The Supermoon Buddhist Observance

Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Ñanavara Thera and Bhikkhu Kantasilo, Uposatha Sutra: The Lunar Observance (AN 8.41)

Burma's Shitthuang Pagoda, ruins of Mrauk U, Arakhine state (Jon Sheer/Jraptor/flickr)

The brilliant and nearby Supermoon 2014 (Evgeny Yorobe/earthsky.org)

  

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was residing in Jeta's Grove at the millionaire's monastery, near Savatthi.

At that time the Blessed One, having called all the monastics together, addressed them: "Meditators!" The monastics answered in assent: "Venerable sir!" (They then prepared themselves for the following sutra). The [Buddha] then gave the following teaching on lunar observance days (uposatha).
 
"Meditators, the lunar observance is comprised of eight factors [precepts] that the noble (one entered upon the stages of enlightenment) disciple observes, the observation of which brings glorious and radiant fruit and benefit.
 
"Meditators, what is the lunar observance?"
 
1. "Noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline reflect in this way: 'All enlightened beings (arhats), for as long as life lasts, have given up the intentional taking of life. The club and sword have been laid down. They have shame (of doing evil) and are instead compassionate toward all beings.'
 
"All of you have given up the intentional taking of life, have put down all weapons, are possessed of shame (of doing evil), and are compassionate toward all beings. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the first factor.

 
2. "Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline also reflect: 'All arhats, for as long as life lasts, have given up taking what has not been given. They take only what is given, are intent on taking only what is given. They are not thieves. Their behavior is spotless.'
 
"All of you have given up the taking of what has not been given, are ones who do not take what is not given, are intent on taking only what is given, are not thieves. Your behavior is spotless. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the second factor.

3. "Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline also reflect: 'All arhats, for as long as life lasts, have given up that which is an obstacle to the Brahma-faring [Brahmacharya, the high life, the pure life, continence, chastity, celibacy]. Their practice is like that of a brahma [a god being]. They are far from sexual intercourse [or any erotic activity for this observance day], which is a practice of lay people.'
 
"All of you have given up that which is an obstacle to the Brahma-faring and behave like a brahma. Your behavior is far from sexual intercourse. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the third factor.

Standing Buddha statue, Thailand, rung by Moon (happySUN/flickr.com)

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Moon and Sun-faced-Buddha points.

4. "Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline also reflect: 'All arhats, for as long as life lasts, have given up false speech [perjury, harsh-, divisive-, or careless-speech]. They utter only the truth and are intent on the truth. Their speech is firm and is composed of reason. Their speech does not waver from that which is a mainstay for the world.'
 
"All of you have given up false speech. You speak only the truth and are intent only on that which is true. Your speech is firm and with reason. Your speech does not waver from that which is a mainstay for the world. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the fourth factor.
 
5. "Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline also reflect: 'All arhats, for as long as life lasts, have given up the taking of liquors and intoxicants, of that which intoxicates, causing carelessness (heedlessness). They are far from intoxicants.'
 
"All of you have given up the taking of liquors and intoxicants. You abstain from drink which causes carelessness. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the fifth factor.
 
6. "Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline also reflect: 'All arhats, for as long as life lasts, eat at one time only and do not partake of food in the evening. They abstain from food at the 'inappropriate' time."
 
"All of you eat at one time only and do not partake of food in the evening. You abstain from food at the inappropriate time. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the sixth factor.
 

What is a "super" moon? (rednewswire)

7. "Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline also reflect: 'All arhats, for as long as life lasts, have given up singing and dancing, the playing of musical instruments, and the watching of entertainments, which are stumbling blocks to that which is wholesome. Nor do they bedeck themselves with ornaments, flowers, or perfume.'
 
"All of you have given up singing and dancing, the playing of musical instruments, and the watching of entertainments, which are stumbling blocks to that which is wholesome. You do not bedeck yourselves with ornaments, flowers, or perfume. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the seventh factor.
 

8. "Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma and Discipline also reflect: 'All arhats, for as long as life lasts, have given up lying on large or high beds. They are content with low beds or bedding made of grass.'
 
"All of you have given up lying on large or high beds. You are content with low beds or beds made of grass. For all of this day and night, in this manner, you will be known as having followed the arhats, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the eighth factor.
 
