uposatha

uposatha, fortnightly meetings of the Buddhist monastic assembly, at the times of the full moon and the new moon, to reaffirm the rules of discipline. The uposatha observance, now confined almost entirely to the Theravāda (“Way of the Elders”) tradition of Southeast Asia, can be traced back to pre-Buddhist ceremonies of ancient India. Later Buddhists added the quarter days in the lunar cycle, establishing four holy days each month (known as poya days in Sri Lanka and as wan phra in Thailand).

On the fortnightly uposatha days, all the monks of a monastery gather in the sanctuary (novices and laymen are excluded) for mutual confession of offenses and recitation of the 227-rule monastic code, the pātimokkha. The four monthly holy days are also occasions for the more devout laymen to visit a local monastery, take part in devotional services, and perhaps hear a sermon by a monk. A layman may vow to observe, for the duration of uposatha, the 10 precepts (dasa-sīla) ordinarily observed in their entirety only by monks.