for example, the most lasting and fundamental system
has been the ancient Indian lunar calendar, whose
twelve months and forty-eight six- to nine-day weeks
commence with sabbaths determined by the four
phases of the lunar cycle: new moon, waxing moon,
waning moon, and, most importantly, the full-moon
day (Pali, uposatha; Sanskrit, uposadhaor posadha).
Larger expanses of time have been calculated as num-
bers of years since the final passing away (Pali, parinib-
bana; Sanskrit, parnirvana) of the Buddha (Buddha
Varsa,abbreviated B.E. or B.V. and commencing in 543
B.C.E.); since the dawn of the imperial S ́aka Era (S ́aka-
samvat,abbreviated S.S. and commencing in 78 C.E.);
and since the emergence of various dynasties in differ-
ent regions. More recently, as a result of colonialism
and international practice, time has been calculated as
the number of years before and since the start of the
common era. These various eras in turn are but fleet-
ing moments in samsara’s vast expanse of ages (yuga)
and eons (kappa; kalpa).
Within that expanse, it is considered a rare achieve-
ment to be reborn during a Buddha Varsa: a time when
a Buddha, his teachings, his corporeal relics, and his
community of monks and nuns still exist. According
to the late canonical Pali text the Buddhavamsa
(Chronicle of Buddhas,ca. second century B.C.E.), there
have been only twenty-four such Buddha eras in “one
hundred thousand plus four incalculable numbers of
eons.” During such rare periods, including the present
one, it is possible to advance along the PATHto NIR-
VANAby learning and practicing the Buddha’s teach-
ings. Because such directed progress on the path is not
possible in the hiatuses between Buddha eras, every
moment in this or any other Buddha era is soterio-
logically charged. While the ideal is certainly to culti-
vate Buddhist virtues constantly, from an early date
Buddhists throughout the region have considered it es-
pecially efficacious to perform such activities on the
above-mentioned lunar sabbaths.
Long before the time of the Buddha, South Asians
already were focusing their religious activities (such as
performing sacrifices and other rituals, and preaching
their different messages) on these lunar sabbaths. Ac-
cording to the second book of the Mahavagga(Great
Section) of the Pali VINAYA(monastic code), early in
his career the Buddha was approached by King Seniya
Bimbisara of Magadha, who requested that the Bud-
dha allow his monks to assemble on these days because
non-Buddhists used them for public preaching and
thereby gained the hearts and adherence of listeners.
The Buddha permitted this, and after people com-
plained that the assembled monks just sat in silence,
he further permitted them to preach the dharma to
laypeople on lunar sabbaths. Moreover, he established
for them the ritual of recitation of the Buddhist monas-
tic disciplinary rules embodied in the Patimokkha
(Sanskrit, PRATIMOKSA). Down to the present day, this
recitation of the Patimokkha on each full-moon day
by all ordained (upasampada) Buddhist clergy residing
inside a particular monastic boundary (slma), com-
plete with ceremonies and judicial practices and penal-
ties, has constituted the primary monastic ritual by
which Buddhist monks and nuns have maintained
their collective purity and sense of communitas. Even
today it proceeds very much as outlined in the ancient
vinaya texts, with a leading monk or nun thrice pro-
fessing his or her purity as regards each of the major
categories of the Patimokkha rules. Those assembled
either profess, through silence, their own purity re-
garding the rules, or they confess transgressions that
have occurred, for which punishments and restorative
acts are prescribed in the vinaya texts.
The yearly cycle constituted by these monthly
monastic rituals is punctuated by the three-month
“rains-retreat” (Pali, vassa; Sanskrit, vars ́a). The retreat
is said in the Mahavaggato have been established by
the Buddha in response to criticisms that his monks
and nuns harmed microscopic creatures by traveling
during the rainy season. This period of heightened
practice and restrictions on travel away from the
monastery begins on the full-moon day that corre-
sponds to July/August (or, in the case of “late vassa,”
August/September) and ends on the full-moon day
that corresponds to October/November (or Novem-
ber/December). Though this period does not exactly
correspond with the actual monsoons in Sri Lanka and
Southeast Asia, the retreat continues to be observed ac-
cording to the ancient reckoning. Special ceremonies
attend the full-moon days that mark the beginning and
end of the vassaseason, whether according to the
“early” or the “late” calculation. Gathering for vassa,
the monks or nuns in a particular monastic boundary
recite the Patimokkha with special intention and ad-
ditional vows appropriate to the occasion. The full-
moon day that marks the end of vassais singled out as
especially significant, for here the usual Patimokkha
recitation is replaced with Pavarana (Invitation), in
which the assembled monks and nuns are invited to
point out the transgressions of others observed during
the vassacoresidence.
While regular Patimokkha recitations and the
special rituals associated with the rains-retreat areFESTIVALS ANDCALENDRICALRITUALS