Adventures in Church: Full Moon Day

What is Theravada Buddhism? — Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia (squarespace.com)

Marching in front of the temple grounds at the LA consecration (srilankafoundation.org)

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It is good to keep the fasting day

The Buddha commended an ancient practice on the subcontinent (proto-India), and that was the lunar observance days (the Sabbaths which includes the Buddhist "Sabbath").

Just as the Abrahamic faiths keep the "Lord's Day" (which had always been Saturday not Sunday, given the very word Sabbath means "Saturday," like the pagan, pre-Christian, Wiccan, Jewish Shabbat, the holy or rest day for spiritual stuff.

The Buddha could see back in time that this custom was very good and should be continued. He gave it a Buddhist spin -- like previous buddhas, observing the Eight Precepts rather than the ordinary daily Five Precepts, fasting (eating only between dawn and noon), practicing intensive meditation, hearing and studying the Dharma and Discipline, the path to liberation pointed out by the Buddha.

He taught a path-of-practice that includes calm and insight meditation (shamatha, the jhanas, satipatthana, and vipassana). These are the practices of:

• serenity (silence and stillness)
• the meditative absorptions (samadhi)
• systematic mindfulness (of the four foundations or domains)
• insight ("clear-seeing") and the Seven Factors of Enlightenment.
• The Buddha taught that the fasting day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind/heart," resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, Buddhists intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. More

Rains Retreat (Vassa) schedule lists weekly Dharma
talks and monthly Poya or Lunar Observance Days.

One need not be a wandering ascetic, an austere monastic, a celibate (anagarika), nor a "little nun or monk" (samaneri/samanera) to practice for insight.

It would be nice and could be very helpful to speed things up to fruition, but it is not necessary. That means a normal, ordinary householder (workaday family person with possessions and worldly obligations) can practice what the Buddha taught and advance in this very life. There's no need to wait.

What are the Four Enlightening Truths, particularly the fourth, which is known as the Enlightening Eightfold Path?

Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles in art Uposatha

The lunar observance day (Uposatha) is the day to find out. It is observed in Los Angeles at many Theravada Buddhist temples of Southeast Asia. One in particular is the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara. Instead of practicing weekly, it does so monthly on the full moon day or an approximation of it.

Due to scheduling constraints, September's lunar observance day is being conducted today, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, beginning at 8:00 am with a day of scheduled sitting and walking meditations, Dharma talks, lunch, and question and answer periods.

Lunar observances during the three-month Rains Retreat period

We're spiritual seekers in LA looking for Truth

The Rains Retreat continues in Los Angeles, so we trekked over to visit the Mindfulness Meditation Center of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in the suburbs of LA's San Gabriel Valley:

• Mindfulness Meditation Center
• 1023 N. Glendora Ave.
• Covina, CA 91724
• INFO: (626) 364-7497

The Center has a vision. It is to bring people to a depth of realization of the Buddha’s path to liberation through direct experience.

Why would anyone be a monk? We should ask.

The Mindfulness Meditation Center – Covina (LABV) is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist spiritual center dedicated to the study and practice of Buddhist teachings (Dharma) and meditation (bhavana) and is committed to the possibility of liberation for all beings from pain, disappointment, and unsatisfactoriness (collectively called dukkha or "suffering").

American Col. Henry Olcott in old Sri Lanka

The Center welcomes diverse populations. It supports and encourages the development of compassionate action towards everyone for a community based on the ideals, teachings, and practices in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.

• What happened last week? Rains Retreat Sunday Dharma talk, Los Angeles

Mission

The Citadel of Sigiriya atop a massive rock in Sri Lanka, once a Buddhist monastery

Maha Moggallana̞, Sri Lanka

Its mission is to provide practitioners with Buddhist teachings to manifest wisdom and compassion in all aspects of life for the benefit of all beings.

It is a spiritual center and a sanctuary dedicated to the study and practice of mindfulness meditation according to the Theravada Buddhist lineage. It provides Los Angeles and neighboring communities with opportunities to practice meditation, study Buddhist teachings, and apply those teachings in the context of daily life.

August's lunar daylong retreat

There are weekly sitting groups, monthly (lunar observance) daylong retreats, and weekly study courses. Invited guest speakers from other Buddhist centers in the United States and around the world supplement the offerings of dedicated local teachers.

The Center supports and encourages compassionate actions locally and globally to help people who are in need of support materially and spiritually around the globe. mindfulnessmeditationcenter.org

• Information: Mindfulness Meditation Center - Covina Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara | Covina | Facebook
• Formerly in Pasadena, now in Covina, CA
• Hsi Lai Temple, 3456 Glenmark Dr., Hacienda Heights, California (Yelp)