Specifically, I examine how the commencement of the rain retreat (vas) which begins with the formal invitation to retreat (vas aradhanaya), the religious ritual held during the retreat (vas pinkam), the termination of retreat (vas pavaranaya), and the ceremonial offering of rain robes (kathina pinkama) provide a useful space for the monks not only to intensify the links between them and the village laity but also, to set their egoistic projects and goals in motion within the context of lay expectations of monastic practice. Analyzing the ethnographic field data collected during the 1990s against the backdrop of a main dispute, I explore how the Buddhist monastic practice of the rain retreat has become a privileged site to construct, nurture, or contest conceptions of identity and community for monastic and lay communities in Sri Lanka. The lay communities are also expected to attend to the material requirements of the monks with diligent care and effort. During the period of retreat, the ordained monks are expected to remain in one monastery devoting time to their own educational and spiritual well-being, as well as to that of the laity around them. Abstract: The rain retreat is the monastic practice of retreat during the three-month rainy season (Sinhala: vas or vassana kalaya) observed throughout the Theravada Buddhist world, including Sri Lanka.
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