― Thich Nhat Hạnh
Whispering through the trees in small patches of red, orange, and yellow, the first hints of autumn have appeared here in Western Massachusetts.
Here it comes, ready or not.
To Every Thing There is a Season
As they often do as autumn announces its presence, my thoughts have
turned to those times in my life that I have committed to Intensive Practice in the fall. In Buddhism, like many of the world's
religions (Ramadan in Islam. The High Holy Days in Judaism. Lent in
Christianity, etc.), there are extended periods of time each year that some folks move beyond "business as usual" to make a special commitment to their spiritual practice.
In Buddhism, the tradition of the Rain's Retreat (Vassa or Ango)
goes back to the time of the Buddha. Traditionally beginning the first
day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month (June/July), it lasted
about three months, the period of time that the monsoon
season in India made travel difficult. During that time the monks,
who were homeless wanderers most of the year, would gather in one place to hear
the Buddha's teachings and engage in intensive meditation practice.
To
this day, an extended period of meditative retreat is widespread in Theravadan
Buddhism. It is observed in various forms in Tibetan Buddhism and Zen as well. Here in the US, where hot summer weather is
more problematic than monsoons, the rain's retreat seems to have evolved into
periods of intensive practice that occur in the Fall and/or the Spring.
At Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, MA, the Rain's Retreat
has become The Three Month Course, a meditation intensive that begins in
September each year. In 1991, I joined that retreat for the entire
month of October.
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