SAC Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win delivers address at coordination meeting of Leading Committee for Organizing Waso Robe-Offering Ceremony for 2023 of SAC
NAY PYI TAW July 5
The Leading Committee for Organizing Waso Robe-Offering Ceremony for 2023 of the State Administration Council of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar held a coordination meeting at the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture in Nay Pyi Taw at 2 pm today, with an address by Patron of the Leading Committee SAC Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Ko Ko, the chairman of Nay Pyi Taw Council, deputy ministers, members of the leading committee, work committee and subcommittees and officials.
The meeting was opened with three-time recitation of Namo Tassa.
Speaking on the occasion, the Vice-Senior General said that emergence of the offering Waso robes was an step by step changing event of allowing three sets of robes for monks by the Lord Buddha.
The Lord Buddha established the Sangha society with Ariya Sangha only at first but allowed members of the Sangha to ware three sets of robes in early period of the Buddhism.
At that time, the Lord Buddha allowed it in the rainy season for members of the Sangha to join the Buddhist Lent. Hence, the Lord Buddha restricted that members of the Sangha had not to launch trips for a night leaving from their monasteries, and if not, they had to take a leave for the Buddhist Lent.
Whenever monks faced the issues to go out to urban and rural areas and to a long journey outside the monasteries in the rainy season, the Lord Buddha had not allowed the issue for keeping extra robes for the monks to ware dried robes instead of wet robes on their trips if they were wet in rains in addition to use the robes in taking a bath in rainy season at that time. As Pobbayon Monastery of Savutti State well-wisher Visakha who knew difficulties of monks for robes used in rainy season requested the Lord Buddha to allow donation for the monks used in rainy season. So, the Lord Buddha adopted two restrictions on use and accepting the monks to be used in rainy season and limited the period and measures of using the robes.
Although well-wishers donated robes to be used in rainy season for taking a bath, it was renamed as Waso robes as these are donated to members of the Sangha during the Buddhist Lent of the rainy season. The Waso robe offering ceremony has been traditional among Myanmar Buddhist people as one of the twelve season festivals.
As such, the robes can be donated nobly to monks in line with the Viyaka of the Buddhism.
As donations of Waso roves aim not to cause tiredness for members of the Sangha during the Buddhist Lent because robe is involved in four kinds of donations: alms, robe, monastery and medicine, those having chance to donate Waso robes would have significant advantages in possessing beautiful colour of skin, fine body structure, high prestige and clothes. All Buddhists can donate Waso robe and Waso flowers annually as a timely donations. Hence, treatises mention that those well-wishers can have high prestige and escape from four kinds of hell.
The government donates Waso robe to venerable long lasting Buddhist monks annually. It means preservation of fine traditions by offering Waso robes in line with the restrictions of the Lord Buddha during the Buddhist Lent, offering alms and healthcare services to members of the Sangha. As it is an issue for making efforts in the set periods, such an act aims to perform regularly meritorious deeds.
The State Administration Council of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar will usher members of the Sangha led by the Secretary of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, members of the State Central Working Committee of the Sangha, Sangha Nayaka Committee of Nay Pyi Taw Council, Ovadacariya Sayadaws of Uppatasanti Pagoda and chairmen of township Sangha Nayaka Committee into the Waso robe offering ceremony for 2023.
It is urged that the Sayadaws of State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee will be transported by flight from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw and that special attention is to be given to ensure smooth arrangements on security and transport for the Sayadaws between the airport and the Sangha Yama monastery building.
It is necessary to make arrangements for the Sayadaws to conveniently and comfortably stay at the Sangha Yama monastery building and systematically assign lay attendants to them.
It is specially to instruct that it is necessary to take security measures on comings and goings of the visitors who will pay respects to the Sayadaws as well as to be systematic in comings and goings of the visitors in accordance with the set restrictions on COVID-19 prevention and control.
To be able to successfully hold the Waso Robe Offering Ceremony for 2023, the State Administration Council has formed the Steering Committee to Hold Waso Robe Offering Ceremony and the Working Committee issuing the Order No. 110/2023 dated June 21, 2023.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture has formed 11 subcommittees to systematically assign duties on ceremonial measures too.
Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly coordinate on the assigned duties on a subcommittee basis without any negligence.
Before and on the day to hold the ceremony, the sub-committees and the health sub-committee are to work together in order that meals to be offered to the Sayadaws will be clean, fresh and healthy.
At the ceremony, preparedness on audio equipment must be made for the Sayadaw who will lead the recitation of precepts and give the sermon of Buddha on opportunity of meritorious deeds. Most importantly, special attention must be given to security measures on all sides. In holding a Statelevel ceremony, weaknesses experienced are to be fixed and strengths are to be maintained.
As the Waso Robe Offering Ceremony is annually held, members of the committees concerned and departments concerned have already had relevant work experience. But, systematic cooperation between sub-committees concerned must be made in taking the measures.
Sub-committees concerned are to make systematic arrangements to be able to successfully hold the 2023 Waso Robe Offering Ceremony of the State Administration Council of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and to ensure that the Sayadaws will be able to comfortably and conveniently attend the ceremony.
The Working Committee and the sub-committees are to present and discuss their preparedness on the ceremony at today’s meeting.
Afterwards, Chairman of the Steering Committee Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Ko Ko submitted the arrangements on holding the ceremony and Deputy Minister Daw Nu Mya Zan on schedules to be taken to successfully hold the ceremony.
Then, officials of the subcommittees respectively presented measures being taken on a sector-wise basis.
The Vice-Senior General made coordination on the reports and gave concluding remarks.