The Honey-offering Festival is a Buddhist religious ceremony that commemorates the service and sustenance provided by animals to the Buddha during his 10th rains retreat at Parileyya Forest. According to legend, during his retreat a monkey brought a honeycomb for the Buddha to eat, while an elephant brought fruit and protected the Buddha from fierce animals.
When the Buddha accepted the gift of the honeycomb, the monkey, overjoyed, began to leap from tree to tree, but suffered a deadly fall in his reckless jubilation. Because of his generous gift, however, the monkey was immediately reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Pali: Tavatimsa), the second of the six heavens in the Desire Realm. Since these events are believed to have taken place on the day of the full moon, the occasion has come to be commemorated as Madhu Purnima, or “honey full moon.” The festival is observed on the full moon of the 10th lunar month, mostly by Theravada Buddhists in South and Southeast Asia.
As an Uposatha—a Buddhist day of observance that dates back to the time of the Buddha and during which members of the sangha and lay practitioners observe their practice more deeply—the Patimokkha, the basic code of rules governing conduct within the sangha, is recited. Traditionally, a minimum of four monastics is required to recite the Patimokkha; however, in circumstances when fewer monastics are present, the Vinaya prescribes alternative activities. The most senior monk of the group leads the ceremony, following a ritual for mental purification.
All Buddhists also play an active role in commemorating the day, many of them observing the eight precepts (Pali: Uposatha Sila):
1. To refrain from taking life.
2. To refrain from stealing.
3. To refrain from sexual activity.
4. To refrain from lying.
5. To refrain from using intoxicants.
6. To refrain from eating at the improper time.
7. To refrain from dancing, singing, wearing garlands, and perfumes.
8. To refrain from lying on luxurious sleeping places.
They can also practice meditation, listen to Dhamma talks, recite suttas, and participate in other ritual activities.
SHUVO MODHU PURNIMA TO ALL.
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