วันออกพรรษา : The End of Buddhist Lent Day

Tuesday, October 7, 2025,

the 15th day of the waxing moon, the 11th month, Year of the Snake, the end of Buddhist Lent.

"The one who has done evil deeds, the one who has done evil deeds, the one who has done evil deeds, the one who has done evil deeds."

Translation :

As one sows, so shall one reap. One who does good deeds reaps good results; one who does evil deeds reaps evil results.

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The End of Buddhist Lent Day

Also known as "Mahapavarana Day," this important Buddhist holiday is Thailand's national religion and is relevant to Buddhists worldwide. It marks the end of the three-month Buddhist Lent for Theravada monks, who perform the Sangha ceremony, Pavarana. Today, the end of Buddhist Lent (the end of Buddhist Lent 1), falls on the full moon day of the 11th lunar month (approximately October), three months after the beginning of Buddhist Lent according to the Thai lunar calendar, the most accurate calendar in the world.

Pavarana is a disciplinary practice for monks only., This is called a type of Nitti Kamma Wa (Sangha Karma) that gives monks who have resided together throughout the three-month rains retreat an opportunity to admonish and point out faults to one another equally. It is a day when monks with less rains retreat can admonish monks with more rains retreat with a mind of mutual goodwill, so that the monks who have been admonished have the opportunity to recognize their faults and use them to improve themselves. At the same time, if there is a misunderstanding, clarification, correction, or reconciliation is possible. What you see, hear, or question may contain hidden details or be inaccurate. Furthermore, you are given the opportunity to apologize when you realize you have caused trouble to the group and apologize for any misunderstandings. You are also given the opportunity to ask questions to resolve any misunderstandings.

On the final day of Buddhist Lent, Buddhists consider it an auspicious opportunity to visit the temple to make merit for themselves, as they have been committed to being lay Buddhists. Meanwhile, monks have resided and practiced Dhamma for the entire three-month period, or on the following day, the actual final day of Buddhist Lent (the first waning moon of the 11th lunar month). Buddhists in Thailand often make merit by offering alms to monks, a ceremony known as the "Boon Phithak Bat Thevo" or "Batt Thevo Rohana" festival. This ceremony commemorates the important event in the life of the Buddha, which describes the Buddha's return from the celestial realm to the human world after preaching to his former mother, Queen Siri Mahamaya, in the second heaven of the Davadungsa realm. During the seventh rains retreat, he descended to the city of Sankassa and performed the Trailokavirana Patihariya (the miracle of opening the three worlds: heaven, hell, and earth).

Kathina is the period of time that allows monks who have completed the three-month Rains Retreat to receive robes. It begins on the 1st waning moon day of the 11th lunar month to the 15th waxing moon day of the 12th lunar month (Loy Krathong Day). This is the Kathina period according to the Theravada Vinaya Pitaka. It is a time when Thai Buddhists will participate in making merit in the annual Kathina ceremony. It involves offering robes to Buddha images and monks in various temples. It is considered a meritorious ceremony that brings great merit.

Importance

The end of Buddhist Lent marks the end of the three-month Buddhist Lent (counting from the beginning of the Rains Retreat). It is also known as "Mahapavarana" (Pavarana Day). The word "pavarana" means "permission" or "acceptance." On this day, monks perform a ceremony called Mahapavarana. This ceremony provides an opportunity for monks to admonish and counsel one another. During the Rains Retreat, some monks may have shortcomings that need to be corrected. Allowing others to admonish and counsel one another allows them to become aware of their shortcomings and also provides an opportunity to question one another.

The End of Buddhist Lent Day

This is considered the true "Day of the Devo Rohana" because the Lord Buddha descended from the Tavatimsa heaven after preaching to his mother in heaven for three months. He descended on the full moon day of the 11th lunar month and returned to the human world on the same day. He performed the Lokavipan Patiharn, or the opening of the three worlds—heaven, hell, and human—to each other on this day, the full moon day of the 11th lunar month. Therefore, the end of Buddhist Lent is also known as the day of the Lord's opening of the world. The full moon day of the 11th lunar month is merely the day on which people wait to offer alms to the Lord Buddha for the first time in three months, after not having seen him for a long time. Therefore, it is merely the day that marks the origin of the Tak Bat Devo tradition.

