Uposatha
Encyclopedia
The Uposatha is Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (500 BCE), and still being kept today in Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 countries. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind," resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, disciples
Upasaka
Upāsaka or Upāsikā are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, and who undertake certain vows...

 and monks
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...

 intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.

Observance days

Depending on the culture and time period, uposatha days have been observed from two to six days each lunar month.

Theravada countries

In general, Uposatha is observed about once a week in Theravada countries in accordance with the four phases of the moon: the new moon
New moon
In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth...

, the full moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...

, and the two quarter moons in between. In some communities, only the new moon and full moon are observed as uposatha days.

In Burma, Uposatha (called ubot nei) is observed by more pious Buddhists on the following days: waxing moon ( la hsan), full moon ( la pyei nei), waning moon ( la hsote), and new moon ( la kwe nei). The most common days of observance are the full moon and the new moon. In pre-colonial Burma, Sabbath was a legal holiday that was observed primarily in urban areas, where secular activities like business transactions came to a halt. However, since colonial rule, Sunday has replaced the Uposatha day as the legal day of rest. All major Burmese Buddhist holidays occur on Uposatha days, namely Thingyan
Thingyan
Thingyan is the Burmese New Year Water Festival and usually falls around mid-April . It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days culminating in the new year...

, the beginning of the Buddhist lent (beginning in the full moon of Waso, around July to the full moon of Thadingyut, around October). During this period, Uposatha is more commonly observed by Buddhists than during the rest of the year.

For a 2011 calendar of Thai uposatha days, see John Bullitt's "Calendar of Uposatha Days."

Mahayana countries

In Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

 countries that use the Chinese calendar
Chinese calendar
The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well...

, the Uposatha days are observed six times a month, on the 8th, 14th, 15th, 23rd and final two days of each lunar month. In Japan, these six days are known as the .

History

The word "uposatha" is derived from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 word "upavasatha," which refers to the pre-Buddhistic fast day that preceded Vedic sacrifices.

In the Buddha's time, some ascetics used the new and full moon as opportunities to present their teachings. The Uposatha Day was instituted by the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

 at the request of King Bimbisara
Bimbisara
Bimbisara was a King, and later, Emperor of the Magadha empire from 543 BC to his death and belonged to the Hariyanka dynasty.-Career:There are many accounts of Bimbisara in the Jain texts and the Buddhist Jatakas, since he was a contemporary of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. He was the king of...

, and the Buddha instructed the monks to give teachings to the laypeople on this day, and told the monks to recite the Patimokkha
Patimokkha
In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns . It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.- Parajika :...

 every second Uposatha day.

Lay practice

On each uposatha day, devout lay people
Upasaka
Upāsaka or Upāsikā are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, and who undertake certain vows...

 practice the Eight Precepts.

For lay practitioners who live near a monastery
Vihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....

, the uposatha is an opportunity for them to visit a local monastery
Vihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....

, make offerings
Offering (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, symbolic offerings are made to the Triple Gem, giving rise to contemplative gratitude and inspiration. Typical material offerings involve simple objects such as a lit candle or oil lamp, burning incense, flowers, food, fruit, water or drinks....

, listen to Dhamma talks by monks and participate in meditation
Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...

 sessions.

For lay practitioners unable to participate in the events of a local monastery, the uposatha is a time to intensify one's own meditation and Dhamma practice, for instance, meditating an extra session or for a longer time, reading or chanting
Buddhist chant
A Buddhist chant is a form of musical verse or incantation, in some ways analogous to Hindu, Christian or Jewish religious recitations. They exist in just about every part of the Buddhist world, from the Wats in Thailand to the Tibetan Buddhist temples in India and Tibet...

 special suttas, recollecting
Anussati
Anussati means "recollection," "contemplation," "remembrance," "meditation" and "mindfulness." In Buddhism, anussati refers to either:...

 or giving
Dana
-Singers:Some singers are popularly known only by the name, Dana:* Dana Rosemary Scallon , Irish-American singer and politician* Dana , Korean pop singer* Dana International , Israeli pop singer-In fiction:...

 in some special way.

Monastic practice

On the new-moon and full-moon uposatha, in monasteries where there are four or more bhikkhu
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...

s, the local Sangha will recite the Patimokkha
Patimokkha
In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns . It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.- Parajika :...

. Before the recitation starts, the monks will confess any violations of the disciplinary rules to another monk or to the Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...

