The Honey Moon Offering Ceremony (LA)

Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha being served by a monkey and elepphant in the forest (ebay.com). He received offerings of honey and service from an elated monkey and a forlorn elephant in Parileyya forest. These events are now celebrated annually in Los Angeles.

• 2011 Honey Full Moon Observance
  
• California Bodhi Vihara
• 1461 Lemon Ave., Long Beach, CA 90813
• (562) 218-8160

KOSAMBI, India - The Buddha once retreated into Parileyya (Parileyyaka) Forest in a peaceful attempt to reunite two monastic factions who were locked in a heated debate about disciplinary rules. (The minor question being disputed was, Should water pots be left unemptied?)

The intransigent disciples could not be reasoned with. So the Buddha went into solitary retreat as subtle encouragement for them to work out their differences.

While in the wilderness alone, a monkey offered him a honeycomb. It was so elated that the Buddha accepted it that it jumped around wildly and, falling on a tree stump, accidentally died.

It was, according to tradition, immediately reborn in the World of the Thirty-Three as a fruit of its sharing.

It may seem a disproportionate result for such a small act of generosity. But the power of karma is conditioned by more than intention and the size of the gift or deed. Its weight has a great deal to do with the virtue of the recipient. Karmic resultants and fruit will depend on the state of mind of the giver; being happy looking forward to a deed, while performing it, and afterward when reflecting on what was done also magnifies its power.

During the same retreat the Buddha was also offered fruit and attended to by an elephant who, tired of communal life, had abandoned its herd. The monastics soon settled their differences and together with Ananda went into the forest to ask the Buddha to return.

The Buddha receives an offering of honey from a monkey at Parileyyaka (wikimedia).

When the Buddha agreed, the elephant, Parileyyaka, is said to have died of a broken heart. It was also reborn in the happy space (celestial) World of the Thirty-Three. (It is interesting to not that Siddhartha's white horse, Kanthaka, similarly died of heartbreak when Siddhartha left him to renounce the world and enter a quest for enlightenment).

• At Parileyyaka Sutra (SN 22.81)
  

Honey Moon Offering Celebrations

Buddhists from India and Bangladesh (ancient Vanga, a province with Buddhist traditions going back to the time of the Buddha, which until 1947 was part of India) celebrate a special full-moon observance called Madhu Purnima in honor of these extraordinary events.

Celebrations occur in the Indian state of West Bengal state, particularly Calcutta, and in Bangladesh, formerly the Indian state of East Bengal -- in Chittagong for Barua Bangladeshi Buddhists and in the Hill Tracts for Chakma Bangladeshi Buddhists.

Bangladesh has Buddhists?
Bangladeshi Buddhists trace their original homeland to the region surrounding the Buddha's enlightenment, Bodh Gaya, India. A Honey Offering Full Moon Observance is held every year in the month of Bhadro (August/September on the Asian lunar calendar).

It is celebrated as a joyous day of unity and charity to temples emphasizing the giving of honey and fruit.

9/11/11 Commemoration
Bangladeshi-American Buddhists in Los Angeles will observed the full-moon day on Sunday, 9/11. Monks, nuns, lay Buddhists, and guests will gather for celebrations, ancient Buddhist chanting, and the offering of sweets. Honey is symbolic of love, altruistic loving-kindness, amity, compassion, and affection.

It also reminds us of our interdependence with the animal world.

In the last year Ven. Karunananda, Ph.D. has successfully established the first Indian Buddhist temple in Los Angeles. A permanent location in urban Long Beach is now home to the California Bodhi Vihara at 1023 E. 21st Street.

The new abbot, who for many years resided in Pasadena's Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (a Sri Lankan Theravada tradition monastery), has made a home for expats and American seekers in coastal Los Angeles.

The temple/monastic residence (vihara) now holds events that uniquely express Bengali Buddhist traditions -- such as the honey moon offering in an area with various Cambodian Buddhist temples and an American Zen Center (Yokoji).

Help maintain this Indian-Buddhist treasure in Los Angeles by volunteering or donating to its maintenance and the spread of the Dharma:

• California Bodhi Vihara a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
• bodhimission@yahoo.com
• (562) 290-2876 or (562) 218-8160

The Full-Moon Honey Offering

The Buddha receives a honeycomb from elated monkey in Parileyya forest (wikipedia.org).

