have families. They consider that spending some time as a monk or nun has made them better, more mature human beings. However, full ordination is generally taken with the idea of a life time commitment. In our tradition, when a person decides they want to take the vows of a fully ordained Bhikshu or Bhikshuni we assume they are making a lifetime commitment to the spiritual path. Of course, if later they decide for whatever reason, that they have made the wrong decision, they can always hand back their vows. "What is the practical difference between novice ordination and full ordination?" The novice is not independent. The novice is said to live "in dependence" on the Bhikshus (male) or Bhikshunis (female), meaning that they take guidance from the latter. They are so to speak, monks or nuns who are in training, learning what it means to live the life. They are supposed to be studying the path, learning the Vinaya and the teachings of the Buddha, and acquiring an historical sense of the tradition. When they are really familiar with what it means to be a Buddhist monk or nun, then they can take full ordination -- if they feel a lifetime commitment to the spiritual life. After that they are responsible to no one but themselves. They are expected to be sufficiently mature to follow the path under their own direction, in accord with the rules of monastic conduct that the Buddha established in the Vinaya . "Can I