"Meditators, the lunar observance is comprised of these eight factors which the noble disciple observes, and it is of great and glorious fruit and benefit."
 
Thus the Blessed One spoke on the lunar observance. The monastics were delighted and rejoiced at his words.

• Self-Discipline: Cornerstone of the Dharma

VAS: Buddhist "Rains Retreat" period begins

Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Abbot Dhammarama, Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara LENT/VAS 2014

How shall I spend the rainy season, hopping around or meditating? (onebigphoto.com)

On Sunday, July 13, 2014 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (LABV) temple will celebrate the commencement of the Rains Retreat period, often called "Buddhist Lent."

It is a period of intensive practice for monastics and a time when lay practitioners visit temples, monasteries, and pagodas to hear the Dharma (Teachings), engage in devotional activities, meditate, and establish their ties with monastics.

LABV will have weekly Dharma talks open to all on Sundays followed by Sri Lankan island cuisine. Many visiting monastics will deliver sermons, hold question and answer sessions, and be available to clarify points of controversy and uncertainty regarding the Buddha's teachings.
 

Sunday is the Super Moon of the ancient month of Asala. The lunar observance for those dressed in white includes an all-day virtue (sila) program where visitors are invited to observe the Eight Precepts for the day according to ancient Indian tradition from at least the time of the Buddha.

Rains Retreat

According to the ancient Theravada Buddhist tradition, the Asalha Full Moon Day marks the beginning of the Vas (Vassana) Season. Supporters of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara will formally invite the resident monastics to observe Rains Retreat at 5:00 pm. Those observing the Eight Precepts earlier in the day are also invited to attend this auspicious and meritorious event.

There will be an opportunity to listen to the Dharma and practice meditation to enhance every practitioner's direct knowledge of the  Dharma and develop inner peace during the three months of this season. Weekly programs during this period will be:

• Dharma sermons,
• Sutra discussions,
• Meditation practice,
• Bodhi devotional ceremonies,
• Atavisi Buddha puja and more

Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara

920 N. Summit Ave., Pasadena. CA 91103

(626) 797-6144

But why?
Wisdom Quarterly wiki edit

Buddhist monks traversing Pongua Waterfalls in Vietnam (sun-surfer.com)

 
The three-lunar-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners during the Indian rainy season is called Vassa between July and October. In English, it is often glossed as Rains Retreat or Buddhist Lent, the latter by analogy to the Catholic/Christian Lent (which Buddhism predates by at least five centuries). For the duration of monastics reside at one monastery rather than traveling around. In some monasteries, they dedicate this time to teaching the Dharma or to intensive meditation. Some lay Buddhists choose to observe the period by adopting more ascetic practices, such as giving up alcohol, meat, and smoking if they are already engaged in these harmful activities. It may casually be called "Buddhist Lent," others object to this terminology. It is, after all, more of an obligation for monastics than lay Buddhists. How long someone has been a monk or nun is actually calculated not by calendar years but by how many Rains Retreats one has successfully observed. Most Mahayana Buddhists do not observe it, though many Seon/Thien monastics in Korea and Vietnam observe an equivalent retreat of three months of intensive practice in one location, and in Tibetan Buddhism this period of intensive retreat is called Yarne.

The Lunar Observance (sutra): Blood Moon

Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson (trans.), Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly (AN 8.41)

The Moon in eclipse goes red, but a tetrad of events? (goingglobaleastmeetswest)

Blood moon means something's about to change. The Hagee says so! (phoenixaquua)

 
Bad Lunar Observing

Look, omens in the sky! (endoftheworld)

The world will end tonight under the blood moon... (but will resume in the next sub-moment almost, but not exactly, the same; every sub-moment is that way: arising, turning, and passing away).

One day it will not resume in only a slightly different way, but that is as yet far away.

OMG, the Bible says so!

At that time of destruction with seven suns, the world evaporates and overheats, presumably with cosmic rays and an uncountable number of interacting neutrinos.

While the world yet remains, how should one observe the lunar days? These are Eight Precepts observed weekly by lay Buddhists as an intensive temporary practice (for one full day) on the new moon, quarter moon, half moon, and full moon.

