When does summer really begin? It's not an astronomical question, as the people into genes insist gender is as easy to assign as reading x's and y's. It is easy if we make it that easy, but it is not so easy when we do not all agree to that as the objective measure.
What is "social summer"?
Mandatory: All Americans must visit a beach.
There's a kind of social summer, which runs between Memorial Day and Labor Day, just an approximation. The seasons do not always cooperate even in parts of the US where four distinct seasons make themselves obvious. There is "Indian summer," which is just a way of saying a long hot spell after official calendrical summer should have ended.
Another example of social summer is the one set by the local school district: When school ends, that's summer. Just ask Alice Cooper! When school begins again, that resumption is the end, even if the weather is still great and drives to the beach are worth the traffic.
There did not used to be a "universal time" but rather many different times depending on the place. They were not simultaneous but more dependent on the sun circling (not revolving) overhead chased by the moon. Those were Tartarian (Tartary) times, and that's all been erased now. A universal measure imposes a definition that does not make sense for everybody on the ground.
Another social summer measure is determined by the concert calendar. The end comes to Pasadena, Los Angeles with the Just Like Heaven Festival this Saturday (Aug. 22, 2026).
New for 2026: Updated clubhouse amenities, enhanced VIP experiences, plus new shade sails, cooling misters, expanded shaded seating, and additional water refill stations throughout the festival grounds, giving concertgoers even more ways to stay cool and recharge between musical sets. For even more convenience, spend the day in VIP for a lot more money. Spend the day dancing in the expansive VIP viewing areas and lounging in shaded spaces between acts, all while enjoying exclusive food and drink options and air-conditioned restrooms.
Buy Now Just Like Heaven | August 22, 2026
"Defund the police" was a deception to provoke public outrage. Congress funds new secret police forces and pays them much more now. If police officers want to scam the system, overseers look the other way. Let's make THE PURGE legal for a little while, and then we can use the predictable mayhem and disorder as a pretext to implement some Orwellian policies for "public safety" and a smiley face police state.
Four-Day Hybrid Retreat with Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi (online or in-person)
Buddhist Association of the United States (BAUS, Chuang Yen Monastery, Carmel, Upstate NY
PRACTICING THE DHAMMA: From Bondage to Liberation
a Four-Day Hybrid Retreat with Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
Beginning Sept. 4th and running through Sept. 7th a retreat will study the groups of mental factors that hold us in bondage to samsara, the cycle of repetitive birth and death, and the opposing factors that lead to liberation.
This retreat is based on the Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Chapter II, Sections 4–8, and Chapter VII, Sections 3–14 and 24–40.
The retreat includes Dhamma talks, discussion periods, and five sessions of meditation each day. It also provides the opportunity for those who haven’t yet “gone for guidance” (ti-sarana) to go for guidance to the Three Jewels, the first decisive step to formally becoming a follower of the Buddha-Dharma.
This retreat is conducted in hybrid mode, meaning it is both onsite in New York and online worldwide. Those who cannot attend in person can practice at home, participating online over Zoom or YouTube.
Those who wish to join in-person can come to BAUS/Chuang Yen Monastery and stay from Friday evening until Monday afternoon.
The monastery can accept only 50 onsite practitioners. If someone applies after the 50 spaces have been filled, that person will be put on a waiting list and accepted if prior applicants drop out.
Remember, anyone who can’t join in person can join from home via Zoom or YouTube.
REGISTER to participate in person only if committed to coming to Chuang Yen Monastery and staying all the way through Monday afternoon. If participating only part time, please join online.
A more detailed schedule will be posted later, but reserve these dates now. To register, go HERE.
Order a copy of the Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma (either electronic edition or hardcopy) from Pariyatti Press HERE.
International Workers' Day is observed on May 1st. It is also called "May Day" but differs from the pagan/heathen European fertility festival May Day (like Shinto Japan's Steel Phallus Fest), which is of ancient origins.
It marks the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on May 1, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox and midsummer solstice [1, 2].
