2021 • 2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar Gregorian & Lunar Calendar Guide for Uposatha days santivara Dear dhammafarers It is with gratitude to the BuddhaDhamma that the following information was compiled for the benefit of fellow buddhist who are intent on the path of practice and who are not in the know of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Though the Uposatha days fall on the new moon and full moon days of the month, the 8th and 23rd may be observed too. Thus the calendar provides a good guide for the lunar days. It should be noted that the dates may vary or differ from the Thais, Burmese or Sri Lankan traditions. Hopefully, this small dana of knowledge may benefit many. Sadhu. Sadhu. Sadhu. Take It Easy Make It Simple Stay With The One Who Knows Stay With The Dhamma as expounded by Gautama Buddha J A N U A R Y 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar JANUARY The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta – The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma Sutta is a Buddhist text that is considered by Buddhists to be a record of the first sermon given by Gautama Buddha. The core topics of this sutta is the Four Noble Truths (Cattari Ariyasaccani) on suffering (Dukkha), which refer to and express the basic teachings of Buddhism in a detailed explanation. Subsequently this sutta also reveals the Buddhist concepts of the Middle Way of The Noble Eightfold Path (Ariya Atthangika Magga) of impermanence and dependent origination. The Buddha sums up his definition of Dukkha with – “aggregates (The 5 Khandhas) subject to clinging are suffering (Pancupadanakkhandha) ”. In summary, this composite body of the 5 Khandhas itself is a Cause of Suffering. F E B R U A R Y 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar FEBRUARY February 26 Magha Puja Day also known as Sangha Day It commemorates the spontaneous gathering of 1250 arahants to whom the Buddha gave the exhortation on the basis of the Discipline (Ovada Patimokkha). This day marks an important moment in Buddhist history. It is traditional to use this day to honour the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha (his enlightenment), the Dhamma (the teachings of the Buddha) and the Sangha (the community of Buddhists monks around the world). M A R C H 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar MARCH Cattari Ariyasaccani The Four Noble Truths It comprise the essence of Buddha’s core teachings. They are: 1. the truth of suffering, 2. the truth of the cause of suffering, 3. the truth of the end of suffering, and 4. the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.* * The Noble Eightfold Path (Ariya atthangika Magga) A P R I L 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar APRIL Ariya Atthangika Magga The Noble Eightfold Path The guide to the end of suffering. The eight parts of the path to liberation are grouped into three essential elements of Buddhist practice— Moral Conduct (Sila), Mental Discipline (Samadhi) and Wisdom (Panna) 1. Right View (Samma Ditthi) 2. Right Thought (Samma Sankappa) 3. Right Speech (Samma Vaca) 4. Right Action (Samma Kammanta) 5. Right Livelihood (Samma Ajiva) 6. Right Effort (Samma Vayama) 7. Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati) 8. Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi) . M A Y 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar MAY May 26 Vesakha Day also known as Buddha Day, Bodhi Day and Nirvana Day It commemorates the birth (Buddha Day), enlightenment (Bodhi Day) and passing away (Nirvana Day) of the Buddha. This significant day is celebrated throughout the Buddhist world and marks an important moment in Buddhist history. The true essence of Vesakha Day is to celebrate the Buddha Dhamma, the teachings, as revealed by Gautama Buddha rather than the physical presence of the Buddha himself. J U N E 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar JUNE Pancupadanakkhandha The 5 Khandhas It refers to the Five Aggregates subject to clinging are suffering, the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are: 1. FORM (the body) Rupa. This is matter that is tangible (ie can be touched), are composed of four basic base elements or forces: earth (solidity), water (cohesion), fire (heat) and wind (motion). 2. SENSATION (feelings) Vedana. These are feelings experienced from using the five senses with contact to sense objects or subjects. 3. PERCEPTION (the process of recognising what things are) Sanna. 4. MENTAL FORMATION OR FABRICATION (thoughts) Sankhara. 