Dhammacakka Day -

The Full Moon of Waso

The Full Moon of Waso is an important day in the Buddhist calendar. It is the day on which the Bodhisatta Siddhattha took conception in the womb of his mother Mahamaya Devi and on which he made the Great Renunciation and left the household life. It is also the day on which, after his Full Enlightenment as a Sammasambodhi Buddha, he preached the first sermon, the Dhamma-cakka-pavattana-sutta, the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma. Because of this, this day is known as Dhammacakka day. Many people in Myanmar recite this sutta in the evening of the Dhammacakka day when the sun sets and the moon rises, as this is the time of day when the Buddha first taught what he had found out through his Awakening. Kondanna attained the deathless, Nibbana, as a result of that discourse and was the first person to be ordained as a bhikkhu,[1] a momentous occasion in the history of the Sangha, the order of bhikkhus.

The Full Moon of Waso is followed by another important day in the yearly cycle of the bhikkhus. It is the day on which they begin their retreat for the rainy season. The Buddha made a rule that all bhikkhus had to stay in a monastery for the three months of the rains and not leave this monastery except for the alms-round in the morning and certain special reasons. On the day following the full moon of Waso the bhikkhus recite a vow, "Imasmim vihare imam temasam vassam upemi": "I shall reside in this monastery for these three months of the rains". During the rainy season the bhikkhus devote more time to meditation and the study of the scriptures, the Tipitaka.

This day also used to be a day for the ordination of lay people as bhikkhus. In former times lay people used to take robes for the three months of the rains. In rural Myanmar all young men were expected to spend at least one rainy season in robes just after having attained the age of twenty. After this period of contemplation they were then considered adult men. Some perhaps decided to stay on as bhikkhus, but those who preferred the life as lay men were then able to marry.

Lay people also celebrate this day with the offering of Waso robes to the bhikkhus. This is a nation-wide celebration where all Buddhists take part and make offerings on a grand scale. They support the Sangha with the four requisites of yellow robes, medicines, food and residential buildings. The monasteries are filled with people paying their respects and making offerings of swoon[2] and the other requisites.

Not only the bhikkhus look upon the rains as a period of meditation and increased religious effort. Lay people also make more effort to practise their religion during the rains. They observe the eight or nine precepts on full-moon, new-moon and half- or quarter-moon days. Those who meditate devote more time to their meditation, and many practise renunciation by, for instance, eating only one meal a day in the late morning and by eating only vegetarian food throughout the three months of the rainy season.

Because this period is a period of merit-making, lay people also go and pay respects to their elders and teachers at the beginning of the rains and again at the end. They bring suitable gifts and the senior people share their merits with their juniors.

bhikkhu is commonly translated as Buddhist Monk
food especially prepared for offering to bhikkus

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