Dhammasala Forest Monastery

Magha Puja Celebration

We will celebrate the Buddhist ceremony called Magha Puja at Dhammasala Forest Monastery on March 7, 2015. Below is a brief description of the ceremony and the schedule for the event. We hope to see everyone there!

Magha Puja, also called Sangha Day or Fourfold Assembly Day, in most Buddhist countries is observed on the first full moon day of March.  The day commemorates a time when 1,250 enlightened monks, disciples of the historical Buddha, spontaneously came together to pay respect to the Buddha. The day is called “Fourfold Assembly” Day because:

1. All the monks were Arahants.
2. All the monks had been ordained by the Buddha.
3. The monks came together as if by chance, without any planning or prior appointment
4. It was the full moon day of Magha (March).

When the monks were assembled, the Buddha delivered a sermon in which he asked the monks to do good, to abstain from bad action, and to purify the mind.  On this day laypeople gather at temples, usually in the morning, bringing with them offerings of food and other items for the monastics. Magha Puja observations usually feature processions, sometimes by candlelight. Observers walk around a shrine or Buddha image or through a temple three times, once for each of the Three Jewels – The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

10:00 precepts and chanting
10:30 alms round
11:00 food offerings
11:00 lunch
12:00 making offering to the monks
1:00 Dhamma talks in Thai and English