It is the year of the The Great Pause: arguably one of the greatest blessings enjoyed by humanity, only it's hard to see that if one dwells only on the personal, the planned, the material and the linear.
My 84 year old mother phrased it so well to me yesterday when she said, "I feel like I'm constantly waiting - sitting here waiting alone, but not really sure what I'm waiting for."
That's what pauses are for. To look within, question, look, feel, listen. To grope and grasp for that which will give meaning, or to simply stop groping and grasping frantically and to sit silently and wait as the gift rises in your awareness. Sometimes it takes a while to recogize it. Which is why you have to wait, and watch.
This weekend in Thailand, we have 2 official holidays to mark The Pause Within The Great Pause.
Today, July 5th, is Asarnha Buja Day - a public holiday to mark the preaching of Siddhārtha Gautama's first sermon in Benares, India, over 2500 years ago when (it is believed) the doctrine of the Wheel of Life in Buddhist terms was given.
How do Thai people honour this day? They go to wats (temples), listen to the teachings of the Buddha preached by monks, and make offerings of large candles. To prepare for tomorrow, which is another Buddhist public holiday to mark Khao Pansa - the first day of the 3 month Buddhist Rains Retreat - the annual official seasonal Pause mandated in Theravada Buddhism.
What is Pansa? It's the 3 months Buddhist Rains Retreat where the Sangha mandate that all monks stay inside their temples, and learn-study-teach-preach. To wait out the intensity of the rains. As opposed to the rest of the year, where they wander the countryside, traditionally barefoot and living only on alms.
And why the candles? Let it be clear I'm talking LARGE candles which are donated to temples! Often 1-2 meters in height!
Back in the day (only a generation ago!) when electricity in temples was unheard of, the candles were to help illumine the teachings, texts and books that the monks used during the dark days of the rainy season. And yes, it can be VERY dark!
Incoming afternoon rains from my Chiang Mai window recently - temperature about 35C
In later years it has come to symbolize the illumination of the Dharma, and the journey to Enlightenment. And yes, every Thai temple will burn at least one large candle, 24/7, for the next 3 months. Many devout Buddhists abstain from alcohol and animal products during Pansa.
We are not temple goers, and as such we don't subscribe to a group of men proscribing how others should behave or what they should believe. Because that's not what the Buddha purportedly taught. After all, the Bodhi Tree, silence and solitude was more than enough for Gautama to reach Enlightenment.
Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, India Source
And yet this morning I felt encouraged and supported by the sound of monks chanting the sutras over the village PA at 5am. Not because I believe in or support organized state religions (I really, really don't!!) but because it feels right to be in a culture where pausing, meditation and spirituality are still honoured. Expected. Required.
There is no alcohol officially sold nationwide during the 2 days of Asarnha Buja and Khao Pansa and the official coleur de jour is white - the colour of the supplicant.
There's a vibe in Chiang Mai, Thailand today that is meditative and reflective. It's incredibly quiet - can't hear anything except the sound of the birds. Later, this evening, our local temple will again broadcast the chanting of sutras and many people in our village will go.
Today I feel the immense value of The Pause Within The Great Pause. Of being expected to take downtime to wait, to watch and to observe whatever arises.
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