The Story Related To The Ceremony To Pray For Rain

Rain water is a special clement. livery kind of plants, animals and people all depend on rain to survive. The entire dry season during which a gardener tries to pour the garden, but the growth of those crops is not equal to rainfall for a time. Therefore, in a period or a year during which there was shortage of rain, two kinds of horrible incidents always break out. starvation and diseases. It is these two big disasters which prompt the tradition to pray for rain to become a significant tradition which our Khmer people have preserved until the present time. Drought always causes great suffering to both humans and animals. Long, long ago, the Gautama Buddha was born as the king of the Rah fish living in a pond in Vasah country. During a period of time, there was no rain in the whole of Vasah country and the water in all the lakes and ponds dried up. As for the water in the pond in which the king of the Roh fish lived also dried up and there was only thick mud left. then, such fish-eating birds as vultures and herons ate fish in that pond happily everyday. The king of the Roh fish told other fishes to dive into deep mud miserably to hide themselves from those birds. One day, the king of the Rah fish discussed with other victimized fishes: "Since we were born as fish, we have never harmed other animals, so we should not have experienced such hardships." At that time, the king of the Roh fish prayed to the triple gems, namely, the Buddha, dharma and sangha to help save him and other fishes. Then, a marvelous phenomenon happened. The heaven where Preah Indra lived became so Sultry that he ordered a male divinity to drop a heavy rain everywhere flooding all the low parts of The land The king of the Roh fish and other fishes Lived happily ever since. Due to such marvelous happening, when There is drought, people often holds a ceremony to pray for do by inviting the Buddhist monks t0 recite dharma entitled Sotao Nathao and by digging a small pond in which they release a Roh fish to swim in it before starting the prayer.