old-path-white-clouds-thich-nhat-hanh

Chapter Thirty-One
I Will Return in the Spring
The very next day, the Buddha visited Bamboo Forest with several of his senior students. It was an ideal location for the sangha, with
nearly one hundred acres of healthy bamboo groves. Many kinds of bamboo grew there. At the center of the forest, Kalandaka Lake
would be a perfect place for the bhikkhus to bathe, wash their robes, and do walking meditation along the shore. Because the bamboo was
so plentiful, it would be easy to build small huts for the older monks to live in. The Buddha’s senior students, including Kondanna, Kassapa,
and Sariputta, were all delighted with Bamboo Forest. They began planning at once how to best organize a monastery there.
The Buddha said, “The monsoon season is not a good time for travel. The bhikkhus need a place to study and practice together during
the rains. Having a place like this will help the community avoid illness from exposure to the elements and also avoid stepping on the many
worms and insects that are washed up on the ground during the rainy season. From now on, I would like the bhikkhus to return to a
common place at the beginning of every rainy season. We can ask lay disciples of the area to bring food offerings during the three months
of retreat. The lay disciples will also benefit from the teachings offered by the bhikkhus.” Thus, the tradition of the rainy season retreat
began.
Under Moggallana’s supervision, the younger bhikkhus built huts from bamboo, thatch, and pounded earth for the Buddha and the older
bhikkhus. The Buddha’s hut, though small, was quite lovely. Behind it grew a thicket of golden bamboo and to one side grew a thicket of
taller green bamboo which provided cool shade. Bhikkhu Nagasamala built a low, wooden platform for the Buddha to sleep upon. He also
placed a large earthenware vessel for washing behind the Buddha’s hut. Nagasamala was a young bhikkhu who had been Uruvela
Kassapa’s disciple. He was asked by Kassapa to serve as an attendant to the Buddha when the sangha moved to Bamboo Forest.
Sariputta arranged with a lay disciple from the capital to have a large bell donated to Bamboo Forest Monastery. He hung it from the
branch of an ancient tree near Kalandaka Lake. The bell was used to announce times for study and meditation, and became a special part
of the practice of mindfulness. The Buddha taught his bhikkhus to pause and observe their breath whenever they heard the bell ring.
Lay disciples assisted in many ways. Kassapa explained to them about the retreat season. “This retreat season will afford all the
bhikkhus an opportunity to practice the way of liberation directly under the guidance of the Buddha. They will have time for more intensive
study and practice. At the same time, they will avoid accidentally crushing worms and insects on the ground during the rainy season. You
can assist the sangha during these three months of retreat by bringing food offerings. If possible, please try to coordinate your efforts to
assure that there is the right amount of food each day, neither too much nor too little. Even the poorest of the poor, those who can only
offer a chapati or two, will be invited to stay and listen to the Buddha or one of the senior students give a discourse on the Dharma each
day. The retreat season will benefit bhikkhus and lay disciples alike.”
Kassapa proved to be as talented at organizing the laity as he was at organizing the bhikkhus. He met with lay sponsors of the monastery
and helped them organize the food offerings and other forms of assistance. He assured that every bhikkhu received a robe, begging bowl,
meditation cushion, towel, and water filter for personal use.
The first day of the retreat arrived and the sangha followed the schedule that had been carefully thought out by the Buddha and his senior
students. The wake-up bell rang at four in the morning. After washing up, the bhikkhus did walking meditation on their own. They continued
to alternate sessions of sitting and walking meditation until the sun peeked over the tops of the bamboos. Normally that was the time to go
begging, but since during the retreat food was brought to them by the laity, the bhikkhus had some extra time to meet with their individual
teachers to study the Dharma in greater depth and to discuss any difficulties they were having in their practice. Bhikkhus who served as
teachers were selected according to the depth of progress they had made on the path. Elders, such as Kondanna, Assaji, Kassapa,
Sariputta, Moggallana, Vappa, and Mahanama, each guided fifty or sixty younger bhikkhus. Other teachers were given responsibility for
ten to thirty students. Every new bhikkhu was assigned a personal teacher who served as his elder brother in the practice. Kassapa and
Sariputta personally organized this system.
Shortly before midday, the bhikkhus gathered by the lake and stood in lines holding their begging bowls. Food was divided and shared
equally. When everyone had been served, they all sat on the grassy shores and ate in silence. When the meal was completed and the bowls
washed, everyone turned towards the Buddha. On some days he directed his teaching to the bhikkhus but in a way which was also helpful
to the laity. On other days he directed his teaching to the laity but in a way which also benefited the bhikkhus. Sometimes his teaching was
addressed especially to the children present. In those Dharma talks, he often told past life tales.
Sometimes one of the Buddha’s senior students gave the Dharma talk in his place. The Buddha would sit and listen serenely, offering
words of encouragement when he saw that the Dharma was expressed in a correct and clear manner. After the Dharma talks, the lay
disciples would return home, and the bhikkhus would rest until the afternoon bell announced the time to resume sitting and walking