2023Vassa; Full moon Nov-Full moon Feb
Tree weeks left, we exit Vassa which is retreat at raining season.
As a general concept, Vassa is conducted from July to October. Countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka all enter the rainy season at this time. Of course, India will also enter Vassa during this period, but we do not know much about the current state of Buddhism in India, because we confirmed that they are Mahayana.
Let me explain why we entered Vassa at this time. The countries mentioned above are affected by the monsoon, and the year is divided into two seasons: the rainy season and the dry season. The rainy season generally begins around July. From India to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. These countries are affected by the same monsoon. The source of the monsoon is the moist winds blowing down from the Himalayas. On the other hand, on the island of Java, where we are located, the monsoon comes not from the Himalayas, but from the direction of the Australian continent. Therefore, the raining season is different.
Despite being in the rainy season, Vassa on the island of Java is so comfortable. In particular, the area we live in has a dry climate of 24 degrees Celsius in the morning, 31 degrees Celsius during the day, and a humidity of 65-75%, so we hardly sweat and there is no mold growing in our rooms, so it’s easy to live there. It is completely different from the Vassa that I experienced in Myanmar and neighboring countries.
This time, Vassa has achieved unprecedented results. This is the natural result of our dedication to meditation and unwavering faith in Dhamma which is the sermon of Buddha. In three weeks we will be done with Vassa and the need arises to move on to the next stage. During Vassa, We focused on meditation and its subtle steps. Then, when I went out to give alms and came back, I thought about it as follows.
‘yena cāhaṃ maggena gāmaṃ piṇḍāya pāvisiṃ, yasmiñca padese piṇḍāya acariṃ, yena ca maggena gāmato piṇḍāya paṭikkamiṃ, atthi nu kho me tattha sotaviññeyyesu saddesu ... pe ... ghānaviññeyyesu gandhesu... jivhāviññeyyesu rasesu ... kāyaviññeyyesu phoṭṭhabbesu... manoviññeyyesu dhammesu chando vā rāgo vā doso vā moho vā paṭighaṃ vāpi cetaso’ti? The Purification of Almsfood Piṇḍapātapārisuddhi Sutta (MN 151)
“When I entered the village for almsgiving, did I not have any desire, passion, hatred, or delusion, or anger?”
Thus, before Vassa’s season was over, the next The mission has already been decided. We never even imagined that before entering Vassa.