5. CONSCIOUSNESS (an awareness of things) Vinnana. J U L Y 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar JULY July 24 Asalha Puja Day also known as Dhamma Day It commemorates the Buddha’s first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta or The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma Sutta given to the five ascetics (Samanas)* in the Deer Park at Sarnath, near Varanasi. The traditional Rainy-Season Retreat (Vassa) begins on the next day. *Among the 5 ascetic friends, the Buddha acknowledged Kondanna by remarking “annasi vata bho Kondanno (meaning “you have realised, Kondanna”). Five days later, hearing the subsequent Anattalakkhana Sutta regarding anatta, Kondanna gained full arahantship. Kondanna thus became the first bhikkhu (monk) in the Buddha’s dispensation, known as the sangha. A U G U S T 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar AUGUST IMPERMANENCE Sabbe Sankhara Anicca, Sabbe Sankhara Dukkha, Sabbe Dhamma Anatta All conditioned things are impermanent, all conditioned things are Painful, all dhammas are without Self. Impermanence, called ANICCA (Pali) appears extensively in the Pali Canon as one of the essential doctrines of Buddhism. The doctrine asserts that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is transient, evanescent and inconstant. Thus, all physical and mental events are compounded objects or formation (Sankhara) and have a dependent origination and are not metaphysically real. They are in a continuous change of condition and are not constant or permanent; they come into being and dissolve, subject to decline and destruction. ANICCA is understood in Buddhism as the first of the three marks of existence (Tilakkhana), the other two being DUKKHA (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness) and ANATTA (non-self, non-soul, no essence). That humans are subject to delusion about the three marks, that this delusion results in suffering, and that removal of that delusion results in the end of suffering, is a central theme in the Buddhist Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path. S E P T E M B E R 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar SEPTEMBER PERCEPTION OF IMPERMANENCE ANICCA Perception of impermanence through the 5 Khandhas . the Buddha said: “And how, bhikkhus, is the perception of impermanence developed and cultivated so that it eliminates all sensual lust, eliminates all lust for existence, eliminates all ignorance, and uproots all conceit ‘I am’? ‘Such is form, such its origin, such its passing away; such is feeling … such is perception … such are volitional formations … such is consciousness, such its origin, such its passing away’: that is how the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated so that it eliminates all sensual lust, eliminates all lust for existence, eliminates all ignorance, and uproots all conceit ‘I am.’” — Samyutta Nikaya, connected discourses on the aggregates 22.102 O C T O B E R 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar OCTOBER October 21 Pavarana Day Pavarana is a Buddhist holy day celebrated on Aashvin full moon of the lunar month. It marks the end of the 3 lunar months of Vassa retreat, sometimes called “Buddhist Lent.” On this day, each monk (Pali: bhikkhu) must come before the community of monks (Sangha) and atone for an offense he may have committed during the Vassa. In the following month, lay people may offer the Kathina-robe as part of a general alms-giving ceremony. ORIGIN: In India, where Buddhism began, there is a three-month-long rainy season. According to the Vinaya (Mahavagga, Fourth Khandhaka, section I), in the time of the Buddha, once during this rainy season, a group of normally wandering monks sought shelter by co-habitating in a residence. In order to minimize potential inter-personal strife while co-habitating, the monks agreed to remain silent for the entire three months and agreed upon a non-verbal means for sharing alms. After this rains retreat, when the Buddha learned of the monks’ silence, he described such a measure as “foolish.” Instead, the Buddha instituted the Pavarana Ceremony as a means for dealing with potential conflict and breaches of disciplinary rules (Patimokkha) during the vassa season. N O V E M B E R 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar NOVEMBER PERCEPTION OF IGNORANCE AVIJJA Perception of ignorance through the 5 Khandhas . the Buddha said at Savatthi. Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha and said to him: “Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘ignorance’. What is ignorance? And how is an ignorant person defined?” “Mendicant, it’s when an uneducated ordinary person doesn’t understand form, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. They don’t understand feeling … perception … fabrication … consciousness, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. This is called ignorance. And this is how an ignorant person is defined.” — Samyutta Nikaya, connected discourses on the aggregates 22 D E C E M B E R 2021•2564 Theravada Buddhist Calendar • Gregorian & Lunar Calendar DECEMBER PERCEPTION OF KNOWLEDGE PANNA Knowledge gained by a virtuous person at the experiential level through meditation is pañña, precisely called bhavanamaya pañña. At Savatthi, seated to one side, that mendicant said to the Buddha: “Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘knowledge’.