SuttaCentral
Dear friends,
I have some questions regarding the “white clothed people” in the time of the Buddha. From what I can infer from the suttas, these people not only kept the five precepts, but they also kept uposatha and from time to time went on retreats? (Perhaps I may be inferring too much?
)My question are these: how long were those retreats? And how many days per month were uposatha days held?
With Metta and gratitude,
Cristy
Uposatha days were/are weekly, on the full, new, and half moon days
I have been waiting to see if anyone responded to this as I was interested to hear any answers too. In my reading of the EBTs I dont remember any reference to retreats for laypeople (indeed I asked Bhante Sujato about this some years ago and remember him saying it wasn’t something the Buddha advised). It certainly isnt in the 8-fold path as far as I know. There are references to monastics going off in large groups to meditate on shared topics, but I dont remember the same advice for laypeople, white-clotherdor not, celibate or not…..
Can you advise where you got the idea that laypeople went on retreats in the suttas pls?
Hello 
Thanks for the question and for the replies from friends here.
For lay disciples (upāsakā and upāsikā), the suttas describe the following main practices in terms of precepts.
This includes encouraging others in good actions and not encouraging them in bad actions, mentioned at Snp 2.14. The suttas also encourage generosity in lay disciples, especially towards the Buddhist monastic community, but also in general. And honoring one’s parents and elders, as well.
‘Hopefully most humans are paying due respect to their parents, ascetics and brahmins, honoring the elders in their families, observing and keeping vigil on the sabbath, and making merit.’ (AN 3.37)
… live at home rid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, loving to let go, committed to charity, loving to give and to share. (found in many suttas)
If you want to be super-duper, you could also consider the seven vows that Sakka took as a human which the Buddha mentions in several places (e.g. SN 11.13).
The observance-days would in essence fall once a week. If you are not in a situation where following the actual phases of the moon is convenient, you could take the eight precepts on the weekend; those are the recognized sabbath days in much of Western culture.
Now, apart from the observance day on the new, full, and half-moons, the suttas also mention ‘special observance days.’ These are mentioned for example at Snp 2.14, AN 10.5, AN 3.37. These are not directly explain in the suttas. So the commentary explains a few things.
One explanation given is that the special observances refer to people who practice the eight precepts not just on the actual sabbath day, but also on the days preceding and following. In a context without the lunar phases, this could be Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It’s a stretch of three days rather than just a single one.
The other explanation is that the special observances refers to a period of several months, or to some lesser period if that is not manageable. One commentary to the Anguttara explains it as the three months of the rainy-season retreat (a time when monastics temporarily take an extra vow of stability). It says that if people cannot manage that, then it offers several alternatives of lesser times, ranging from one month to two weeks in particular times.
It is not uncommon in Buddhist cultures and countries for lay people to take on extra practices during the rainy-season retreat. For example, someone not normally following the five precepts might take all five, or they might take on more advanced determinations as the case may be. So the practice mentioned in the commentary seems to show an ancient precedent to this idea.
Obviously, taking the eight precepts three days a week and for a continuous period of 1-3 months a year would be quite the opportunity for intensive practice. During these times, the Buddha recommended practicing meditation. Generally the suttas mention variations on the six recollections (recollecting the qualities of Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, your generosity, your virtue, or your similarity to the devas). But I see no reason at all that should be taken as a forced prescription or limitation. It’s just an example of a recommended practice.
The uposatha practices are often usually combined with practicing generosity to the Saṅgha. This is found in Buddhist cultures today and referenced in the suttas. For example, you might offer a meal to the Saṅgha and then stay at the monastery on the eight precepts, or go to the monastery on the eight precepts in the afternoon and offer a meal the next day. If you have a local temple or monastery near you, that would be a great practice in addition to the precepts.
Say a lay person takes off four weeks total a year to do meditation retreats. That’s 28 days.
In comparison, someone who follows the eight precepts Friday-Sunday would have 156 days of practice. Let alone if you took longer stretches of time.
Finally, the Buddha did recommend lay people practice in seclusion and develop deep meditations:
“Householders, you have supplied the mendicant Saṅgha with robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. But you should not be content with just this much. So you should train like this:
‘How can we, from time to time, enter and dwell in the rapture of seclusion?’
That’s how you should train.” (AN 5.176)
This is not the same as recommending a modern meditation retreat, but if you ask yourself the question that the Buddha mentioned above, the answer might be to go on a retreat or monastery.
Hope this is beneficial
Interesting. I’ve heard of this being practiced in modern times, but never in the early community. Can you give the location? I’d like to look this up.
This comment by a fellow poster here has some translations provided: