchan, mother of 14-year-old Ekarat Wongsukchan, one of the boys was trapped in the cave." We can only do this for nine days, because then he will have to return study and prepare for exams. "Back to his life no "

Praphun Khomjoi, head of the Chiang Rai Buddhist Bureau, said Sunday that the 12th being ordained will also dedicate his generative act of entering the monkhood to a volunteer diver and former sailor SEAL, Samarn Gunan, who died while diving during a mission to provide the cave with essential oxygen tanks to help the boys escape. [19659003Les12garçonsetleurentraîneurontétélibérésd'unhôpitalmercredidernierplusd'unesemaineaprèsavoirétésauvésdelagrotteinondéeIlsontétéprisaupiègele23juinetontfinalementétéretrouvéspardeuxplongeursbritanniquesle2juilletIlsontétésortisdelagrottedansunemissiondesauvetageaudacieusequis'estterminéele10juillet

The governor of Chiang Rai Parchon said Sunday that the mental and physical condition s & # 39; improved steadily with only minor health complications. He said that a boy, who had initially reported that he had rashes, did not seem to have any again, and that another boy was being treated for a dental cavity.

Dozens of people joined the temple ceremonies Tuesday morning to show their support. The group, whose rescue has captivated Thais and people around the world.

"I was so happy to see them alive and I thought that it would be good to attend the ceremony to show them our support," said a local Buddhist nun .