The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2619 page)

 
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Vassa
.

Three-month rain period (sometimes referred to as a ‘Buddhist
Lent
’) when Buddhist
bhikkhus
remain in their monasteries for more intense meditation, and when laymen may join the community for a brief period. Vassa begins with the festival of Poson.

 
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see
DITYAS
.

 
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(4th/5th cent. CE).
Buddhist philosopher, said to be a younger brother of Asa
ga. According to tradition, Vasubandhu was originally a follower of
Sarvastiv
da
(in
H
nay
na
). When the teachings of the Mah
y
na were revealed to him, Vasubandhu quickly came to see its superiority and embraced the
Vijñ
nav
da
school which his brother had established. Vasubandhu's major works include the
Abhidharmako
a
, a scholastic compendium, and the extensive
Vijñapti-m
trat
-siddhi
, a work on idealism. Shorter works are the
Tri
ik