The End of Buddhist Lent for monks according to the Vinaya Pitaka, When monks have completed the three-month Rains Retreat, have made Pavarana, have completed the Rains Retreat, and have received the Kathina robe, they will receive the following benefits or exceptions to the five precepts: they can travel without saying goodbye (they can leave the temple without having to inform the abbot or other monks first), they can travel without having to carry the complete set of three robes, they can eat food offered by the group (food accepted by the group), they can keep their extra robes as they wish (except for some rules against nissaggiya pacittiya), and the robes they receive are theirs (when someone offers more robes than they need, they can keep them without having to give them up to the common fund).

Local traditions

The tradition of offering alms to monks on the occasion of Thevarohana

It is the day that the Buddha descended into the world after, He went up to reside in the Davadungsa Heaven for three months and preached Abhidhamma to his mother in that heavenly world for three months. When the day of Mahapavarana arrived, the last day of the Rains Retreat, he came down to the human world by coming up the stairs.

Heaven descended at the gate of the city of Sankassa, which is located above the city of Savatthi. The day of his descent from the heavenly world is called "Thevo Rohana Day", which falls on the full moon day of the 11th lunar month. That day is considered an important day of merit for the Buddhist community. In ancient times, it was also called "The Day the Lord Opened the World". The day after that day was the 1st waning day of the 11th lunar month, so there was a merit-making ceremony., The Tak Bat Devo Rohana ceremony was held on a grand scale to celebrate the Lord Buddha's descent from the heavenly world. The Buddhists unanimously offered alms to all the monks present and to the Lord Buddha himself without prior arrangement. The food offered that day was mostly their own provisions

whatever was available. It appeared that the alms-giving on that day was very crowded. People could not reach the monks, so the monks wrapped some of their own wheat and made them into balls.

Some people throw them as offerings to the monks. This is one of the reasons why it is popular to make rice balls and throw them as an important part of the Tak Bat Thewarohana ceremony, which is a tradition that marks the waning moon day.

Every year on the 1st day of the waxing moon of the 11th month (some places do it on the 15th day of the waxing moon of the 11th month), one should make merit by giving alms to monks as in the original time, called Tak Bat Thewarohana, which continues to this day.

The tradition of receiving lotus

In Samut Prakan Province, there is a lotus receiving or lotus throwing tradition, which is held on the 14th day of the waxing moon in the 11th lunar month.

Chak Phra tradition

In the South, there is a tradition of pulling the Buddha image, or parading the Buddha image, or dragging the Buddha image by taking it on a boat and parading it along the river for people to make merit. The boat used to pull the Buddha image is called Ruea Phanom. In some areas, there is also a tradition of throwing lotus flowers as an offering to the Buddha. The tradition of pulling the Buddha image today is both on land and in water, called Ruea Phanom on land and Ruea Phanom on water (because nowadays people prefer to travel by land instead of by water like in the past when people's houses were along the water, so the land-based Buddha image pulling ceremony has taken place). It is usually held on the 1st waning day of the 11th lunar month.

The tradition of preaching the Mahachat Vessantara Jataka. The Mahachat sermon is the Vessantara Jataka sermon. It is a merit-making ceremony that has been popular since ancient times. It shows the last life of the Buddha who created the perfection of generosity. There are both general sermons and special sermons because the Buddha allowed monks. There are two types of chanting: Soraphanna and Yona Ka. The Soraphanna style is a commonly used chant with drawn-out tones, while the Yona Ka style is a chant with isolated syllables, such as in Lanna-style chanting, which involves single, continuous syllables. The "lae" sermon, a chant with drawn-out tones, is therefore considered a chant by monks using the "saraphanna" chant, meaning that it can be done with a single chant. For Mahachat sermons, a common sermon uses a single pulpit for each monk to take turns preaching one section. For "lae" sermons, there may be up to three pulpits, or three monks, taking turns preaching in a dialogical manner.