Festivities are also held the night before (on April 30th), which is known as May Eve. Traditions include gathering green branches and wildflowers ("bringing in the May") [3] that are used to decorate buildings and made into wreaths. Plus there's the:
Crowning a May Queen (ask Led Zeppelin), sometimes with a male companion (Jack in the Green) decked in greenery;
setting up a Maypole, May Tree, or May Bush, around which celebrants dance and sing;
parades and processions involving these [4].
Bonfires are also a major part of the festival in some regions.
Regional varieties and related traditions include Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe [1], the Gaelic festival Beltane [5], the Welsh festival Calan Mai [5], and May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary (a Christian-Jewish version of Kwan YinorMother Maya). It has also been associated with the ancient Roman festival Floralia [6]. More
Watch: Massive anti-Trump union-led Labor Day protests rock Chicago and cities across America | AC1G
(DRM News)
Sept. 1, 2025: #WorkersOverBillionaires Join DRM News for live coverage of the "Workers over Billionaires" protest in Chicago. Union leaders lead a nationwide movement demanding fair wages and worker rights over corporate wealth. Middle East Eye
(9 News Australia) Major nationwide pro-Palestine demonstrations
Get real-time updates, exclusive interviews, and insights from the march. Watch now to follow this historic fight for justice.
Workers over Billionaires, Chicago protest, union rally, labor movement, fair wages, worker rights, union leaders, income inequality, corporate greed, Chicago march, labor protests, workers’ rights, U.S. protests, economic justice, live news, breaking news, labor unions, DRM News, workers strike, social justice. #ChicagoProtest#LaborMovement
The fest includes Love’s Labour’s Lost
by William Shakespeare [or Edward DeVere or the klatch of writers that were borrowed and stolen from to make the Bard's canon] runs June 25 to July 27 (with no performance on July 4th due to fireworks, traffic, and picnics) with performances on Wednesdays through Sundays @ 7:00 pm.
Doctor Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe runs from August 6 to August 31, Wednesdays through Sundays @ 7:00 pm.
Pack your picnic, shake out your blanket, and call your friends, LA’s biggest theater event of the summer begins Wednesday, June 25th!
SYNOPSIS
Love’s Labour’s Lost: Four gentlemen commit to a celibate life of disciplined study, but the last thing they expect is a quartet of aristocratic ladies to sweep them off their feet. Shakespeare’s intoxicating wit meets Bridgerton’s spicy society drama in this lush, bawdy, and bittersweet romantic comedy.
Doctor Faustus: A mysterious scholar sets his sights on mastering the dark arts and strikes a deal with the devil to make the magic happen. Marlowe’s playful, seductive fever dream becomes a satirical, soul-stirring thrill ride where unchecked ego meets ultimate consequence. After all, when you play with fire…there’s hell to pay.
Alongside these extraordinary productions, ISCLA (the Independent Shakespeare Company Los Angeles) have special events all summer long, including workshops, theme nights, and community engagement activations.
Stay up to date by joining the mailing list, and hit the button for more details. See you at the park! Independent Shakespeare Co.
For Father’s Day tell us a story about how a father-figure in your life has taught you a life lesson about Buddhism — whether it was intentional or not as is the case with most “dad” lessons.
Hallie Ewig and her hip hop gangster rap dad
Hallie Ewig (she/her/hers) University of Washington, Class of 2022: “For as long as I can remember, my dad has exclusively listened to hip-hop music. When I was little, instead of listening to pop artists on the car radio, he would play artists like Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., and Wu-Tang Clan from his iPod. I never really understood why he listened to music most parents would find “profane.” One time I asked him, “Dad, why do you listen to songs with bad words in them?”
He responded by turning up the volume and saying, “Just listen to the lyrics, Mika.” If you really listen to the lyrics, you can see that all of these Black artists are sharing a common theme intertwined with the swear words: systemic racism. My dad has been exposing me to Black oppression before I was even old enough to understand it.
