The Super Moon (sutra)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; EarthSky.org; Ven. Thanissaro a.k.a. Geoffrey DeGraff (trans.), Maha-punnama Sutra (MN 109), accesttoinsight.org

Dad, can we fly to the moon? - Yes, son.

The full moon of Nov. 14, 2016 is the biggest, closest, and brightest supermoon of the year. And it’s the closest supermoon since Jan. 26, 1948. Should we watch for this full moon on the night of Nov. 14? YES and if you do, it’ll be beautiful. (Well, it'll be beautiful anyway, so we should watch it). But for people in the Americas the moon is closer to full on the night of lucky Nov. 13th.

 

What's so super about this moon?

The moon turns precisely full on Nov. 14, 2016 at 13:52 UTC. This full moon instant will happen in the morning hours before sunrise Nov. 14th in western North America and on many Pacific islands east of the International Date Line. (See worldwide map below).

 

The Goddess Chandra Devi (light being)

In Asia and Australia the moon turns precisely full during the evening hours of Nov. 14. In New Zealand it actually happens after midnight Nov. 15. Around the longitudes of Europe or Africa, look both nights. More

• The Moon and Aldebaran on November 15

NASA has always lied about the Moon
Al Theeathoone

Is the earth flat?* 47 years of NASA lies about the Moon. The moon is much closer than we are told and its own source of light (not simply reflected from the sun), according to empirical data we can test if we would only open our minds.

 

(Oct. 23, 2016) Questioning  the distance of the Moon from Earth based on the easy visibility of a tiny (53 mile long) feature, the Tycho crater, at the bottom of the artificial satellite. But wait, there's more: viewing astronauts jumping on the Moon,  gravity on the Moon, Moon models and miniatures, lying astronauts, missing videos, data, blueprints, and other records of the Apollo missions.

• *Before you laugh, investigate. Debunk the claim, or try to. It may make you a believer. The world we see with our eyes is actually close to the way it is.

The Great Full Moon Night Discourse

Ven. Thanissaro (trans.), Maha-punnama Sutra (MN 109) edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in the Eastern Monastery, in the palace of Migara's mother. On that occasion -- the lunar observance day (uposatha) of the fifteenth, the night of a great full moon -- he was sitting out in the open with the community of monastics.

 

Then a monk, rising from his seat, arranging his outer robe over one shoulder and placing his hands palm-to-palm over his heart, said to the Blessed One:
 

"Venerable sir, there is an area where, if the Blessed One will give me leave, I would like the answer to a question."

 

"Very well, monk. Sit back down in your seat and ask whatever you wish."

 

Responding to the Buddha, "Yes, venerable sir," the monk sat back down in his seat and said, "Are these not the Five Aggregates of Clinging -- form aggregate of clinging, feeling...perception...formations...consciousness aggregate of clinging?"

 

"Monk, these are indeed the five aggregates of clinging -- form...feeling...perception...formations...consciousness aggregate of clinging."

 

Saying, "Very good, venerable sir," the monk delighted and approved of the Blessed One's words and then asked him a further question: "But in what, venerable sir, are these Five Aggregates of Clinging rooted?"

 

"Monk, these Five Aggregates are rooted in craving."
 

More questions, explanations

Saying, "Very good, venerable sir," the monk...asked a further question:
 

"Is clinging the same thing as the Five Aggregates of Clinging, or is clinging separate from the Five Aggregates of Clinging?"

 

"Monk, clinging is neither the same thing as the Five Aggregates of Clinging, nor is it separate from them. It is just that whatever passion and delight is there, that is the clinging there."

 

Saying, "Very good, venerable sir," the monk...asked a further question: "Might there be diversity in the desire and passion for the Five Aggregates of Clinging?"
 

"There might, monk. There is the case where the thought occurs to someone, 'May I be one with such a form [body] in the future. May I be one with such a feeling [sensation]... perception [receptive of sensory stimuli]... [mental] formations... such a consciousness [awareness] in the future. This is how there would be diversity in the desire and passion for the Five Aggregates of Clinging."

 

Saying, "Very good, venerable sir," the monk...asked a further question: "To what extent does the designation 'aggregate' [heap, group, collection] apply to the aggregates [heaps]?"

 

"Monk, whatever form is past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near, that is called the aggregate of form.
 

"Whatever feeling is past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near, that is called the aggregate of feeling.
 

"Whatever perception is past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near, that is called the aggregate of perception.
 

"Whatever formations are past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near, those are called the aggregate of formations.
 

"Whatever consciousness is past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near, that is called the aggregate of consciousness.

• [Note 1: One form of consciousness apparently does not come under the aggregate of consciousness. This is termed viññanam anidassanam -- consciousness without a surface, or consciousness without a feature. MN 49 says specifically that this consciousness does not partake of the "allness of the all," the "all" being conterminous with the Five Aggregates of Clinging. The standard definition of the aggregate of consciousness states that this aggregate includes all consciousness, "past, present, or future... near or far." However, because viññanam anidassanam stands outside of space and time, it would not be covered by these terms. Similarly, where SN 22.97 says that no consciousness is eternal, "eternal" is a concept that applies only within the dimension of time, so it would not apply to this form of consciousness.]

"This is the extent to which the term 'aggregate' applies to the aggregates."
 

Saying, "Very good, venerable sir," the monk...asked a further question: "Venerable sir, what is the cause, what the condition for the delineation [2] of the aggregate of form? And what is the cause, the condition for the delineation of the aggregate of feeling... perception... formations... consciousness?"

• [Note 2: Delineation (paññapana) literally means, "making discernible." This apparently refers to the intentional aspect of perception, which takes the objective side of experience and forms, fabricates, makes it into discernible objects. In the case of the aggregates, the Four Great Elements, contact, and name-and-form provide the objective basis for discerning them, while the process of forming the mental formations takes the raw material provided by the objective basis and turns it into discernible instances of the aggregates. This process is described in slightly different terms in SN 22.79.]

"Monk, the Four Great Elements [are the characteristics of matter (rupa) known colloquially as earth, water, fire, and air] are the cause, the Four Great Elements are the condition for the delineation of the aggregate of form.

"Contact is the cause, contact the condition, for the delineation of the aggregate of feeling. Contact is the cause, contact is the condition for the delineation of the aggregate of perception.

"Contact is the cause, contact is the condition for the delineation of the aggregate of formations.

"Name-and-form (nama-rupa, mind and body, mentality and corporeality) is the cause, name-and-form is the condition for the delineation of the aggregate of consciousness." More