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When I was nine years old, I was inspired and enchanted by a film in which Oliver Reed played an ordinary man who saw the full moon and transformed into a howling, hairy werewolf, terrorising the whole town. I think this was my first connection with full moon. It seems to have been both the catalyst and a witness to all manner of scary, mysterious and magical phenomena. 
Later on in life, whilst digging for the gold of the Dharma, I came across astrology, magic and paganism and learnt that the moon was an influential celestial body whose phases were revered as a sacred symbol of life, death and rebirth and the basis for ritual and celebration since the dawn of human spirituality. When I finally found Buddhism at a Theravadin monastery in Northumberland six years ago, I was intrigued to find monks and lay people meditating late into the night of full moon. I was told by one of the monks that it was traditionally regarded as an auspicious time for meditation and particularly potent for purifying negative karma. Perhaps if we can successfully tame the wild, full moon nightmare with the gentle suggestion of meditation then she may carry us much further and much quicker along the path to enlightenment. A year later, I met Rijumitra and Nick Janvier at a Leeds University day retreat and began to get involved with the FWBO. After a year of regularly attending the Wednesday class at the Swarthmore Centre, I started to come to full moon Puja nights at the mens’ community at Heddon Place. On many occasions, I was left with a feeling of calm and vibrant expansiveness after the final ‘Om Shanti’ of the Sevenfold Puja. It seemed as though my usual dispirited collection of personalities had finally reached a peaceful communion outwardly reflected in the warmth and connectedness of the Sangha. There was definitely more awareness, confidence and a sense of quiet transformation. On a few occasions after puja, I have had the pleasure of walking with my good friend Nick to nearby Meanwood park to do a spot of moongazing! I think that my interest and understanding has deepened so much by taking more time to just look and appreciate the naked beauty of full moon appearing from behind a cloud or through winter branches. On very clear nights away from orange streetlights, it surprised me how well I could see things and how beautiful and magical the tall birches, the shadows and the quicksilver beck looked in high moon light. So this is what lonely Ryokan and countless Romantic poets were writing about! Not just an interesting symbol or a celestial timepiece. Another aspect of my moon connection in the last couple of years has been ethical training and discipline. I find that a whole moon cycle culminating in Sangha night is a useful time period for moderating or abstaining from sexual activity, unhealthy food and drinks as well as making a bigger effort to be generous, helpful and more consistent with meditation and yoga. The alchemy of full moon puja and ritual has helped to clarify and give strength to my intention to transform into spiritual gold. After a lull in Full Moon Puja nights two years ago, Nick and I made a commitment to work together to organise and support them on a regular basis at the mens’ community at Heddon Place. It hasn’t been particularly easy to keep them going during a shrine room project but with Samanartha, Rijumitra and the community’s help and patience we’ve done well to keep the werewolf at bay. Nick and I have also been supporting our main Buddhist festivals, many of which are celebrated on the full moon. I’ve enjoyed Samanartha’s enthusiasm and creativity in ritual and decoration and, with assistance, I think he has brought a lot of colour and life to our community building site at festival time. Especially now that the shrine room is almost finished we are very keen to see even more people take part in Sangha nights and the festivals so I’d like to share some thoughts and ideas about the tradition of full moon gatherings and why I think they are still relevant and of potential benefit to Leeds FWBO Sangha in 2001. Recently I have been helping Samanartha with a schedule of dates and new ideas for Full Moon Sangha nights and festivals for the coming year and have become interested in the origins of full moon gatherings in Buddhism. It seems likely that there was already a tradition of full moon gatherings amongst spiritual and religious communities in North India during the Buddha’s lifetime. The marking of time was based on cycles of sun, moon, the stars and the seasons and so the choice of the full moon was a very obvious and practical one for the early Sangha. The potential for light and visibility is greater on full moon night than any other and would have meant safer and easier travel to meeting places in woodland. What was the purpose of the gatherings? Whilst studying the Mahaparinibbana Sutta I came across some of the Buddha’s advice to the bhikkus on creating good conditions for the sustainable growth of the sangha: “The growth of the bhikkus is to be expected not their decline, bhikkus, so long as they assemble frequently and in large numbers; meet and disperse peacefully and attend to the affairs of the Sangha in concord.” This is from the section on ‘Welfare of the Bhikkus’ and suggests that the gatherings were necessary for practical