The Good Lunar Observance

The Moon (Luna, Chandra) goes through phases (melissahardytrevenna)

  

Another moon every week

Thus have I heard. At one time the [Buddha] was residing in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's hermitage, near the city of Savatthi. Having called together the monastics, he addressed them: "Meditators!"

They answered in assent, "Venerable sir!" (This allowed them to prepare themselves to hear the following sutra). The Blessed One then taught them this Dharma regarding the lunar observance (uposatha).

 

"Meditators, the lunar observance is comprised of eight factors observed by the noble disciple. Their observation brings glorious and radiant fruit and benefit. 

"Meditators, what is the lunar observance observed by noble disciples that brings glorious and radiant fruit and benefit?"

"Meditators, noble disciples in this Dharma-and-Discipline reflect in the following way:

Life

All beings desire to live (kyivpost.com)

1. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, have given up the intentional taking of life (killing). The cudgel and sword have been laid aside. They dread (doing harm) and are instead compassionate toward all beings.'

 

"All of you have given up the intentional taking of life... For this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the first factor.

• See karma (deeds); sila (virtue)

Stealing

It's not stealing if dictators do it? (Olle)

2. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, have given up taking what has not been given (stealing). They take only what is given, are intent on taking only what is given. They are not thieves. Their behavior is spotless.'

 

"All of you have given up the taking of what has not been given... For all of this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened... This is the second factor.

Sex

Let's split! - I'm behind you and ready to slip.

3. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, have given up that which is an obstacle to the Brahma-faring (supreme life). Their [passionless] practice is like that of a brahma. They are far from sexual practices [even further from sexual misconduct], which is a practice of ordinary lay people.'

 

"All of you have given up that which is an obstacle to the Brahma-faring and behave like a brahma. Your behavior is far from sexual practices. For all of this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the third factor.

 
Speech

No, I said no strings attached (SH).

4. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, have given up false speech [musavada: perjury, backbiting, tale bearing, idle chatter]. They utter only the truth and are intent on the truth. Their speech is firm and composed of reason. Their speech does not waver from that which is a mainstay for the world.'

 

"All of you have given up false speech. You speak only the truth and are intent only on what is true. Your speech is firm and full of reason. Your speech does not waver from the world's mainstay. For all of this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the fourth factor.
 
Intoxication

Getting high can end up low (cracked.com)

5. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, have given up the taking of intoxicants causing carelessness. They are far from intoxication.'
 

"All of you have given up the taking of intoxicants. You abstain from (drinking alcohol and) intoxicants that cause carelessness. For all of this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the fifth factor.
 
Eating

Snacking is cheating and the way to be fat.

6. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, eat at the proper time and not outside of it [taken to mean between dawn and noon]. They abstain from food at improper times (vikala bhojana).'
 

"All of you eat at the proper time only and do not partake of food after. You abstain from food at improper times. For all of this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the sixth factor."
 

Distractions

If an ad says so, it must be good.

7. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, have given up singing and dancing, the playing of musical instruments and the watching of [distracting] entertainments, which are stumbling blocks to that which is wholesome. Nor do they deck themselves in jewelry, ornaments, or perfume.'
 

"All of you have given up these things, which are stumbling blocks to the wholesome. You do not deck yourselves in jewelry, ornaments, or perfume. For all of this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the seventh factor."
 
Beds

I love sleeping with my "knitted boyfriend" body pillow. He's my yarn creation.

 
8. "'All enlightened beings, for as long as life endures, have given up using large or high beds. They are content with simple accommodations (low beds or bedding made of grass).'
 

"All of you have given up using large or high beds. You are content with simple accommodations. For all of this day and night, in this way, you will be known as having followed the enlightened, and the lunar observance will have been observed by you. This is the eighth factor."
 

"Meditators, the lunar observance is comprised of these eight factors, which thenoble observes, and it is of great and glorious fruit and benefit."
 

So said the Blessed One spoke on the night of the lunar observance, and the monastics were delighted and rejoiced at his words. Questions and Answers

Full Moon Buddhist Observance (meditation)

Amber Larson, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; LA Buddhist Vihara

FREE monthly full moon observance, Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara, Pasadena

   

Meditation bowl (dojo-zen-de-paris/flickr)

We rushed to the Los Angeles Buddhist Temple in Pasadena to be there in time.

Today was the full moon, the lunar observance day to fulfill the Eight Precepts.

