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Public Festivals

Public Festivals are usually celebrated at a monastery, some are observed each year, whilst others are observed more often. Three Principal Festivals Within the Theravāda tradition, there are three major festivals. Each is celebrated once a year on a day that depends on the moon.

a. Māgha Pūjā, held on the full moon day of February, to commemorate the time when 1250 arahants simultaneously arrived to see the Buddha. At this gathering, the Buddha conferred the title of ‘Chief Disciples’ on Venerables Sāriputta and Moggallāna. The day therefore commemorates Sangha, an act of harmony, a gathering together; it was also the day that the Buddha outlined the Ovāda Pātimokkha, the basis for the training rules.

b. Wesak (Vesākha Pūjā), held on the full moon day of May, to commemorate the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and Parinibbāna.

c. Asā.lha Pūjā, held on the full moon day in July, to commemorate the day when the Buddha gave his first sermon, the Dhammacakkappavattana sutta.

The sermon established the Four Noble Truths (The Turning of the Wheel of the Law). He gave this teaching to the five ascetics who had deserted him when he chose the Middle Way as the Path to Enlightenment, rather than continuing with the unfruitful practices of extreme asceticism.

On the day after Asā.lha Pūjā, the Rains Retreat (Vassa) begins. Pavāraṇā day is at the end of the Rains Retreat, on the full moon day in October.

The Vassa and Pavāraṇā Day are of greater importance to the Sangha than to the laity.

Kaṭhina Festival

The Kaṭhina is a ceremony which takes place after the Vassa, and centres upon the offering of cloth and other requisites to the Sangha by lay supporters. It has to be a particular kind of cloth, and the ceremony can only take place if there are five or more bhikkhus present who have spent the preceding Rains retreat together. Around the core of this ceremony a festival has evolved in which offerings of all kinds of requisites are made, Dhamma talks are given and people get a chance to meet and converse informally. The people of Thailand are especially keen on alms-giving, and as one Ka.thina ceremony each year seems to be insufficient for their generosity, they not infrequently organise impromtu Tort Pah Bah’s (which means ‘offering forest cloth’).

The story goes that the Buddha allowed the monks to search for cloth with which they might make themselves a replacement robe or repair an old one. These rags (designated Paṃsukūla ‘refuse rags’) might even be taken from corpses or anywhere where they were seen to be lying about.

Gradually the custom evolved in which lay people, knowing the sama.nas’ needs, would purposely hang material in a tree so that the sama.nas would ‘find it.’ The custom then advanced so that not just pieces of rag or cloth were left for the monks, but whole made-up robes would be left as well!

Then people saw the opportunity to offer a meal and requisites as well to the monks and in this way the Tort Pah Bah has evolved.

Uposatha Observances

Uposatha is an ancient term implying something like ‘sabbath.’ The Uposatha days fall approximately on the full and new moons of each month, and are days when the Sangha recite their own training rules, and often have a meditation vigil.

On moon days (indicated on all Buddhist Calendars), the practice of joining other practitioners at the monastery, to take the Three Refuges and Five or Eight Precepts and meditate with members of the Sangha, can be both an inspiration to oneself, and supportive and encouraging to others. Even if one is unable to get out of the house, it is still uplifting to conduct one’s own pūjā, and to take the Refuges and Precepts before starting meditation.

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Редакция перевода от 26.04.2024 00:45