The Lunar Cycle and the Potential for Awakening
As practitioners of a tradition that comes to us from Tibet, we have the opportunity to experience a shift in perspective that aligns ourselves with and allows us to experience the passage of time based on the lunar month as opposed to the solar year. The direct connection between the celestial bodies of the sun, moon, planets, and stars and our coarse and subtle bodies is ripe with potential for awakening and having an understanding of this allows us to access that potentiality.
In the West, we are most familiar with the Gregorian calendar which is a solar calendar based on the sun’s yearly cycle through the zodiac. The Buddhist calendar is a lunar calendar which is based on the moon’s monthly cycle as it moves through the zodiac. Within the Buddhist tradition, there are different forms of the lunar calendar that are derived from different methods of measurement and calculation, which in some cases are very complex. This accounts for the difference that we sometimes encounter between the Chinese calendar and the Tibetan calendar.
Generally speaking, the first day of the lunar month is the day after the new moon, the full moon is the 15th day, and the new moon is the 30th day. Colloquially, we refer to the Buddhist calendar as a lunar calendar, but in fact it is a lunisolar calendar. A lunisolar calendar is a lunar calendar to which adjustments have been made to allow it to better align with the solar calendar. For this reason, we often encounter repeated or skipped days within the lunar month*. This is also why every few years the lunar year will be a leap-year and will have 13 months instead of 12.
I have found that becoming familiar with and attuning to the lunar cycle is beneficial in many ways. One of the blessings of engaging in the traditional Tibetan three-year retreat is that one has the opportunity to fully shift to a way of life that is guided by the moon’s cycle. Monthly rituals are shaped by the phases of the moon and being in retreat high in the Sierra Mountains, the view of the moon and stars in the nighttime sky was radiant and clear. Taking some time every night to open to that expansive view of the celestial bodies and their continual movement allowed for an integration of the deep sense of interconnection with them on both coarse and subtle levels.
On a macro level, integrating this method of measuring movement through time supports and enhances the understanding of interdependent origination and being an integrated part of the constellation of all living things, an illusory jewel in Indra’s Net. On a micro level, one begins to understand and sense the connection between the sun, moon, planets, and stars and the subtle body. It is this connection that accounts for the increased power of practice on particular days of the lunar month.
We are familiar with the impact of the moon and its gravitational pull on the tides as well as the moon’s impact on human and animal physiology. This helps us to open to the possibility that the sun, moon, and other celestial bodies not only influence the physical elements, but that they also influence movement on the level of the subtle body.
In our spiritual practice, our aim is to gain control of the subtle winds and bring them into the central channel. This is when one can experience awakened mind. Just as the moon exerts influence on the physical elements of the earth, it exerts influence on the subtle channels within the body. The influence of the moon on the subtle body is strong at certain phases of the moon, such as the new moon and the full moon. At these times, conditions in the subtle body are conducive for the subtle winds to flow into the central channel. At times of eclipses, the conditions conducive to awakening on the level of the subtle body are even more potent.
This is why certain days of the moon are designated as special practice days and days where the benefit of our practice is multiplied many times over. These are opportunities for liberation as we have better access to awakened mind and it’s inherent qualities.
In the Kagyu tradition, we merge our practice with the lunar cycle by paying homage through practice, mantras, offerings, and ganachakras in the following way:
8th Lunar Day: Medicine Buddha & Tara Day
10th Lunar Day: Guru Rinpoche Day (Chakrasamvara Practice)
15th Lunar Day (Full Moon): Amitabha Day (Amitabha and Phowa Practice) & Day to acknowledge actions undertaken that are harmful or unbeneficial, to set the strong intention to not engage in them further, and to then restore or reaffirm whatever level of vows to which we have committed.
25th Lunar Day: Dakini Day (Vajrayogini Practice)
29th Lunar Day: Dharma Protector Day (Chagdrukpa and Bernakchen Practice) & Day to clean one’s shrine and home.
30th Lunar Day (New Moon): Shakyamuni Buddha Day & Day to acknowledge actions undertaken that are harmful or unbeneficial, to set the strong intention to not engage in them further, and to then restore or reaffirm whatever level of vows to which we have committed.
The cycle of the lunar year also includes days that commemorate the significant events within the life of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The lunar year begins with Losar (New Year), also known as the month of miracles. In addition to it being the first day of the new year, it also marks the first day of 15 days of celebrating miracles displayed by Shakyamuni Buddha.
This year, Losar takes place on February 21st. On this day the lunar year begins. This year is the year of the Water Rabbit. You can read more about the details of Losar and how to prepare for and celebrate it here.
The significant events that are celebrated throughout the lunar year are referred to as the four major festivals or düchen which translates to “great occasion.” On each of these days, the impact of one’s actions is multiplied 100 million times. These are days for meditation practice, making special offerings on one’s shrine, and making offerings to dharma centers. On these days, it is beneficial to bring special attention to all your acts of body, speech, and mind, and aligning them with wisdom and compassion.
Chötrul Düchen (Great Day of Miraculous Manifestations): March 7, 2023
Chötrul Düchen takes place on the 15th day (full moon) of the 1st month of the lunar year and is the day that we commemorate 15 days of miracles displayed by Shakyamuni Buddha. Beginning on losar, we recall that he performed one miracle a day as a way to refute those who challenged his realization and to inspire his disciples. The full moon, the day of Chötrul Düchen, is the culmination and celebration of those 15 miraculous displays.
Saga Dawa Düchen (Buddha Shakyamuni's Birth, Enlightenment and Parinirvana): June 4, 2023
Saga Dawa is celebrated during the 4th month of the lunar year. Saga Dawa is the commemoration of Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana (death). The pinnacle of this sacred month is the 15th lunar day. This day is called Saga Dawa Düchen. It is known in Pali as vesākha and in Sanskrit as vaiśākha.
Chökhor Düchen (First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma): July 21, 2023
Chökhor Düchen is celebrated on the 4th day of the 6th month of the lunar year. It is the commemoration of Shakyamuni Buddha’s first turning of the wheel of dharma. After attaining full enlightenment, Shakyamuni Buddha felt that no one would be capable of understanding this profound realization. But after the Hindu gods, Brahma and Indra implored him to teach, Shakyamuni Buddha gazed upon beings and moved by compassion saw that there were some with “little dust in their eyes” and decided to offer teachings. Chökhor Düchen celebrates this first teaching of the buddha dharma.
Lhabab Düchen (Buddha Shakyamuni's Descent from Trayastrimsha/Tushita Heaven): November 4, 2023
Lhabab Düchen is celebrated on the 22nd day of the 9th month of the lunar year. Lhabab Düchen commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha’s descent from the Trayastrimsha (Heaven of the Thirty-Three Devas). Out of gratitude and a wish to benefit his mother and all beings, seven years after his enlightenment Shakyamuni Buddha went there to offer teachings to his mother, who had died and was residing there. This day commemorates his return to the human realm.
Attunement to the moon as it moves through its monthly cycle and its larger yearly cycle through the zodiac is a profound way to connect with the life of Shakyamuni Buddha and to simultaneously experience our intimate connection with the celestial bodies and the elements that make up our inner and outer experience in this human realm. It then serves as an invitation to the realm of the subtle body which opens a world of potentiality for awakening. Emaho!
*When repeated days occur one is to engage in the designated practice for that lunar day on the first of the two days. If a special practice day is skipped, one engages in that practice the following day.
