The Full Beaver Moon

Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly

This month's full moon is known by the Native Americans, particularly the Algonquin (according to The Old Farmer's Almanac), as the "Full Beaver Moon." It is a time of harvest as Indian summer dissolves into cold, fall begins with a chill in the night, and Buddhists celebrate the lunar observance (uposatha) by adopting Eight Precepts and practicing meditation to cultivate serenity and liberating insight. If one sets as an aim to grow tranquil and insightful, to be calm and mindful, the results of success are immeasurable. Even if one does not accomplish the aim with full meditative absorption (zen, dhyana, jhana, ch'an) and enlightenment (bodhi), which comes in stages, one nevertheless makes a great deal of merit (punya), storing it up for a future in samsara, the Wheel of Rebirth that wearily grinds on with our only real company our own karma.