. Depending on the speed of the Patimokkha chanter (one of the monks), the recitation may take from 30 minutes to over an hour. Depending on the monastery, lay people may or may not be allowed to attend.

Communal reciprocity

Describing his experience of Uposatha day in Thailand, Khantipalo (1982a) writes:
"Early in the morning lay people give almsfood to the bhikkhus who may be walking on almsround, invited to a layman's house, or the lay people may take the food to the monastery. Usually lay people do not eat before serving their food to the bhikkhus and they may eat only once that day.... Before the meal the laity request the Eight Precepts [from the bhikkhus] ..., which they promise to undertake for a day and night. It is usual for lay people to go to the local monastery and to spend all day and night there.... [In monasteries where] there is more study, [lay people] will hear as many as three or four discourses on Dhamma delivered by senior bhikkhus and they will have books to read and perhaps classes on Abhidhamma to attend.... In a meditation monastery ..., most of their time will be spent mindfully employed – walking and seated meditation with some time given to helping the bhikkhus with their daily duties. So the whole of this day and night (and enthusiastic lay people restrict their sleep) is given over to Dhamma...."

Special uposatha days

There are five full-moon uposatha days of special significance:
  • Visakha Puja or Vesak
    Vesak
    Vesākha is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, and Indonesia...

    ("Buddha Day"):
the most sacred Buddhist holiday, anniversary of the Buddha's birth, awakening and parinibbana.
  • Asalha Puja
    Asalha Puja
    Asalha Puja is a Theravada Buddhist festival which typically takes place in July, on the full moon of the eighth lunar month. It commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon in the Deer Park in Benares and the founding of the Buddhist sangha...

    ("Dhamma Day"):
anniversary of the Buddha's delivering his first discourse, "Dhammacakka Sutta." The three-month-long Rains Retreat
Vassa
Vassa , also called Rains Retreat, or Buddhist Lent, is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners...

 residence starts the following day.
  • Pavarana Day
    Pavarana
    Pavarana is a Buddhist holy day celebrated on the full moon of the eleventh lunar month. It marks the end of the month of Vassa, sometimes called "Buddhist Lent." This day marks the end of the rainy season in some Asian countries like Thailand, where Theravada Buddhism is practiced...

    :
the end of the Rains Retreat residence during which time each monk atones before the Sangha for any offense they may have committed.
  • Anapanasati Day:
anniversary of the Buddha's delivering the "Anapanasati Sutta
Anapanasati Sutta
The Ānāpānasati Sutta or Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra , "Breath-Mindfulness Discourse," is a discourse that details the Buddha's instruction on using the breath as a focus for meditation.-In Theravada Buddhism:...

."
  • Magha Puja
    Magha Puja
    Māgha Pūjā or Makha Bucha is an important Buddhist festival celebrated in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month . The third lunar month is known in the Thai language as Makha ; Bucha is also a Thai word , meaning "to venerate" or "to honor"...

    ("Sangha Day"):
anniversary of the assembling of 1250 monks in the Buddha's presence during which time he delivered the "Ovada-Patimokkha Gatha."

See also

  • Buddhist calendar
    Buddhist calendar
    The Buddhist calendar is used on mainland Southeast Asia in the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Sri Lanka in several related forms. It is a lunisolar calendar having months that are alternately 29 and 30 days, with an intercalated day and a 30-day month added at regular intervals...

  • Dhammika Sutta
    Dhammika Sutta
    The Dhammika Sutta is part of the Sutta Nipata. In this sutta, the Buddha instructs a lay disciple named Dhammika on rules for monks and on the "layman's rule[s] of conduct" .- Dhammika asks of virtue :...

  • Householder (Buddhism)
    Householder (Buddhism)
    In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch...

  • Poya
    Poya
    Poya or Poya Day is the name given to a Buddhist public holiday in Sri Lanka which occurs every full moon day. The Full moon is important to Buddhists all around the world, who have adopted the Lunar Calendar for their religious observances...

     (Sri Lankan full-moon holiday)
  • Puja (Buddhism)
    Puja (Buddhism)
    In Buddhism, puja are expressions of "honour, worship and devotional attention." Acts of puja include bowing, making offerings and chanting...

  • Thai lunar calendar
    Thai lunar calendar
    The Thai lunar calendar , or Dai calendar , Tai calendar, is Thailand's version of the lunisolar Buddhist calendar used in the southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos and Burma, for calculating lunar-regulated holy days...

  • Vassa
    Vassa
    Vassa , also called Rains Retreat, or Buddhist Lent, is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners...


External links

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