KOSAMBI, Ancient India - The Buddha once retreated into Parileyya Forest to reunite two monastic factions who were locked in a heated debate about rules. (Should water pots be left unemptied?) The intransigent disciples could not be reasoned with. So the Buddha went into solitary retreat as subtle encouragement for them to work out their differences.

While in the wilderness, a monkey offered him a honeycomb. The monkey was so elated that the Buddha had accepted the offering, it jumped around and, falling on a tree stump, accidentally passed away. He was immediately reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Tavatimsa) as a fruit of his generous sharing. (Such is the power of karma that its fruit depends not only on the gift, and the state of mind of the giver, but also the virtue of the recipient).

The Buddha was also offered fruit and attended to by an elephant who, tired of communal life, had left his herd. The monastics settled their differences and together with Ananda came to the forest to ask the Buddha to return. The elephant (named Parileyyaka) is said to have died of a broken heart when the Buddha left the forest and was reborn in Tavatimsa. Interestingly Siddhartha's horse, Kanthaka, also died of heartbreak when Siddhartha renounced the world.

Honey Offering Celebrations

Buddhists from India and Bangladesh (which up until 1947 was part of India) celebrate a special full-moon observance, Madhu Purnima, in honor of these events. Celebrations occur in West Bengal, India (particularly Calcutta) and Chittagong (Barua Buddhists) and the Hill Tracts (Chakma Buddhists) in Bangladesh (formerly the Indian state of East Bengal).

Buddhists from these parts trace their original homeland to the area surrounding the Buddha's enlightenment place: Bodh Gaya, India. The Honey Offering Full-Moon observance is held in of the month of August/September (Bhadro on the Asian lunar calendar). It is celebrated as a joyous day of unity and charity to temples with the giving of honey and fruit.

Wisdom Quarterly was present as Bangladeshi-American Buddhists observed the full-moon day today. Ten monks assembled and led celebrants through ancient Buddhist chants, while in a distant land Indian Buddhists flooded temples to offer sweets such as honey. Honey is symbolic of love (metta), amity, compassion, and affection, reminding us of our interdependence with the animal world.

One monk is attempting to establish the first Indian Buddhist temple in Los Angeles. A temporary location, a rental in a somewhat seedy area in suburban Long Beach, houses California Bodhi Vihara. A permanent home is now in escrow at 1023 E. 21st St., Long Beach, CA 90806.

Ven. Dr. Karunananda, who resided in Pasadena's Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (a Sri Lankan monastery) for many years, was pressed by expats and devotees in Los Angeles to open a temple/monastic residence (vihara) for the unique expression of Bengali traditions -- such as the Full-Moon Honey Offering.

To help establish the first Indian-Buddhist temple in Los Angeles by volunteering or sending donations ($31,923 is still needed), contact:

• California Bodhi Vihara a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
• 1461 Lemon Avenue, CA 90813
• bodhimission@yahoo.com
• Ven. Karunananda (562) 290-2876 or (562) 218-8160

Los Angeles is unique in that it is home to Buddhist temples from nearly every originally Buddhist country in the world except Bangladesh (ancient Vanga), which became Buddhist during the time of the Buddha.

Dipa Ma: Buddhist Saint

WQ (This updates and replaces the article Knee Deep in Grace)

Dipa Ma literally means "Dipa's mother" (Dipa was her eldest daugther and also a prolific Buddhist meditator). But figuratively it means "Mother of Light." Dipa Ma was born Nani Bala Barua (1911-1989) in East Bengal (Bangladesh). From a young age she displayed an interest in Buddhist rituals, preferring study to play.

Unlike other local girls, she insisted on attending school. However, by the age of 12 she was married off to a man in Rangoon, Burma. After her husband's death in 1957, she took up vipassana meditation under her guru Anagarika Munindra and made swift progress. In 1963, under this same guide in Bodhgaya, India, Dipa Ma began to study and successfully attained the siddhis or "magical powers."

In 1967, she moved to Calcutta where she began teaching meditation to a wide range of Indian housewives and foreign students including the Americans Joseph Goldstein (photographed circa 1970 in India with Dipa Ma), Jack Kornfield, and Sharon Salzberg, who later became prominent teachers. In the early 1980s she was invited to America to teach at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.

Her story was originally brought to light by author Amy Schmidt (mindfulmom.com) in the book Knee Deep in Grace. The book has subsequently been updated and republished as Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master.

• See the Zensite book review.
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) account of Dipa Ma's life

Dipa Ma's teacher Anagarika Munindra: Begin to See (teachings on DVD/CDs)