He taught me that it is important to not only listen to others but to do so with compassion, and music is a great place to start. Even though we face our own racism as Asian-Americans, we must be compassionate to the struggles of others so that we can unite to overcome them together. Black men, women, children, members of the LGBTQ+ community, dreams, and futures [all] matter. They have always mattered, and they will forever matter. Thank you, Dad, for everything!” More:The Young Buddhist Editorial
QUESTION:It's Father's Day. How would a Western follower of the Buddha make use of this celebration?
How and why would a "modern" or "Western" follower of the Buddha's Teaching celebrate this day and use it to give gratitude to his or her father as one of his/her first gods and the other three gods?
Maybe readers would like to share also how you fulfill their personal duty to give others inspiration and ideas. This mean not being greedy but instead sharing possible merits you have.
(Note: This question is given as a gift of Dhamma and not for commercial purpose or meant for worldly gain.) Source:Buddhism Stack Exchange
The Buddha’s Legacy as a Father
Ven. Rahula, the Buddha, and Ananda
The San Mateo Buddhist Temple warmly welcome all to join the community in person for its Family Dharma Service on Sunday, June 15, 2025. On the occasion of Father’s Day, Rev. Adams will share a Dharma Talk about the legacy that Sakyamuni Buddha left for his son Rahula and how the Buddha’s compassionate care for all beings was like the concern of parents for their only child. The Buddha's Legacy as a Father (June 15) - San Mateo Buddhist Temple
Wisdom Quarterly COMMENTARY
Do you love me, Daddy? - More than life itself.
Was Prince Siddhartha loved by his father? The story/allegory of the Buddha's life makes that clear, unless he was a narcissist trying to live through his child, as even many non-narcissists do. King Suddhodana doted on his beloved son, the prince and future chief of the Scythians/Indo-Sakas. He wanted for his son what he wished for himself -- world dominion, the role of "world monarch" (chakravartin). The Brahmin soothsayers said it would be so IF only the boy were pampered and kept from seeing the world as it really was. For the son so loved the world that he came back to save everyone.
A father with a father and wife
Sid married at 16 and had a son at 29. Realizing it was now or never, he set off on a quest.
In this anachronistic, Western-informed fantasy, Samsara (2001), beautiful Yasodhara rips selfish Siddhartha for daring to leave his family to pursue his own fame, glory, and good times.
It's sad to reflect that most Westerners do not know who the Buddha was, their heads having been filled up with popular misconceptions of a fat happy Budai or Herman Hesse's book Siddhartha (which the careful reader will note is NOT about the Buddha but another guy named Siddhartha) which tangentially touches on the story of the Buddha's life.
Hesse's novel mirrors Everyman's Tale, the Hero's Journey, based on the allegorical story of the Buddha's life in general. Some of the Buddha's life story is not even about this Buddha but previous ones the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) mentioned when teaching about previous supremely enlightened teachers (samma-sam-buddhas) who had arisen in this world.
Buddhist Madonna and Child
We forget that Siddhartha G. was a father because what are we all taught? That's right, that he abandoned the family (renounced the palace) for the easygoing life of a spiritual nomad, a wandering mendicant answering to no one with all the fun and palaver of going East on a spiritual quest. What could be more fun and full of good times? All that yoga and sitting around, no job, talking to other groovy hippies with long hair and beards on the Hippie Highway to Magadha and Bihar.
(Dalai Lama) Mothers are kind, and fathers
are left to be the unpopular tough ones.
The prince leaves his wife, Yasodhara (Bimba Devi), never meets his kid (Rahula or "Bondage"), says "fudge you" to the Ol' Man (King Suddhodana), not even a wave his mother-aunt (his mother, Queen Maya's sister, Pajapati Gotami)...right? Right? Wrong.
