Unlike other religions in which priests, nuns, rabbis, imams etc make a lifelong commitment to their religious vocation, being a Buddhist monk or nun can be a much more transient experience. Socially, every Lao Bud­dhist male is expected to become a khuu-baa (monk) for at least a short period in his life, optimally between the time he finishes school and starts a career or marries. Men or boys under 20 years of age may enter the Sangha (monastic order) as nehn (novices) and this is not unusual since a family earns merit when one of its sons takes robe and bowl. Traditionally the length of time spent in the wat is three months, during the phansaa (Buddhist lent), which coincides with the rainy season; However, nowadays men may spend as little as a week or 15 days to accrue merit as monks or novices. There are, of course, some monks who do devote all or most of their lives to the wat.

There is no similar hermetic order for nuns, but women may reside in temples as naang sir (]ay nuns), with shaved heads and white robes.