In deference to popular opinion, the Buddha decreed that his follows should also abide by this ancient tradition. This initiated a move away from an itinerant life to a more or less settled existence as the advantages of communal living became apparent. Similar monasteries were founded in other countries where Buddhism became established
Phansa represents a time of renewed spiritual vigor. The mork meditates more, studies more and teaches more. Laymen, too, traditionally, endeavor to be more conscientious, perhap abstaining from liquor and cigarettes and giving extra financial and physical support to their local monasteries. Phansa is also customarily the season for temporary ordinations. Young men enter the monkhood for spiritual training, to gain merit for for themselves and their parents, and to conform to the widespread feeling that a man who has been a monk cannot be considered a mature adulf. In some areas, a man who has never been a mork is avoided by marriageabe girls, who regard him as khon dip or and 'unrire person'.