The Buddhist island tradition in Sri Lanka, once known as Serendipity just off the southern tip of India, holds that those who wish dress in white, arrive early, and begin a day of meditation, island food, Dharma talks and study holding true to three additional restraints.

We practice the Five Precepts everyday, even in America, even in the city, even in the biggest bawdiest megalopolis in all the land. Hollywood is not so far away. Distractions abound. It's cold, there's a drought, Valentine's Day just reminded us that we suck, the chemtrails cause a disturbing haze, and all the nights' parties pile into one heap in our heads.

The Eight Precepts

These are voluntary observances for lay Buddhists who wish to practice Buddhism more intensely on special lunar days. The Five Precepts are daily practice, humane karma that leads to rebirth on this plane and the lower celestial worlds of good fortune. The eight focus both on abstaining from morally unskillful behavior, as do the Five Precepts, and on practicing in a way more conducive to concentration and fast meditative progress.

 

In Theravada Buddhist countries -- such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia -- Buddhists often spend one day a week (uposatha days: the new moon, first-quarter moon, full moon, and last-quarter moon days) visiting a Buddhist monastic complex (vihara) and practicing the full complement of Eight Precepts.

 

The Buddha gave this instruction, encouraging ordinary people to regularly take up eight precepts and practicing them with diligence:

1. Abstain from injuring or depriving any living being of life (whether human or non-human).
2. Abstain from taking what is not given (e.g., stealing, misappropriating, moving things that may cause misunderstandings).
3. Abstain from all sexual misconduct and activity. (See comic below).
4. Abstain from all false speech (perjury, deceiving others, manipulating others, using hurtful or divisive words, chatter).
5. Abstain from using all intoxicating substances, which can lead to carelessness.
6. Abstain from eating at inappropriate times (the appropriate time being after sunrise but before noon).
7. Abstain from singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment performances, wearing perfumes, and using cosmetics or garlands (decorative accessories).
8. Abstain from high and luxurious seats and beds and overindulging in sleep.

Sex? Can I go a whole day without my erotic thoughts, words, actions? Can I even go an hour? Binky finds out the answers to these life questions ("Life in Hell," Matt Groening)

Why would anyone in his or her right mind undertake to practice these for a day? It is the way the Buddha practiced his entire career as a world teacher. It is the way monastics practice today. Undertaken for the right reason, avoiding extremes and keeping to tradition established by the Buddha himself as explained in the sutras and discipline (vinaya), they free one from distractions. And an undistracted heart/mind inclines to quick concentration, absorption, and liberating-insight.

Mudra (mysecretpsychiclife.com)

If what we want is enlightenment or just peace of mind, spiritual knowledge and vision or just stress management, psychic powers or self-control, complete equanimity or a heart overflowing with compassion, successful meditation leads us to our goals.

What if our meditation does not succeed? The Buddha gave many aids to success (such as the Factors of Absorption) and antidotes to obstacles (such as the Five Hindrances). The Eight Precepts, which can be practiced alone or in the company of others interested in striving, are tools to help that we as humans are lucky enough to be able to learn and practice. Of course, there are Hollywood parties and endless distractions if we prefer.

Full Moon Observance/War Crimes

Wisdom Quarterly; LABuddhistVihara.org, 11-17-13

Lunar observance flyer

November 17: The Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in Pasadena is a Sri Lankan Theravada monastery and temple complex. It observes the traditional lunar observances (uposathas), which include the practice of the Eight Precepts (sila or sill), meditation (bhavana), hearing the Dharma (bhana).

• Next lunar observance: Sunday, Dec. 11, 2013 - Sill Program (Eight Precept observance and meditation)

Sinhalese war crimes against Tamil minority

Krishnadev Calamur (NPR.org, Nov. 15, 2013)

Rajapaksa (Chris Jackson/PA/Landov)

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa defended his country's human rights record amid a barrage of criticism as the [largely Buddhist] Indian Ocean island-nation hosts the Commonwealth summit [with prominent nations boycotting].

 

"Civilians, women, children, and pregnant women were brutally killed by the terrorists continuously for 30 years, and none are being killed now," Rajapaksa said [as if to justify the war crimes he committed and those of previous administrations]. "That is the peace the country has won."

