sāmaṇera

In Buddhism, a sāmaṇera (Pali) or śrāmaṇera (Sanskrit) is a novice who has undergone the pabbajjā ordination. This rite marks a layman's transition to a novice status and is a preliminary step toward becoming a fully ordained monk (bhikkhu). The ceremony typically involves shaving the head and face, receiving monastic robes, and taking the Threefold Refuge in the Buddha, the teaching, and the order, along with the ten precepts.1

Novices live in monasteries for a period, participating in daily alms rounds but not in the recitation of monastic disciplinary rules. While some traditions require a probationary study period before becoming a novice, others, like in Theravāda countries, commonly ordain boys at puberty. A candidate for higher ordination to upasampadā, which makes a novice a full monk, must be at least 20 years old and meet other criteria such as parental permission and freedom from debt or contagious disease.123