SHELBURNE, Vt. (AP) – The Vermont Zen Center ordained its first priest Sunday in the first Buddhist ordination in the state.

Holly Callery, a 64-year-old Charlotte resident, will be one of two priests at the center. Sensei Sunyana Graef was ordained in New York before moving to Vermont.

Becoming a Buddhist priest means Callery is dedicating her life to the teachings of the Buddha and the future of the center. It does not mean she is a teacher or authority. Becoming a teacher, or sensei, is another step that not all priests take.

“One grows into the role of priest,” Graef said. “It’s not something one just becomes. You grow into your robes.”

As a priest, Callery will no longer wear makeup or jewelry, will wear solid black or blue clothing and will keep her hair short. During the ceremony, she’ll have her head shaved, and she’ll change her name.

These steps represent simplification, the removing of wants and needs, Graef said.

The ordination is important for the Shelburne center, which opened 16 years ago and this year completed renovations that tripled its size.