"Dharma Day," Asadha Puja, Talk (7/13)

Ajahn Sadaro (BSV); David K., Dhr. Seven, W. T. Ming (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, Wiki edit

Also called Dhamma Day

Like to be a monk, Rahula?

 (Sanskrit Dharma Day), Asadha Puja, Asanha Bucha (Thailand), Esala Poya (Sri Lanka), Dhammasekya Boonsang Day (Burma), it is a day observed by Theravada Buddhists, particularly Cambodians, Laotians, Burmese, Sri Lankans, and Thais

It is the Buddhist full moon day of the lunar month of Āsādha [1]. Related to Esala Mangallaya and Kandy's Esala Perahera, which are held as part of Asalha Puja celebrations in Sri Lanka.

It is the Chokor Duchen Festival (Tibet) and Drukpa Tshe Zhi (Bhutan). Asalha Puja (also known as Asadha Puja or Asanha Bucha in Thailand, อาสาฬหบูชา in Thai) is a Theravada Buddhist festival that typically takes place in July, on the full moon of the month of Āsādha.

It is celebrated in Indonesia, Cambodia (ពិធីបុណ្យអាសាឡ្ហបូជា), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Burma, and in countries abroad with Theravada Buddhist populations.

In Indonesia, the festival is centered at Mendut Temple and Borobudur Temple (the world's largest excavated Buddhist temple) in Central Java.

Dhamma Day is one of Theravada Buddhism's most important festivals, celebrating as it does the Buddha's first sermon, the "Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma" or "Sermon in the Deer Park" at Sarnath, in which he set out to his five former companions the Dharma or Doctrine he had discovered anew as the path that leads to awakening or enlightenment.

This first pivotal sermon, often referred to as “Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dhamma,” is the teaching encapsulated in the Four Ennobling (Leading to Enlightenment) Truths:

• There is unhappiness (dukkha, disappointment, ill, suffering)
• Unhappiness is caused by craving (tanha) [rooted in delusion]
• There is a state (nirvana) beyond these
• There is a way to nirvana (magga, the Ennobling Eightfold Path.

Now there is a monastic community for all

All the various schools and traditions of Buddhism revolve around this summation, this compact central doctrine often called for short the Four Noble Truths.

This first sermon is not only the first structured sutra or discourse given by the Buddha after his enlightenment, it also said to contain the essence of all his subsequent teachings.

At the end of the sutra, one of the five listeners recounts his understanding of what had been said and asks to be received as a monastic disciple, a request the Buddha grants. This establishes the Order of Buddhist Monks.

The day is observed by donating offerings to temples and listening to Dharma talks. The following day is known in Thai as วันเข้าพรรษา or Wan Khao Phansa: It is the first day of Buddhist Lent (Vassa), the annual Theravada Rains Retreat. More