Ven. Subhūti (AmericanMonk.org, 9/13/21); Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The Buddhist Sun App
 |
| When's dawn? Life with Buddha Dhamma Sangha |
Why is the sun important for monastics and meditators? Why is it important for eight and ten precept holders?
If one is a nun, monk, or a practicing yogi (meditator) who in keeping with the additional precepts has vowed not to eat after noon, one will benefit from this app.
The real solar noon is not 12:00 pm when it comes to the Buddhist monastic rules because there were no clocks back then. The sun was used to know when to stop eating. In addition to noon, dawn is also important to know exactly because that's the time at which one may start taking food. If one eats before dawn, one is eating when it is still considered night.
This app calculates dawn based on different methods one can select. It also calculates solar noon with a speech countdown timer. The app uses GPS to calculate noon and dawn. Burmese (Myanmar), Sinhalese (Sinhala or the language of Sri Lanka), and Chinese are supported.
This app was created for monastics, but those who follow Buddhism's Eight Precepts will also find it useful. It has a default safety set to one minute, which can be increased or disabled. The astronomical algorithms are based on calculations by Jean Meeus and are accurate to within one minute in normal geographical locations.
- Watch video
Buddhist Sun is a small app that displays noon specific to Buddhist needs. Because I usually eat with my hands like most monks in Asia, I need to have a hands-free way to know when noon is approaching. The timer with voice notifications turned on lets me know how much time is left for eating. It's an enjoyable app.
Why is it important?
Those who follow Buddhist monastic rules do not eat after noon. This self-disciplinary rule refers to the sun at its zenith in the sky rather than clocks. There were no clocks in the Buddha’s time.
Timeanddate.com is recommended to verify the app’s accuracy. This application is meant for present moment location use.
Calculations:
The calculations are based on equations from Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus. Sunrise and sunset results are theoretically accurate to within a minute for locations between +/- 72° of latitude. Please consider stopping well before the stated time.
Noon:
The Noon screen displays noon for the current day as selected by GPS or city in an easy-to-view manner. All times reflect the safety from settings.
Dawn:
The dawn screen displays the selected dawn formula from the settings and also various solar calculations. All times reflect the safety from settings.
- Pa-Auk Forest Monastery = ( Sunrise – 40 Minutes)
- Na-Uyana = ( Sunrise – 30 minutes)
GPS:
GPS automatically sets the city if the internet is on and the checkbox is ticked. It is recommended that GPS settings be used for each unique location because noon will be most accurately reflected this way. The app has not been tested with day light savings locations.
Settings Page:
Offset: This is automatically set when using GPS. If using city search in settings, select an offset (GMT +/- local time).
Safety:
This subtracts minutes from noon to make it earlier and adds to dawn to make it later. The formula is accurate within one minute, so the default safety is one minute.
Dawn:
Choose preferred dawn. Na-Uyana Monastery uses sunrise -30 minutes, and Pa-Auk Forest Monastery uses sunrise - 40 minutes. Safety adds x-minutes to this time.
Timer:
The timer screen allows for hands free audio notifications. Speech means text to speech. The volume is controlled by the slider. Under normal conditions the speech notifications only work while the screen is on. To fix this make the screen stay awake with the “screen always on” switch, or enable the “TTS with screen off” feature. This will enable background operation while the screen is off and prevent the device from entering sleep mode. Test this background feature a few times before relying on it. Some phones may not allow it.
No one else will be responsible for anything. When closing the application, a method is called to stop the background task. Know the app is running in the background by the sun icon being displayed in the top of the phone’s notification area (where the time and signal bars are).
If Buddhist Sun is not in background mode, one will not see a sun icon. This feature is not available for iOS users.
The speech announcements are in the following minute intervals: 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and 0.
Privacy:
A full privacy statement is located at: americanmonk.org/privacy-policy-for-buddhist-sun-app. No information is collected.
May this help all who use it reach nirvana (nibbāna) quickly!
- Buddhist Sun and Tipiṭaka Pāḷi Projector
- Five, Eight, and Ten Precepts
- Most important Buddhist lesson learned and taught
- Rice soup in Buddhist culture?
- The Buddha’s intermittent fasting
- Are you a Buddhist
- The Mantra of Loving-Kindness
- How to make a monastic water filter in three minutes
- A Buddhist monk’s prayers for the old and sick
- Buddhist monks’ robes information
- Buddhism and Abortion
- Why is the Rainy Season (Vassa) late sometimes?
Powered by YARPP.
Recent articles:
- Remembering 9/11
- Are Theravāda nuns' ordinations valid?
- Did the Buddha know Einstein’s theory?
- The most basic Pali chants to learn
- Free Buddha pictures
Mailing address:
- AmericanMonk.org
- 4121 Rice St Apt 101
- Lihue, HI 96766-1474
Buddhist Sun & Tipiṭaka Pāḷi Projector
5, 8 and 10 Precepts
Most Important Buddhist Lesson Learned and Taught
Rice Soup in Buddhist Culture?
The Buddha’s Intermittent Fasting
Are You A Buddhist
The Mantra of Loving-Kindness
How to Make a Monk Filter in 3 Minutes
A Buddhist Monk’s Prayers For The Old And Sick
Buddhist Monks’ Robes Information
Buddhism and Abortion
Why Is Vassa (Rainy Season) Late Sometimes?
No comments:
Post a Comment