[sabaydii dear SatJaDham Friends:

Koh toht for posting our most recent Lao Holiday installment so late..
.have been up very late lately.  Enjoy...

Hak pang,

On (Genevieve)

P.S.  Alisak or Ai Kongkeo or Dave:  Would you please post this on 
SCL for me? 
Kop Jai Lai Lai in advance! :)))

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-------------------------------------
Ya Loong Chaosinh Saysanom of Beaverton, Oregon has generously 
granted SatJaDham
permission to publish passages of Boon KHOW-PHANSAA or KHOW-WATSAA 
from
his work of "Hit SibSong..." (1995).  

Amphon Guy Phiaxay initiated this Lao Holidays project in which SJD 
will post
background writings on the Lao Holidays throughout the year.

In the West, we commemorate this day in July.  Typically, the holiday 
coincides with the
start of the rainy season in our homeland.  Many of Buddha's 
teachings below have
endured over the centuries to remain with Lao Buddhists worldwide 
today.  Lao
Buddhists commonly observe the day by attending Wat (temple) where we 
would make
offerings of  robes and food to residing Ajarns (Monks). Thus, even 
though the religious
tradition is rooted in the rainy season of Laos, we Lao continue to 
recognize Buddha's
teachings of the day by preserving the traditions and rituals of Khow-
Phansaa.

The following is an edited excerpt from Ya Loong Chaosinh's work 
about the religious
origins of the Lent (see page 26-27 of his work for the original text 
please.  Ya Loong
Chaosinh distributed this fascinating book to the SJD members in 
attendance at the
Conference in Fresno, CA):

                                                   Origins of Boon 
KHOW-PHANSAA
                                             from an excerpt by 
Chaosinh Saysanom

There were few roads during Buddha's time.  In some cases, there were 
no roads linking
the Pagoda and the village or the villages themselves.  
Communications had to occur by
foot across paddy fields or on narrow paddy dikes.  At times, the 
Monks traveled along a
short-cut over the small paddy dikes.  Sometimes, these dikes would 
collapse from the
pressure of a Monk's weight, especially if he was an overweight Monk. 
 At other times,
the Monks left their foot prints behind on the rice paddy fields, 
like the elephants
stamping here and there, embarrassing the field's owner.  People 
would say that elephant
invasions were acceptable but the Monk's behavior left them 
wondering:  "Where is the
value of Sammana?"

During the rainy season, Buddha forbade the Monks from going outside 
the pagoda or
circumscribing, especially at night.  The Monks were also forbidden 
to stay overnight
outside the Pagoda. These restrictions were to last for 3 months.  In 
order to keep the
Monks inside the Pagoda, the Buddha organized the class of Dhaka 
Sammana, a doctrine
seminar which we call the commencement of (Buddhist) Lent or "KHOW-
WATSAA" or
"KHOW-PHANSAA".

To the credit of Lady Visa who had Buddha's approval of her proposal, 
we offer the white
robes of  "Phaa-Khow-Watsaa" to the Monks for bathing for this 
holiday.

Laypersons were also restricted in their typical activities, 
beginning with confining
themselves to their village like the Monks.  Instead, villagers went 
to the pagoda to study,
and tried to remain celibate during the season.  The lay Lao Buddhist 
would not hunt,
fish, and kill.  Abstaining also from sexual relations, no marriages 
were performed during
the beginning of Lent.  People had to practice this birth control, 
restrain reproduction,
and concentrate only on wisdom.

This season was meant to let the faunae live in peace,  Fish bear 
eggs.  The deer and
other animals bear pregnancy, and for those that have young babies, 
we are forbidden
from separating them from their families.  We are to remember that as 
we have feelings,
other beings share the same.

So, the Bike and the lay people do not go out far from home and do 
not pass overnight
outside the home.  Yes, during Buddha's time, the roads and 
transportation were not as
comfortable as they are now.  Because the Buddha love human beings, 
he gave good
advice and wanted us to rest and stay home during the storms and 
rainy season for our
safety.  For those who did not listen and heed his advice or had no 
choice but to do their
jobs, the Buddha gave a magic phrase for protection against all harms,
 the Sacred
"Jayanto Bodhiyani"...





(Reprinted and edited with permission from Ya Loong Chaosinh Saysanom,
 1996).

(Please send you comments or queries to SatJaDham at laolit@users.lao.
net).