Great Nation

It is usually held during the Buddhist Lent, such as the Thai Sarat Day, or after the Kathin robe offering season has passed and continues throughout the winter season. In the 12 Canals 14 festivals, it is called the Bun Luang or Bun Pha Wet festival. Each region has different traditions. Some places hold it for one day, some places hold it for

Two days, some places organize it for three days, that is, one day for the sermon of Vessantara Jataka, all 13 chapters, some localities may chant a thousand mantras to make holy water one more day before the Mahachat sermon. They will light a thousand candles, make holy water, a thousand incense sticks, and Phanthong flags, which are five colored flags: indigo blue, vermilion red, yellow, white, and orange, one flag each according to the colors of the six colors of the rainbow. There may also be a thousand flowers as well, as a way of worshipping the thousand mantras with a thousand offerings each. Or some localities may perform the Chaturariyasatchakatha sermon at the end of the Vessantara Jataka sermon one more day. Or some localities may perform the Mahachat sermon every full moon day during the 13-day

Buddhist Lent, one section per day. If the event is held for only a few days, the venue is usually decorated with banana trees, sugarcane, or coconut stalks, and colored paper cut out with the Vessantara Jataka and other items, making it seem as if one is in the Himalayas.

The tradition of offering Kathina robes

It is an important tradition for Buddhists. It is usually done from the 1st waning moon day of the 11th lunar month until the middle of the 12th lunar month (15th waxing moon day of the 12th lunar month - Loi Krathong Day). The word Kathin means a wooden frame, a type of wooden frame for stretching cloth to be taut, convenient for sewing. In the past, to sew cloth, you had to use a wooden frame to stretch the cloth taut first and then sew because the craftsmen did not have the expertise like today and the sewing tools were not sufficient like the sewing machines today. In the past, making robes was Kathin cloth or even robes that were not Kathin cloth. If the monks made them themselves, it was quite a grand event. For example, legend says that when sewing robes, monks The elders came to help, such as Sariputta, Maha Moggallana, Maha Kassapa. Even the Lord Buddha came down to help. Other monks and novices also helped in sewing robes.

The male and female lay devotees also provided drinking water, etc., to offer to the monks, with the Lord Buddha as their leader. In this way, sewing robes, even in an ordinary way,

requires the help of many people (not

Like today, where there are ready-made robes)

The end of Buddhist Lent is celebrated in the Thai lunar calendar. However, some Buddhist countries may have different dates than Thailand in some years. This is because Thailand has different calculation methods than other countries and prefers to use the 100-year Thai calendar as the most accurate and precise calendar in the world. This is because the moon's orbit around the Earth takes 29 and a half days, which can cause dates in other countries to be inaccurate.

The End of Buddhist Lent Day

That is, the beginning of the Rains Retreat. It is the normal entering and exiting of the Rains Retreat according to the Buddhist Vinaya. Monks who have finished the Rains Retreat at the beginning of the Rains Retreat will receive the Kathina robes and receive the Kathina robes. However, for monks who have finished the Rains Retreat in an exceptional case, that is, the end of the Rains Retreat, they will not have the opportunity to receive the Kathina robes and receive the Kathina robes because they have to stay in the Rains Retreat on the 1st waning day of the 9th lunar month. Therefore, they must stay for 3 months and must leave the Rains Retreat on the 15th waxing day of the 12th lunar month, which is exactly the time for the Kathina robes to end (the day to receive the Kathina robes will be counted as 1 day after the end of the Rains Retreat).

Compiled articles in English

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Thailand 2025🇹🇭

October 7, 2025, 13 : 13 p.m🇹🇭

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