The Vassa (Pali: vassa-, Sanskrit: varṣa-, both "rain") is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July (the Burmese month of Waso, ဝါဆို) to October (the Burmese month of Thadingyut သီတင်းကျွတ်).[1]
In English, Vassa is often glossed as Rains Retreat[2] or Buddhist Lent,[3] the latter by analogy to the Christian Lent (which Vassa predates by at least five centuries).
