Ven. Nyanatiloka (Buddhist Dictionary: A Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines); Ven. Yuttadhammo (Ask a Monk: Uposatha); Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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| "Crow Moon," "Sap Moon," "Crust Moon," "Lenten Moon," "Wind Moon"= "Worm Moon" |
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| The Buddha at Borobudur, Java, Indonesia |
The Buddha regarded the full moon as having special significance as a monthly holiday.
He was born, he fully awakened, and he chose to pass into final nirvana under the full moon, all in the holiday month of Vesak.
He also knew it to be of special significance as one of four monthly "fasting" holidays, a time when he encouraged all people to observe the Eight Precepts for a full day.
This is called uposatha (lit. "fasting"), the weekly fasting day (usually observed by fasting from noon until the next morning) and as a time to be compassionately vegetarian.
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| The Moon Goddess Selene, Greek lunar deity, with the human Endymion (wiki) |
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The four days of the month on which uposatha is observed is the full-moon day, the new-moon day, and the first and last quarter-moon days.
On full-moon and new-moon days, the Monastic Disciplinary Code (Pātimokkha) is read in front of the assembled community of monastics. For laypeople, the four moon-days are a time of observance when Buddhists visit monasteries and take upon themselves the training of observing the Eight Precepts for 24 hours, meditating and listening to sutras.
- See A.VIII.41ff.
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