འདལ་བ་གཞ intro.86
The Chapter on Going Forth; The Chapter on the Restoration Rite; The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions; The Chapter on the Rains; The Chapter on Medicines intro.86
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intro.86
The Chapter on the Restoration Rite opens on the upavasatha—a holiday fast undertaken during the full or new phase of the moon—with the Buddha staying in a park within the boundary of a monastic site known as the Kalandakanivāpa. A group of Buddhist lay vow holders wish to pay respect to the Buddhist saṅgha⁶ but, knowing that the monks will be meditating at that early hour, decide to visit a different park. There, they find a group of wandering mendicants from a non-Buddhist order with a threefold upavasatha observance consisting of seated meditation, formal protocols, and a rite to mark the holiday. Impressed, the lay vow holders return to the Kalandakanivāpa, where they enjoin the Buddha to institute a formal upavasatha observance for Buddhists. The Buddha’s response to this request takes up the remainder of The Chapter on the Restoration Rite as the Buddha articulates a threefold observance consisting of “a seated practice, a protocol, and a restoration rite.”⁷