June or July - Khao Pansa; beginning of the Buddhist Lent; the exact date
depends on the lunar calendar. The day is
preferred by Laotians and Buddhist men of neighbouring countries for
becoming monks, mostly on a temporary basis.
The Festivals of the Rain and Fasting are Buddhist festivals. They
take place between the full moon of the eight and eleventh lunar month
(July, and October, respectively).Khoa Pansa marks the beginning of this
period and is the occasion for the villagers to show their support
for their local monastry. A special ceremony is held for the occasion.
Usually ordanation of new monks is also performed on or near the day.
Ordination generally takes place throughout the month of July, prior
to the commencement of the three- month Rains Retreat observed during the
rainy season. On the day before the ordination is scheduled to take place,
the man will have his head shaved and will don white clothes. Monks may
be invited to his home for chanting and celebrations are held. Friends,
neighbors and relatives may participate in the ceremonies, thereby gaining
much merit. On the day of the ordination, the prospective monk will be
carried around the monastery three times before being taken into the ordination
hall where a group of monks await him. After undergoing examination by
senior monks before an image of the Buddha, and provided that he satisfies
all the necessary conditions, he will be accepted into monk-hood and don
the saffron robes. For the period that he is ordained he is expected to
live in the monastery, exemplifying the Buddhist ideal of life and undergoing
rigorous training in body and mind control. He is free to revert to the
status of layman at any time he so desires.
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