Chol Vossa (enter rainy season) or Rainy Retreat, one of annual religious festivals, begins today in the pagodas throughout Cambodia.
In this three-month-long festival, the monks do not leave their pagodas to collect alms as usual. They must remain within the temple compound. Anyway, they can accept the invitation of devotees and travel out at day time, but they can not stay out of the pagoda over night.
Generally, Buddhist followers offer Tean Vossa (Vossa candle), a large candle that has to be lighted the whole days and nights during the festival, as well as oil, robes and other food supplies to the monks.
Tean Vossa is considered as the light for life, in which the dark part of life would be lightened, guiding a way out toward nirvana.
The end of the Rainy Retreat or Chegn Vossa Festival will be also celebrated. This year, it falls on Oct. 30.
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