Intention (cetana) matters. It is the basis of karma (deeds, actions). What was Prince Siddhartha thinking to drop out like that? (Where was he going to tune in and turn on?) We know from the ancient texts of the Pali canon that his wife knew where he was, how he was, and why he was doing it. So well did she know that she copied him. When he ate only one meal and slept on the ground and wore saffron, she took up these things. We impute to her how we would feel if we had been abandoned after giving birth, and this is completely wrong and misleading. The Los Angeles area monk Ven. Walpola Piyananda understands the matter so well that, together with Stephen Long, he tried to correct all the misconceptions in his book Thus We Heard - Recollections of the Life of The Buddha.
I'm hitting the road on a quest.
Siddhartha's intention, motivation, impulse to leave was to find "salvation" from suffering for everyone -- his father, his mother(s), his wife, his son, his family, his friends, his people, and all living beings, particularly the humans and devas. He didn't go to go forever. He went until he was successful. It took him seven years to do what he had to do (to accomplish what it means to be a "supremely awakened" "Buddha," which is different from an arahant or paccekabuddha). He had to attain full realization (maha bodhi), make known the path to enlightenment, which entailed preaching the Dhamma (Dharma exclusive to buddhas), and establish a Sangha (community) of successful practitioners, disciples capable of memorizing, chanting, and teaching that Dharma.
Mom, where's Dad? - That deadbeat?
As soon as he did that, he came back. How old was his son when he returned to Kapilavatthu (Gandhara, Afghanistan, Saka Land)? His son, Rahula, was 7. His former wife had not remarried even though she could have and was encouraged to. The family had not moved on -- his father having sent many messengers to bring his son back to rule the Sakas/Shakyas/Indo-Scythians and to find news of him. The only thing that had changed was that the son's son was now the prince. Rahula was now being raised to lead. The Buddha didn't think that was much of a legacy to leave his son. Instead, he gave him his grand inheritance worthy of a buddha: He had him ordain as a monastic, stayed by him, and brought him to enlightenment.
Son Rahula became Ven. Rahula and enlightened. Wife Yasodhara became a nun (Ven. Rahulamata) and enlightened, the fiercest disputant in all the land able to debate anyone and win. FatherKing Suddhodana became an Aryan ("noble") disciple, attaining one or more of the stages to enlightenment. Mother Queen (Maha) Pajapati Gotami (Prajapati Gautami) became the world's first Buddhist nun and enlightened.
Many Scythians/Shakyian princes and princesses entered the Monastic Sangha and gained realization -- and the Buddha opened up that possibility to everyone, creating a Noble Sangha that was far larger than the Monastic Sangha we all imagine to be the "disciples" of the Buddha. It may have included 80,000 people, but it certainly included countless millions of devas. The Buddha is popularly known not only as the "Master Physician" but also as the "Teacher of Gods and Men" (of devas and humans).
Does that sound like a hippie on the Hippie Trail gallivanting around India with no job, doing nothing, leaving his wife, abandoning his son, sticking a choice finger in the direction of a loving and overprotective father and doting foster mother? The Buddha didn't forget his biological mother (Maha Maya) or even his previous mother in many lives (a woman the texts simply refer to as Mata along with her husband, Shakyamuni's father in many previous lives).
Now remember, young man, be a good father.
Wouldn't it have been better if he had stayed home, raised his son, tended to the householder life of the palace, been a dutiful son to his father, and made his mother proud? We wouldn't be talking about him now. He would never have become the Buddha, "the Enlightened One," in that life. But people, Westerners in particular, still want to bellyache, gripe, and air their grievances, full of wrong view, putting down the Great Teacher like they know better how a profitable life is lived.
International Workers' Day observed on May 1st and is also called "May Day" but the two have different histories: May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on May 1, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox and midsummer solstice [1, 2]
Festivities are also held the night before, known as May Eve. Traditions include:
gathering green branches and wildflowers ("bringing in the May") [3], which are used to decorate buildings and made into wreaths;
crowning a May Queen, sometimes with a male companion (to Jack in the Green) decked in greenery;
setting up a Maypole, May Tree, or May Bush, around which people dance and sing;
as well as parades and processions involving these [4].
Bonfires are also a major part of the festival in some regions.
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