(1) Observance day which occurs on a dark or full moon day, (2) Observance — either the recitation of the Patimokkha, the declaration of purity, or determination of the day — that the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis perform on this day.
Observance day, the day of the new and of the full moon; traditionally, in India, a time of special spiritual practices. The Buddha adopted this as the day for reciting the Patimokkha.
uposatha]: Observance day, corresponding to the phases of the moon, on which Buddhist lay people gather to listen to the Dhamma and to observe special precepts. On the new-moon and full-moon uposatha days monks assemble to recite the Patimokkha rules. [ MORE
observance day, held on full moon and new moon days
' (Pali) 'Observance Day', a sacred day or ‘sabbath', occurring every lunar fortnight. On this day, Buddhists reaffirm their Dhamma practice in terms of precepts and meditation.
(1) Observance day, the day of the new and of the full moon; traditionally, in India, a time of special spiritual practices. (2) The Observance — either the recitation of the Paa.timokkha, the declaration of mutual purity, or determination of the day — that the bhikkhus and bhikkhuniis perform on this day.
The Uposatha is the Buddhist sabbath day, from the Buddha's time through today in Theravada Buddhists countries.For examples of published Pali-English dictionaries that define "Uposatha" as "Sabbath," see Buddhadatta (2002), p. 63, and, PTS (1921-25), p. 151. For an example of the Uposatha being equated with the Sabbath by a modern Buddhist master, see Mahasi (undated), p. 2, where he writes: "For lay people, these rules [of discipline] comprise the eight precepts which Buddhist devotees observe on the Sabbath days (uposatha) and during periods of meditation." For a description of the contemporary practice of the Uposatha in Thailand, see Khantipalo (1982a), which is also excerpted in this article below.
