Question: I have thought about this since a long time, and now I am ready for renunciation, accept teachings and practise Buddhism in a monastery. I told my parents about these future plans. They said they were disappointed in me & that I was running away from my responsibilities & will ruin their and my life if I follow this path.

Since they've made me the person I am today, I feel the need to ask for permission before I leave. They won't allow me.

What would be the best way to solve this, maybe a middle path?

Answer: 
The rule of requiring your parents' permission for ordination, even if you are an adult, comes from [this incident](http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/24lbud.htm):

> 
> When King Suddhodana heard that his beloved grandson had become a monk
>  he was deeply grieved. The king said, "When you left home it made me
>  sad. When Nanda left home my heart ached. I concentrated my love on my
>  grandson and again the one I love has left me. Please do not ordain
>  anyone without their parent's permission." To this the Buddha agreed
>  and never ordained anybody after that without their parents'
>  permission.
> 
> 
> 

In any case, most monasteries would not allow you to ordain right away as a monk. See [here](https://bswa.org/our-locations/ordaining-as-a-monk/) for the ordination process of the Bodhinyana Monastery near Perth, Australia.

You have to first undertake the [eight precepts](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/atthasila.html) as an [anagarika](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anagarika) (a sort of a pre-monk) for some period of time (maybe a year), before undertaking the [ten precepts](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/dasasila.html), to become a novice monk ([samanera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samanera)). Then some time later (maybe another year), you may be allowed to ordain as a full monk ([bhikkhu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu)). The novice monk and full monk both wear similar robes, while the anagarika usually wears white clothes.

You don't need your parents' permission to become an anagarika and serve in a monastery. You can spend this time to experience a taste of the monastic life, to see if renunciation is what you really want to do, before making a final decision. Maybe you might not like it after experiencing it.

At some point, you would still have to get your parents' permission to ordain. For this, you need to convince them. In any case, you can remain an anagarika for an extended period of time.

I don't think you need your parents' permission to become a novice monk either. But they would probably be unhappy to see you in a novice monk's robes which is almost the same as a full monk's robes.

For more info, read [here](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyesako/layguide.html#novice), [here](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyesako/layguide.html#bhikkhu) and [here](https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/ordination1.htm).

Another point is, have you decided which tradition to join? Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Zen etc.? Perhaps, there's more things to consider.
I suppose it's better for everyone if you persuade them.

There was a sutta, [MN 82](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.082.than.html) in which Ratthapala was denied permission by his parent[s] -- and so he stopped eating, until they changed their mind and consented.

Perhaps that remains a viable (not suicidal) argument, e.g. the article [When My Son Became a Monk](https://tricycle.org/magazine/monastics-parents/) includes,

> 
> I know monks who have refused to eat until their parents agreed to let them ordain
> 
> 
> 

One thing I noted from reading MN 82 was that his action (or demonstration) was a counter-argument to their specific objection (i.e. they told him he was "raised in comfort", implying he was unsuited for the rigours of monastic life); I imagine there are other objections a parent might have, I don't know whether this is the best or only counter-argument for every situation.