The lotus moon

Photo taken on 24 July 2021 at 10.07pm from my vantage point in Bukit Mertajam. Moon was at 99.4 percent illumination but beginning to wane. The night sky being so much clearer tonight, the moon can be seen in greater definition. It's no imagination but very faint tinges of red and blue can be ascertained on the moon's surface if observed carefully.

Lotus moon: that's another name to describe the full moon seen on the 15th day of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is associated with the day that the Lord Buddha gave his first discourse after achieving enlightenment.

It is said that about 2,610 years ago on the full moon day of May, Gautam, the Sakyan prince turned ascetic, became enlightened as the omniscient Lord Buddha under the Bodhi tree in Bodhigaya, India, after six years of striving in the thick forest of northern India. After spending 49 days at Bodhigaya in bliss and contemplation of his discovery of the path to Enlightenment, he set foot on the 50th day on his journey to start his teaching. 

From Bodhigaya, the Lord Buddha walked barefooted for about 250km to meet his five fellow ascetics - Kondañña, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa, and Mahānāma - who once attended to him when he was on self-mortification. However, they had abandoned him after he gave up that austere practice. The five ascetics were at Samath, Isipatana, the Deer sanctuary of Benares, which is the present-day Veranasi in India. 

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It was on the full moon day of July when the Lord Buddha arrived there several days later. The sun was about to set and the full moon just emerged from the horizon. Here on Earth, only five humans were present at that moment to listen to his first discourse but innumerable numbers of higher beings - brahmas and devas - were also present, unseen to human eyes, all awaiting earnestly to hear him expound the great Dharma. 

To commemorate the occasion of the first discourse, setting in motion the Turning of the Dharma Wheel, today marks the day when monks and lay devotees celebrate the auspicious day. Since that first teaching, Theravadin monks (see note below) have fixed this full moon day as the day to enter their annual Vassa (rains retreat) for a three-month period, spending the time meditating in the monastery without any long-distance travel.

(The above story was adapted from a whatsapp posting received today.)

[Note: In case people disputes me, a Theravadin is a follower of Theravada Buddhism.]