“I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon”
— The Waterboys, The Whole of the Moon (This is the Sea, 1985)
The moon becomes full at 19.21 tonight in the UK, something you may or may not be aware of, depending on how much you look at the sky at night (and how cloudy it is).
Our distant ancestors worshipped the moon as a deity, whereas now we have a more scientific understanding of how it orbits the earth (in a cycle of 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes), producing the different phases from new to full and back again based on the relative position of the sun. Most of us have also grown up familiar with pictures of the Apollo 11 moon landing, now over half a century ago, and Neil Armstrong’s first human steps on its rocky surface.
However, just as knowing that flowers are plant reproductive organs that produce nectar and perfume to attract pollinators does not detract from their beauty, so the vision of the moon in the night (or day) sky still has the ability to take our breath away and inspire great poetry.
Full Moon and Little Frieda*
by Ted Hughes
A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket –
And you listening.
A spider’s web, tense for the dew’s touch.
A pail lifted, still and brimming – mirror
To tempt a first star to a tremor.
Cows are going home in the lane there, looping the hedges with their warm
wreaths of breath –
A dark river of blood, many boulders,
Balancing unspilled milk.
‘Moon!’ you cry suddenly, ‘Moon! Moon!’
The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work
That points at him amazed.
*Little Frieda Hughes, the daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, was born in 1960 and grew up to be a successful painter and poet in her own right.
Before we adopted the solar calendar in the west, time was measured by the phases of the moon (I doubt it will surprise many people that the word ‘month’ has its origin in ‘moon’) and many countries and religions still use lunar time. Chinese New Year and the annual date of Passover and Easter (Passover begins on the night of a full moon after the northern vernal equinox) are entirely dictated by lunar time.
Buddhism has a similar reliance on the moon for religious observances and it is traditional for both lay and monastic Buddhists to observe Uposatha days on the occasion of the full and new moon, with a greater intensity of practice and (for lay followers) an adherence to monastic precepts for the day.
In Sōtō Zen, only the day of the full moon is observed, with a ceremony known as Ryaku Fusatsu, in which we go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma (Buddhist teachings) and Sangha (Buddhist community) and re-commit to the ten major precepts (training rules) which constitute:
- not killing
- not taking what is not yours
- not misusing sexuality
- not speaking falsely
- not misusing intoxicants
- not blaming others
- not praising self at the expense of others
- not being possessive
- not indulging anger
- not maligning the Three Treasures – Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
The precepts are to be kept in our heart in every moment, but the full moon is a time of reminding ourselves what the training rules are and why we take them.
In Zen Buddhism, the moon is also symbolic of enlightenment, perfectly reflecting the light of the sun, just as the awakened mind reflects the totality of existence without partiality or judgement.
The thirteenth century Zen master Eihei Dōgen put it as follows:
“Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky. The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky.”
— Shobogenzo Genjokōan (tr. Kazuaki Tanahashi)
Since the moon becomes full later today, this morning I lit incense and reflected on how well I have kept the precepts over the last month, and promising to follow them as best as I can until the next full moon.
Enlightenment may have to wait a little longer!
Living With Narwhals 