| July 16, 2011 | to | October 16, 2011 |
Why do Buddhist Monk enter a three months rainy retreat?
Rainy retreat is one of the Theravada Buddhist tradition that all Theravada monks should follow. According to Vinaya pitaka, one of the three baskets of Buddha’s teachings, during the Buddha time, almost every monk live in forests, so they wander around from one place to other places at a rainy season. During the period of that time, farmers plant their crops, and monks step on their crops, so farmers get angry with monks. They complained why Buddhist monks walk from one place to anther place during a rainy season. Even birds have their nest, and they stay in their nest; these Buddhist monks must also stay at particular places during a rainy season.
When this story reach to Buddha, he regulated that every monks must stay in a rainy retreat for three months. If any monks don’t respect this rule, he commits Tuggadak offence (slight offence).
Rainy retreat will be started from July 16th up to 16th October this year, changes because our Western calendar is based on the solar calendar, while rainy retreat is based on the lunar calendar. During the three months rainy retreat, all Buddhist monks must stay at a temple and not allow to spend a night outside of the temple compound. The monk who spends a night outside of a temple without a permission or reason, breaks a rule of rainy retreat. As a consequence, he will not allow to accept Kathana benefit.
However, Buddha allow monks to spend at least seven days out of a temple compound, if monks have emergency cases: parent get sick, religious conference so forward.
Thus, Theravada Buddhist monks preserve this tradition up to now.
The rainy retreat is also a time for Buddhist monks to concentrate on purification their mind. As they don’t have much impediments, they can sit and meditate in a silent place in rainy retreat. But we’ll save this story for another day.
By ven. Rithy!