 

Sri Lanka has only recently emerged from a bloody decades-long civil war [the longest in Asia], which pitted the country's Sinhalese [Buddhist] majority with separatist [Hindu] Tamil rebels in the north and east of the island nation. [Tamils have lived on the island, coming from neighboring Tamil Nadu, India, a few miles away by a strait, Palk Bay, that is sometimes traversable by foot.] 

 

Buddhism traveled through Asia from India

Human rights groups allege that tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed [in a genocide that followed decades of prejudicial treatment by the majority Buddhist Sinhalese] in the final push against the few rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

 

The issue has dominated the Commonwealth meeting, which begins in [the Sri Lankan capital of] Colombo this week. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Canada's Stephen Harper are among the leaders who have stayed away [boycotting the meeting to demonstrate against human rights abuses by Pres. Rajapaksa and previous administrations]. India has a significant Tamil population of its own.

 

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is attending the meeting, says he will ask Rajapaksa "tough questions" on human rights and war crimes charges.

Rajapaksa heads the Commonwealth for the next two years. The group comprises countries that were former British colonies. [Sadly, not all Buddhist monks stayed neutral during the civil war, evincing nationalist sympathies against the direct calls of elder Sangha leader pleading for peace and neutrality.]

Sri Lankan war crimes

North was once a Tamil majority area

Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

Wisdom Quarterly is a great fan and supporter of Sri Lanka, a beautiful Buddhist island nation and former colony of the British and Portuguese. But one need not be blind to love it. We will not defend, conceal, minimize, or collude with ANY country's government engaging in systematic institutional racism, war crimes, genocide, or abuse of its citizens, not even if that country is our own.

 

Our weapon-dealing, conflict-loving USA is much to blame for the civil strife in Sri Lanka, playing the Gandhi Family's India and Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan against Sri Lanka's majority government. There is perhaps no country in the world that is not touched and ruined by our CIA, which has now become a transnational institution unto itself, an ally of the military-industrial complex rather than the vast majority of American citizens. Americans know more about the secret NSA and its illegal activities than we even begin to suspect about the CIA and its push to destabilize governments worldwide to serve the interests of business and multinational corporations.

While we do not agree with the Tamil separatist movement, it is certainly understandable why it happened: decades, perhaps centuries, of abuse by the majority Sinhalese population. The island's civil war was never a religious conflict, but it certainly got painted as such. Nearly all Tamils are traditional Hindus. And there are sizable Muslim (as in the nearby Maldives), Christian (remnants of British rule), and Catholic (remnants of Portuguese) minorities.

Sri Lanka's government repeatedly colluded to lengthen the war rather than rushing to end it at all costs. A previous president was assassinated for playing both sides (Tamil and Sinhala) to advance his own hold on power. A Gandhi was taken out by a disgruntled Tamil on account of the civil war, India never being able to overtly support the Tamil separatists, though perhaps aiding them covertly. CIA and British involvement is implicated, with America working its own strategy of supporting and pressuring all sides and all countries involved. The US trained Sri Lankan government and police services, so their draconian use of force was not completely unexpected. 

Indian atrocities

The same outrages occur in Kashmir between India and Pakistan and China. It is impossible to fully side with India against Pakistan because of its unconscionable abuse of Kashmiri Muslims. Indian militants -- sent to occupy the Himalayas by the Indian government to maintain its Line of Control (border) with Pakistan, China/Tibet, and Afghanistan -- disappears, imprisons, tortures, recruits, beats, and murders Kashmiris on a regular basis. This behavior against its Muslim-majority neighbor (Pakistan), created by the exiting colonial British with their successful "divide and conquer" strategy, is not limited to a sworn enemy. It is visited upon tiny landlocked Nepal, which is utterly dependent on India economically and politically. 

Nepal is mainly Buddhist, as all Himalayan nations (former kingdoms) traditionally were. But it is now the world's only "Hindu nation." This is brought about by Indian influence and census manipulation. Nepalese cry out every time we point out that the Buddha came from India. The Buddha was not born in India. He came, according to Dr. Ranajit Pal, from what is now Afghanistan and what was then the northwest frontier of greater India (Bharat) in the region of ancient Gandhara. There was no organized or united "India" at that time, only loosely affiliated maha janapadas (great clan territories).