Vassa

This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

Part of a series on
Buddhism
show History Timeline Gautama Buddha Pre-sectarian Buddhism Councils Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Decline in the Indian subcontinent Later Buddhists Buddhist modernism
show Dharma Concepts Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path Dharma wheel Five Aggregates Impermanence Suffering Not-self Dependent Origination Middle Way Emptiness Morality Karma Rebirth Saṃsāra Cosmology
show Buddhist texts Buddhavacana Early Buddhist Texts Tripiṭaka Mahayana Sutras Pāli Canon Tibetan canon Chinese canon
show Practices Three Jewels Buddhist Paths to liberation Five precepts Perfections Meditation Philosophical reasoning Devotional practices Merit making Recollections Mindfulness Wisdom Sublime abidings Aids to Enlightenment Monasticism Lay life Buddhist chant Pilgrimage Vegetarianism
show Nirvāṇa Awakening Four Stages Arhat Pratyekabuddha Bodhisattva Buddha
show Traditions Theravāda Pāli Mahāyāna Hinayana Chinese Vajrayāna Tibetan Navayana Newar
show Buddhism by country Bhutan Cambodia China India Japan Korea Laos Mongolia Myanmar Russia Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Tibet Vietnam
Outline  Religion portal
v t

Monk at Vassa

The Vassa (Pali: vassa-, Sanskrit: varṣa-, both "rain") is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July (the Burmese month of Waso, ဝါဆို) to October (the Burmese month of Thadingyut သီတင်းကျွတ်).^[1]

In English, Vassa is often glossed as Rains Retreat^[2] or Buddhist Lent,^[3] the latter by analogy to the Christian Lent (which Vassa predates by at least five centuries).

For the duration of Vassa, monastics remain in one place, typically a monastery or temple grounds.^[4][5] In some monasteries, monks dedicate the Vassa to intensive meditation.^[4] Some Buddhist lay people choose to observe Vassa by adopting more ascetic practices, such as giving up meat, alcohol, or smoking.^[1] In Thailand, the sale of alcohol is prohibited on the first and last days of Vassa, known as "Khao Phansa" and "Wan Ok Phansa".^[6] While Vassa is sometimes casually called "Buddhist Lent", others object to this terminology.^[4] Commonly, the number of years a monk has spent in monastic life is expressed by counting the number of vassas (or rains) since ordination.

Mahayana Buddhists also observe Vassa. Vietnamese Thiền and Korean Seon monastics observe an equivalent retreat of three months of intensive practice in one location, a practice also observed in Tibetan Buddhism.^{[citation needed]}

Vassa begins on the first day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month, which is the day after Asalha Puja or Asalha Uposatha ("Dhamma day"). It ends on Pavarana, when all monastics come before the sangha and atone for any offense that might have been committed during Vassa.

Vassa is followed by Kathina, a festival in which the laity expresses gratitude to monks.^[7][8] Lay Buddhists bring donations to temples, especially new robes for the monks.^[7][8][9]

The Vassa tradition predates the time of Gautama Buddha.^[1] It was a long-standing custom for mendicant ascetics in India not to travel during the rainy season as they may unintentionally harm crops, insects or even themselves during their travels.^{[4][non-primary source needed]} Many Buddhist ascetics live in regions which lack a rainy season.^[8] Consequently, there are places where Vassa may not be typically observed.^[8]

See also[]

• Monsoon of South Asia
• Wan Ok Phansa
• Thadingyut Festival
• Uposatha
• Shraavana, a similar month in Hinduism
• Thai Lunar Calendar
• Ango

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vassa.