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Meaning and importance of vassa,the great tradition of Buddhism

- Bhikshu Sangharakshit Thero“Pariyatti Saddhamma Kovid”

This is the rainmonsoon season.Therefore, all Buddhistmonks stay vassa.‘Vassa’, the wordinterrelated withBuddha’s followers.Vassa means rain. Itwas the Pali language;we can say it asBuddha–language.

Specially, in rainyperiod, monks stayed inone place or one Biharwith promise devoid ofgoing in all directions for the sake of people’s wellbeing. Vassa begins on thefirst day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month (usually in July or thefull moon day of Aashadh) and ends on the full moon of the eleventh month(usually October or full moon day of Aashwin). Its conclusion is two of themajor festivals of the year among Theravada Buddhists, particularly inMyanmar, Kampuchea, Thailand, and Laos.

The tradition of vassa was conventional by Lord Buddha himself. Thistradition was strictly followed in Buddhist countries like Thailand, Myanmar. Inaddition, it was followed in Buddhist country Shrilanka, Buddha’s birthplaceNepal and all Buddha’s disciples Bhikshu-Sangha (harmony of monks)continually until now.

Commonly, the number of years a monk has spent in monastic life isexpressed by counting the number of vassas, he has observed.

To hang about vassa-rule was made by Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha notonly made it for others but stayed himself too. Additionally, this tradition wasinspired from Jain religion, said by the venerable Bhikshu AswaghoshMahathera “Aggamahasaddhamma Jotikadhaja”. He further said, the rule ofvassafor Buddhist monks was not the real Buddhist culture, but entry fromJainism.

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At the period ofLord Buddha, thefollowers of Jainismstayed one place inthree-month rainyseason withoutd i s a p p e a r i n ganywhere. The maintheory of Jainism,“Ahinsha ParamoDhamma” (Palilanguage) or strictlynot killing anyone isthe foremost greatdhamma. During rainyperiod, the entire roadwill full of dirty, grubbyand muddy. So that,there will be numerous small living thing out of the earth. It may cause forkilling them if they walked on such kind of the way. This is the main cause thatthey never went out of their place in rainy period.

Lord Buddha sermon the first, called Dharmacakra–Prawartana, inWrishipatan Mrigadawan Sharanath, in India to five Brahman deciple,Panchavadrawargiy. After that, when there were 60 monks who were all enlightenedfrom all kind of grief and sorrowfulness. After that, Buddha ordered those monks as“CHARATHA VIKKHAWE CHARIKAN BAHUJAN HITAY BAHUJAN SHUKHAY”or, oh monks, all you go for sermon the dhamma for in high spirits and merit of morepeoples. Do not go in same way more than one, etc.

The main order of Buddha, all monks went to say dhamma. They dintstay in same place any long moment in time. For that misson, they started tovisit so many villages, cities and countries. They were asleep where the hoursof darkness will come. They dint think as a problem even that place washome, Bihar, forest or under a tree. They visited merely for people’s benifit.

At that rainy period, all most all people will be busy to their ownagricultural. This is the foremost time for cultived farm for farmer. Approximatingthis period too, monks were busy to visit various places and villages. This iswhy; so many monks may be sick and unwell because of rainwater. Additionally,it was so complicated to visit by village way. Some time and somewhere,there will lack of way, too. At that time, monks went from refined farm. Therefore,that agricultural spot will destroy effortlessly.

It was harmful of monks visiting for farmers, oneside. In otherside, itwas so difficult to journey for monks. Moreover, all most all people were busyin their farming works. That is why, they cannot come to pay attention the

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monk’s sermon anddid not offer food orVojan for monks.There were so manytroubles like that whichmade monks andBuddha-dhamma, notfree from people’snegative thinking.

To know allcause of these,Buddha made rule tostay vassathree monthin one place withoutvisiting villages anddifferent places. Tomake rule about this vassa, Buddha noticed so many positive results by hisfantastic wisdom. Those monks, who were visiting the entire time in differentsplaces, followed the rule of vassa, and then they can gain like this:

1. The junior monks got chances to gain knowledge of so many newthings and suspicious subject by senior monks, teachers and so on.

2. Monks can communicate about dhamma eachother. This is because,and then can gain higher knowledge.

3. The can practice Buddhas teaching in their individual daily life inthese three rainy vassamonth.

4. They can meditate to be liberating from grief, regret, sorrowfulnessand for perfect Enlightenment.

5. Those monks, who were not enlightenment, they got opportunity tocarry out Buddhism and got supreme dhamma as SHROTAPATTI,SAKRIDAGAMI, ANAGAMI, and ARHAT.

6. To stay three months in same place in rainy season, they may knoweachother very well. As result, they can enlarge well their Maitrior friendshipeachother.

7. To close with community of Bhikshu–Sangha (monks union), theycan raise so many importance things, knowledge about Buddhism.

8. Monks may be completely uncontroller by means of freely visiting alltime in different places. But, this possible predicament, off course, was blockedby the rule of vassa

So that, from the Lord Buddhas period (6th century B.C.) to 21th century,the tradition of vassacoutinued until now. In the Buddhism, Buddhist monkswere pending continued, that civilization was vassa. About this busy period,transform of times as well, vassawas the one of the great tradition of Buddhism,off course.

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In the time ofvassa, monks promiceto stay one place withinthree months.However, there was nobound to stay vassa. Itmeans, any monks canlive anywhere tocomfort for individualspiritual practice andbe taught, be trained,no matter even thatplace may in Bihar,house, forest and invillage or city. For thatvassa, monk can stayonly one or with group,too, no problem.

Vassa concludes with the pavarana ceremony, in which every monk,irrespective of rank or seniority, agrees willingly to receive instruction fromany other monk in the monastery if he acts improperly. The lively kathina(“cloth”) ceremony, in which groups of laymen present gifts to the monks,takes place during the first month following the conclusion of vassa.

Buddha always said that rule and regulation is made for men, not menfor rule and regulation. So that, Buddha made the rule of vassabut he hadchanged it for the wellbeing of monks. At last, by means of the situation,Buddha made rule of vassathat if the monk had important occupation and hehad to go far away, then he can stay six day at that place, out of vassa–place.If he came to sleep in seventh of day in vassa-place, it was not against ofvassa-rule.

The end of vassa is marked by joyous celebration. The following monthis a major occasion for presenting gifts to monks and acquiring the consequentmerit, called kathina. The kathina, or robe-offering ceremony, is a public affairduring this period and typically involves a collective effort by a village, a groupof villages, or a company to donate gifts on an entire monastery.

In Thailand, where all Buddhist males normally spend some time in amonastery, vassa is a favoured period for temporarily experiencing the life ofa monk and then to return to lay life. Also, in that same country, they dintprovide visa for foreigner monks to entry or for lacal monks to go out of countrybecause of respected monks rule of vassa.

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