Rain-retreat Ends, Ceremonies Begin: Enjoying Naga-fireballs on Full-moon Night And Participating Kathina Festival
Author: Nano-organic Elixir
Date: 1st October 2020
Keywords: #Kathina, #fireballs, #Naga, #Lents, #holiday, #retreat, #Vessa
Length: 1229 words
The end of the Rain-retreat or the Vassa-retreat or the Buddhist Lent is called ‘Wan Oag Phansa’. In Theravada Buddhism, Theravadins call it the day of Pavarana which falls on the full moon day in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar. Coincidentally, the day is also known as ‘Wan Uposatha’ or literally means Observance day or commonly known as ‘Wan Phra’ which is also a Buddhist Holiday.
Prior to ‘Wan Phra’, Buddhists should know that it is ‘Wan Koan’ another day of holding Buddhist activity. It is the day for monastics’ shaving, indicating the time when monks prepare for the Patimokkha ceremony which usually takes place on the following day or ‘Wan Phra’. People in the capital rarely mention ‘Wan Koan’ making the term scarcely familiar especially to the modern society.
As the full-moon ‘Wan Phra’ in the eleventh month is as well ‘Wan Oag Phansa’, it adds another significance to the day. Another significant occurrence associating to the ‘Wan Oag Phansa’ shared by Thai and Laotian Buddhists but well-known worldwide and being popular tourist attraction is a colorful phenomenon known as the Naga-fireballs taking place on the Mekong River. The Naga-fireballs phenomenon occurs once a year only on this particular occasion and only at the particular river and these make it so unique.
The phenomenon draws hundreds of thousands of people yearly. The locals and tourists will lay down their mats or camp along the bank of the Mekong River a day or two before the Fireball night taking place to make sure they get a good spot, not only to watch the Fireballs, but also the gorgeous sun disappearing for the last time across the twisting Mekong.
After dusk, hundreds of pink-and-red Fireballs rise out of the murky river without a sound, and up to the full-moon sky before vanishing without a trace or smell. The glowing balls are the size of a chicken egg or even bigger.
No one knows exactly why the natural phenomenon takes place. Experts try to find explanations. They cite the cause of flammable phosphate gas from the riverbed that somehow releases during the first full moon in October. Perhaps it is because of the perfect combination of the position of Earth and the Moon.
But folklore in Thailand and also in Laos has another explanation. It talks about Nagas, mythical serpents which are believed to reside in the Mekong River, shooting a series of Fireballs from the river bed skyward to celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent, when the Lord Buddha returned from his retreat in heaven. As a result, the event is known as ‘Bang Fai Phaya Nak’ in Thai language. ‘Bang Fai’ means fire rockets, ‘Phaya Nak’ is Naga.
The end of Vassa-retreat also marks the time for Kathina, the robe-offering ceremony and it also means monks would be allowed to travel afar or stay at other temples after a three-month period of intensive meditation and practice in a particular temple. But for propriety, they should only leave after their temple has already finished Kathina ceremony. The period of Kathina lasts for about one month after Vassa.
Kathina is a ceremony long celebrated and upheld by Buddhists. It is a combined festival of merit-making and congregational socializing taking place once a year. This tradition has been passed on for generations. And it is a festival most Buddhists would not miss.
The form of Kathina in later years has been altered and adapted to better fit the era and situation, and some procedures have been adjusted to be more convenient for both the temple and those wishing to participate. In later generations, it can be sure that Kathina will become a much easier process. The goals of the event remain the same, which are to offer the monastics a new set of Kathina robes and fundraise for temples. But behind that, it stems from the solidarity of each community to come up with the form of events themselves.
Here in Thailand, the concept of Kathina has developed from just a single group joining Kathina; it now has instead many groups fundraising from several sources and coming for Kathina on the same day. This is called ‘Kathin Samakkhi’, or Kathina in solidarity. The ceremony is usually held on Saturday or Sunday for the convenience of participants.
The key component of the ceremony is of course the Kathina-robe Offering. The other parts are morning alms-offering, or donation of items that monks or the temple itself may need. People also donate money to the temple to help with utility bills or refurbishing buildings. Precept observing, chanting, and of course meditation practicing are parts of the schedule. The idea of meditating for every Buddhist event has been growing in popularity for many years.
At Dhammakaya Temple, throughout the half century, every religious ceremony held in the place has contributed to the building up of a community where tradition, meditation practice and Buddhism are observed with the greatest strictness and respect.
The Temple itself maintains a clean and orderly tradition, with no drunkenness or disruptive behavior. The visiting crowd and temple goers are well-behaved. Perhaps this makes some western visitors observe that the Temple is a little like Utah; it has not been promoting alcohol for the celebrations of any occasion. It makes the atmosphere conducive to merit-makings and meditating. The meditation hall itself together with greenery and shady surroundings is cool, calm and quiet even though, the Temple is adjacent to often-traffic-congested roads of all sides, but it is because the large hall and the center of the ceremony are located further deep into the large area of land compound.
However, the physical environment is merely a reason, Temple goers said that the real calmness and serenity of the atmosphere come from the minds of its inhabitants and those coming to meditate regularly at the place. And all these make the place literally a place of a precepts and meditation practicing community whose Buddhist values and ideals are preserved.
For the Temple’s new comers, with the given geographical and human-created wholesome atmosphere, they are easily inspired and complied with the tradition of siting for a guided meditation session in the ceremony. And, it is quite normal for most of these new practitioners to experience in their first time of practice that Nibbana is nowhere to be found especially the first 30 minutes of the sitting. Some of them found their mind was jumping all about the place. Some said the floor was hard even sitting on a mat. Their legs, sat in crossed-legged position were starting to ache. So was their back. However, many said that gradually, they found themselves start to feel calm and collected.
By the end of the session, the first-time coming visitors with the first time of the first-handed sitting experience gained the sense of relaxation and being contemplative and peaceful. Some felt strong and thankful. Full of positive energy. And they said they felt happy to be one member of such a large gathering. When ending time came, they felt a kind of sad to leave. Some found themselves already planning their next one.
Overall, Buddhist ceremonies especially, Kathina is a living proof of the vitality of Buddhism in present modern materialistic digital times showing how Buddhist Thais and their neighbors love to come together through good deeds and wholesome practices for something they all believe in. Dhammakaya followers are looking forwards to the upcoming Kathina on 25th October at Dhammakaya Temple. And you are invited.
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