reasons such as ethical conduct, discipline, organisation and safety amongst the monastic order. However on the last weekend retreat, Samanartha’s telling of the story of King Ajatasatu’s full moon journey through the mango grove to find the Buddha sat in meditation with a large gathering of disciples gave me something more magical and inspiring to reflect upon. It seems that certain elements of the story have a historical basis and suggest that on such occasions the Buddha would not just discuss important business matters but also lead group meditation and give talks offering glimpses of his vast vision of existence as well as teaching the way to experience it for oneself. I can imagine how inspiring it must have been to witness the account of a radiant traveller recently returned from another dimension of reality and then, with careful guidance, to have been so freely shown the path to the lost city. Perhaps there would have been opportunities to hear the Buddha respond to challenging questions about the truth and value of his vision or even to have been transformed by just sitting in the blissful orbit of an enlightened man. The Buddha encouraged full moon gatherings amongst his disciples primarily as a means of generating faith in his teachings and in the harmonious growth of the spiritual community who embodied them. As it is true for us today, it was a chance of experiencing a view of life much greater and clearer than can be seen from the shadowy base camp of samsara. After the Buddha’s Parinirvana, full moon gatherings continued on a similar basis but over time followers of the way developed devotional practices to help connect with the spirit of enlightenment. Shrines and stupas containing the bones and ashes of revered Buddhist teachers became the focal points for sangha meetings, ritual, remembrance and veneration of the lineages. In time, the devotional element became more prominent as the desire to worship the Bodhisattvas and archetypal Buddhas arose with the development of the Mahayana and the Vajrayana phases. Similarly, our Full Moon Sangha nights will mainly provide us with an opportunity to take part in the devotional practice of Puja. The Sevenfold Puja helps us to connect with the most important stages of the path reflected in the progressive phases of Buddhist tradition as well as connecting with our spiritual friends who recite, chant and make offerings with us. Puja is the agent which catalyses the spiritual potency of a faithful sangha into joyful individuals. It is both a symbolic act of Going for Refuge and, dependent on the faith and commitment we put into the Sangha cauldron, it can be a very real one. Recently, Samanartha and I have been organising the dates for Sangha nights and festivals in 2001 and have decided to be stricter than in previous years in sticking to full moon. day. We both felt that a positive sense of sacredness and connection with the tradition is compromised the further we stray from the correct dates. I’ve found it helpful and inspiring to think that our ritual and celebration is part of a global picture of simultaneous Buddhist spiritual practice and experience of Sangha. This year we will be dedicating five of our Sangha nights to each of the five Buddhas of the Mandala. Akshobya, Ratnasambhava, Amithaba and Amoghasiddhi are associated with Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter respectively and our hope is to engage with the different faces of enlightenment reflected in the seasonal manifestations of nature. As in 2000, we will be invoking Vairochana, the archetypal Buddha of light, on the Winter Solstice since this is the annual turning point of the earth’s journey back towards the warmth and light of the sun. I think it is important to connect with light at the darkest time to help raise hope, energy and positive intention for the coming year. This can also help to ground us in the more positive aspects of our Christian and pre-Christian festivals of light around Winter Solstice. On a practical level we will be exploring the symbolism of the Five Buddhas primarily in the context of the Sevenfold Puja but also through creative ritual, talks, readings, poetry, music and seasonal decoration. Three of our main Buddhist festivals, Wesak, Sangha day and Dharma day are traditionally celebrated on full moon so we will also be organising retreats and events during the day to make more of these occasions. Celebration is a great way of transmitting and sharing our enjoyment and love of the Three Jewels with our friends and relatives inside and outside the Leeds Sangha. We hope to see more of the varied talents and energies of the Sangha involved in the Festivals this year. Looking back at my involvement in organising and supporting Sangha nights and festivals in the last couple of years has been interesting. Whilst going through difficult moments at times, I have mostly found the work to be rewarding and conducive to a deeper connection with a very friendly and ever more waxing Leeds FWBO Sangha. I’ve become more aware of the kindness and support that I’m getting from my spiritual friends and hope my efforts have been beneficial to you so far and may continue to be. I hope to see you there on Full Moon nights. Remember to bring a few moonsilver bullets - just shoot me if I start howling or getting wild and hairy. [contents] [top] [print] | ||||