(This story is the second in a two-part series on the chapters about the three rites, which are included in The Chapters on Monastic Discipline.)
Buddhist traditions typically hold three-month retreats during the rainy season. Have you ever wondered how the tradition of doing retreats during wet weather got started?
The origins, timing, and procedures of the rains retreat are meticulously described in The Chapter on the Rains (Toh 1-4), which is the fourth of seventeen chapters in The Chapters on Monastic Discipline. Preceding this chapter is The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions (Toh 1-3), which details how monastics invite other monastics to talk about any unconfessed offenses that they may have seen, heard, or suspected during the retreat.
“These chapters narrate the traditional origins of the three-month retreat, record the rules for retreatants, and explain how certain restrictions are to be lifted when the retreat is over,” explains Dr. Robert (Bob) Miller, a research editor at 84000 who has translated vinaya texts for 84000 since 2011.
A former monk and director of two Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities, Bob has come to appreciate how these monastic texts teach not only a way of looking at the world but also a way of living—or being—in the world.
During the Buddha’s time, the disciples of the Buddha—referred to as Śākyan ascetics—practiced while wandering the countryside but were criticized by other monastics for trampling on insects during the rains. It was in response to these accusations of disregarding the lives of these animals that the Buddha declared monks should settle at a single site for the duration of the monsoon rains.[i.6]
“Sirs, the Śākyan ascetics are killers. These men do not balk at, shy away from, or avoid killing, for they travel and wander the countryside during the rains. When they travel and wander the countryside during the rains, they trample swarms of many tiny and minute creatures, thus depriving them of life. Even swallow chicks seasonally cower in their nests for the four rainy months. Cowering, they cringe and stay curled up. And if these shaven-headed ascetics do not understand even their basic pledges, who would give alms to them or even think to do so?” [1.3]
The monks reported these events to the Blessed One and the Blessed One replied, “Therefore, I consent: monks should pledge to settle for the rains.” [1.4]
Typically, the monsoon lasts for four months, so monks could either retreat during the first three months or the last three months of that season. According to the texts, the Buddha provided detailed instructions on how the monks should settle during the rains, how an elder monk should be appointed as retreat residence caretaker, the duties that position entails, reasons the monks may temporarily leave retreat, and so forth.
“These chapters exhibit a kindness of sorts in showing how otherwise strict rules may be adapted to meet the community’s needs. They also provide a framework for the sangha to ensure the integrity of its members and the group itself during and after the retreat,” Bob said.
The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions describes how a group of monks were traveling through the distant countryside when the rains began. They were far from where the Buddha was staying and so decided to pass the rainy season where they were. The monks decided to adopt a vow of silence and not to speak of any transgressions that they saw, heard, or suspected of one another, thus avoiding confrontation in a closed retreat.
After the rains, they rejoined the Buddha, who was not pleased to hear the monks promised to, in effect, turn a blind eye to their fellows’ misconduct. He formulated a new rite to be performed at the end of the rains: Each monk invites his fellow retreatants to remind him of any offenses he has committed but not confessed during retreat. Known as the Rite of Lifting Restrictions (pravāraṇa), this rite marks the end of the rains retreat. It also minimizes conflict and allows the community to clear the air before leaving retreat.
The end of the rains retreat was also a time for the community of laypersons to celebrate the Dharma, to come to the monastery to hear teachings, and to give alms to the monks. And for young monks it was their first opportunity to teach the Dharma to patrons.
“The rites described in these chapters are meant to maintain the faith and support of the lay community so they understand that the monastics are ensuring their collective purity,” said Venerable Konchog Norbu, 84000 copyeditor and a monk since 1993.
Konchog said his monastic community in the West doesn’t have the right conditions to properly conduct all of the rites described in The Chapter on the Restoration Rite, The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions, and The Chapter on the Rains as they were performed during the Buddha’s time. But working on the chapters helped him understand the Buddha’s intentions, and how historically monks and nuns overcame certain obstacles to conduct these rites.
“We follow shorter and more contemporary interpretations, but these texts are the root of it all,” said Konchog. “As a copyeditor, these texts were truly revelatory to read; they have given me a deeper appreciation of my own tradition.
“I hope these texts will broaden the ability of people to understand the profundity and beauty of what the Buddha created when he developed a monastic community.”
Read the first story in this series:
From Wandering to Community: The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Practices
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Story by Carol Tucker, 84000 content editor
Contributions by Dr. Bob Miller, 84000 research editor, and Konchog Norbu, 84000 copyeditor