Tradition
Vassa
Vassa (វស្សា, Vossa), the Rains Retreat, is the three-month period of the rainy season when Buddhist monks stay at their own temples for study and practice.[1] Its beginning is marked as Chol Vassa (entering Vassa) and its end as Chenh Vassa (leaving Vassa).[2]
The dates
Vassa begins on the first day of the waning moon of the month of Asath, the day after the full moon, and ends at the full moon of the month of Assoch.[3] In Gregorian terms it usually runs from July to October.[2] Pchum Ben falls toward the end of Vassa, and the robe offerings of Kathina follow the retreat.[4][2][5]
Observance
During the retreat monks remain within their temple grounds, do not go out on the morning alms round, and may not spend a night away from their pagoda; they give the time to meditation, study of the scriptures and teaching novices.[1][2] Lay people bring food, robes, candles and other daily needs to the pagoda, and give alms to the monks.[1][2]
At the start of the retreat, lay people may offer the tean vossa, a large candle meant to burn through the retreat as a sign of the light that guides people out of darkness.[2] A monk's seniority is counted in the number of rains retreats he has kept since his higher ordination.[6]
See also
References 6
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bernama, Cambodian Monks Seek Spiritual Solitude During Buddhist Lent (July 11, 2025)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Lepetitjournal.com Cambodge, Le Bouddhisme cambodgien entre dans les mois de Vossa (July 31, 2026)
- ↑ Temple News, Vassa or Rains Retreat at Wat Kiryvongsa Bopharam, the Peace Meditation Center (August 3, 2026)
- ↑ John Clifford Holt, Caring for the Dead Ritually in Cambodia, Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Kyoto University (April 2012)
- ↑ CambodgeMag, Tradition: Cambodia's annual Kathina celebration begins tomorrow (October 17, 2024)
- ↑ Nalanda Buddhist Society Malaysia, Observing the Vassa: Annual Rains Retreat (July 10, 2025)
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