WHAT HAPPENED?
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| Traditional Buddhists gather for uposatha. |
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| The Buddha mostly taught lay practitioners. |
Half of what is going on is in the ancient Buddhist island Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka. Before long, it's time for lunch, but before we eat the donor family receives a special blessing. They are offering it to benefit their dearly departed mother, so a special "transfer of merit" ceremony is conducted, where they gather in a circle up front and pour clear water into a cup until it is overflowing, as monks chant that what is given here benefit the grateful dead. If the departed should rejoice at this act of merit -- giving to feed practitioners of the Eight Precepts -- that will be excellent mental karma for those departed beings on the other side of the veil. They will therefore, in a place with very few opportunities to perform any skillful karma, gain that opportunity. Then we eat. Soon we will practice mindfulness walking meditation as a group, but that is always available to practice individually, inside or outside in the warm sun.
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| Understanding the meaning of uposatha days in Buddhism (spiritualculture.org) |
Although mostly silent and very respectful, people love to chat, mingle, and socialize. We sit apart from the crowd in the large outdoor patio near the temple's giant bodhi tree. The monastery looks like a high school with many rooms, offices, monks' quarters, a giant lawn, bell tower, parking lot, bathrooms, reading room, gym floor, stage, and lots of pews. It was originally built as a Protestant church in the valley with a great view of the San Gabriel Mountains on a very quiet street in the middle of Suburbia.
In the other direction, on a distant hill is Going West (Hsi Lai) Mahayana Buddhist Monastery, one of the largest Buddhist complexes in the U.S. Another talk is followed by a guided meditation with a singing bowl gong and very soothing words. Tea is offered to us individually. We meditate and about 5:00 pm, as the retreat is ending, the ordinary Sunday Rains Retreat services are just beginning. What had been about 50 participants balloons up to more than 100, also all dressed in white, arriving to hear a sutra or sermon.
We are in a side classroom, near the special golden cetiya shrine room, with the Nepalese monk Ven. Suwan, and the pews are filled with everyone else listening to the Dhamma in Sinhalese. The English class addressed the deeper meaning of the Four Noble Truths:
- Unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) is universal
- There is a cause (a reason why)
- There is a solution (cure)
- There is a path-of-practice to end all suffering.
It is called "noble" (Aryan) because these four truths are "ennobling," this is, leading towards enlightenment for the practitioner who realizes their deeper significance.
The historical Buddha did not teach them for people to memorize or "believe," but rather to realize that these universal are always true and guide living beings toward liberation from all suffering all the way to the realization of nirvana. That could take lifetimes or be accomplished in this very life.
There's no time to waste and no telling we'll ever get an opportunity like this for eons, so precious is a human rebirth and all the more rare to ever meet the Dhamma, the Buddha's Teachings with a body and mind about to put his instructions into practice. Then dinner is served, a great assortment of island fare, mostly vegetarian/vegan and lots of conversation and mingling. It was a blessed time and repeats every month with the dates noted on this poster:
Event details
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| Monthly Day Retreat Calendar |
There is the weekly observance in accordance with the phases of the moon, but generally the full moon is thought to be the most important and it is usually the one observed the uposatha with the Eight Precepts and intensive meditation and hearing the Dhamma (Dharma).
The Theravada/Pali language tradition of Southeast Asia (Sri Lankan, Burmese, Thai, Cambodian, Laotian, and to a lesser degree in Vietnam and the United States) observe it in this way, particularly in the large diaspora communities of the United States. In the greater Los Angeles area, where all of these ethnic and cultural communities are represented, temples hold special events.
The Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (now the MindfulnessMeditationCenter.org) deep in the suburbs of the San Gabriel Valley city of Covina, is having a daylong Full Moon Observance Meditation retreat on Sunday, August 10, 2025, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
This service is FREE or by donation (dana) and includes breakfast and lunch. It is conducted in Sinhalese and English. And there is an opportunity for any questions and requests for clarification. WEAR ALL WHITE as is the ancient custom from the time of the Buddha. (It is not an enforced rule but really does help and will certainly make one more comfortable and show respect among the locals from the East).
- Mindfulness Meditation Center
- 1023 N. Glendora Ave., Covina,
- SGV, Los Angeles County 91724
- INFO: (626) 364-7497
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