Monks Practicing Debating
Yarne, or the annual summer retreat, is a tradition that goes back to the time of Buddha. Its purpose was to allow monks to gather and shelter from the monsoon rains and to take time to reflect, pray, meditate, and listen to the dharma. It was a practical response to the monsoon weather. During Buddha’s time, the summer retreat was three months long: by staying in a single location for the duration of the rainy season, the monks avoided the increased likelihood of walking on and harming many insects and other small beings that reproduce during the rainy season.
The first day of the Yarne begins with the Sojong vows. Sojong is a practice for purifying and making broken vows to replenish positive virtues. “So” means “to restore” and “Jong” means “to purify”; in other words, to clear away negative karmas and harmful deeds. Apart from Sojong, monks also observe other special monastic vows and restrictions. Khenpos take turns to give short teachings on the importance of the three ground practices of the summer retreat.
To restore broken Pratimoksha vows, the ordained sangha members traditionally practice Sojong bi-monthly. Some lay Buddhists regularly observe this purification practice too. The “Yar-khelen” vows are taken with special vase used for purification called “chab-lug”. The wooden monastic bell called Gendi (used only for Yarne and Sojong since the time of Buddha) is rung to call for lunch and morning prayers.
The monks take breakfast and lunch in the temple with the traditional monks’ begging bowl called Lhungdze. All the monks, excluding those with health issues, take a vow not to eat at night in accordance with the Vinaya tradition. Every evening, Aspiration prayers (monlam) are recited.
Every Saturdays, there are philosophy discussions and debate on Sundays. Khenpos and Lopons hold question-answer sessions on particular subject, the monks choose.
It is during Yarne, that the monks also sit for their half-yearly examination. Hence, apart from the fixed Yarne programs, they are quite busy with their debate, commentary and essay writing tests that will count in their final scores.
In the evening, there are prayers, followed by the traditional ceremonial rice made with butter and dry fruits. Selected monks give dharma talks on specific subjects and display their philosophical debate skills. During the debate, one group establishes a philosophical view while the other tries to defeat them with sharp logic and quick verbal attacks. Since there are strong emotions displayed, watching them leads to lots of laughter and fun for the rest of the monks.
On the morning of the last day of Yarne called Gaye, the monks conclude the summer retreat by wearing their best robes and circumambulating the Amitabha and Achi Temples. Then, for the next three days, the monks have a party at the specially designated summer retreat picnic spot that is adjacent to the monastery. They get busy in all sorts of games and entertainment, appropriate for their age groups.
This year, Yarne will start on July 24 (full moon of the sixth month of the lunar calendar), and as usual, will be held for 45 days according to Tibetan/Vajrayana tradition, finally concluding on September 6 (new moon of the seventh month of lunar calendar).
Another benefit of the retreat is that it gives faithful patrons an opportunity to accumulate merit. It is considered very important for lay people to participate in these virtuous activities through actions such as making offerings for shrine expenses and sponsoring tea and special meals for the sangha.
Shrine offering Items : Flowers, Incense, Rice, Serkyem (Dharmapala offerings), Barley flour for Tormas, Butter lamps, etc $ 500 for whole Yarne period.
Tea offering for monks: $ 70
Meals for monks : $ 380 for one day meal.
Sangha Offering: No fixed amount. Traditionally, Rinpoches, Khenpos, Lopons, chanting masters, ritual masters and disciplinarians are offered extra in addition to the offerings made to the regular monks.
Make US-tax-deductible donations through the Amitabha Foundation USA by check (payable to Amitabha Foundation, mailed to P.O. Box 2572, Aptos, CA 95076), or online below. Donations may also be made directly to Drikung Charitable Society or through the Amitabha Foundation branch in your own country.