Uposatha Days

Buddhist lunar Days of Observance

[This essay was originally posted to YouAreThat.org.]

The Condensed Version

Many Buddhists undertake extra discipline on days related to the moon cycle, called Uposatha Days.

In many branches of Buddhism, four moon phases (new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter) are kept as special days of obligation. Others keep only the new and full moon. (As most monks and nuns do, I once had the practice of recognizing these two days by shaving my head.) You can read more about Uposatha practice; although it has been widely adapted to modern life (for example, becoming simply "Sunday" in some Thai temples in America, and "every other Saturday" for head-shaving in some Chinese temples in America), it is worth contemplating. How about giving up meat on those four days every month?

Here are the "eight precepts" for Uposatha days; they are explained more fully at the link above. Note that the first five are the Five Precepts kept by many Buddhists at all times; the other three are added on Uposatha days:

1. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from killing living creatures.
2. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from taking what is not given.
3. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from unchaste conduct.
4. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from false speech.
5. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from distilled and fermented intoxicants which are the occasion for carelessness.
6. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from eating outside the time (i.e. refrain from eating outside the one mid-day mealtime)
7. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from dancing, singing, music, going to see entertainments, wearing garlands, smartening with perfumes and beautifying with cosmetics.
8. I undertake the rule of training to refrain from a high or large sleeping-place.

You can also read the sutta in which the Buddha is said to have originally laid out these practices.

The old Journal Index Page once had the year's Uposatha dates, and a handy image showing the current phase of the moon in your time zone. It's memorialized here.

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