Full moon thread

[seekingbuddha]

Tomorrow being full moon day, and watching the moon that was so beautiful today, i got reminded of the need to discuss this.  I asked my acupuncturist what TCM has to say about full moon. The reply was that full moon has effect on the human body.  So, i wonder what effect people have noticed  on full moon day or surrounding days.   What have you experienced in your body or/and in mind  during these days ? Any other knowledge/quote from ancient scriptures regarding this topic can be discussed in this thread.

 

[Arya]

Hoping to do some out of body practice tomorrow. 

 

I think I saw my astral body for the first time on the last full moon, but only my arms.

 

I'm gonna follow the fast tradition on full moon & new moon from now on. Last time I also fasted.

[soaring crane]

The moon is beautiful right now. The sky is just a little hazy, but the stars are out and the moon is perfectly round, with a yellow halo ... wish I had a camera that could capture the image.

 

The twenty eight day moon cycle determines pretty much everything we associate with being human. The moon is the reason we have cycles and tides on this planet in the first place, and those tides were the dynamic that was needed to morph the primordial stew into our earliest ancestors.

 

What I notice most about the full moon, though, is the change in weather it always brings. It's been kind of dreary and cold for a couple weeks now, but after the full moon, it'll be more mild and sunny. 

[doc benway]

I feel powerfully drawn to the moon, full or otherwise.

Certainly the effects are more pronounced as the moon waxes and lessens as it wanes.

Not sure I can (or want to) label and describe the effects specifically.

There are so many things in the internal and external environment that are in flux, all of which affect the body.

[seekingbuddha]

Surprising that this thread got only few posts.  This forum having so many people who are advanced practitioners, i was hoping that many would feel the effect of moon, as my acupuncturist says.  She is one of most renowned for chinese medicine in my area, which has hundreds of chinese medicine doctors. Certainly i had one of my best days today. I did not feel the need to eat much even though i was mingling with society and spending my energy much more than usual.  The only meal of the day (dinner) felt more like an addiction to food and craving for food, rather than a drive of hunger.

[Astral Monk]

Does the moon project its own unique waves or is it just a conduit for the sun's reflection?

 

8)

[taoguy]

I think it's about the effects of its gravity on the Earth, rather than its light. In the full moon, the tides are pulled upwards, I think? Since the body is 70% water, we can also probably feel some kind of gravity pulling away from the earth, however subtle it is... 

 

I think the moon kind of accentuates whatever is pre-existing... Madness swells if there is... Love swells if there is... Perhaps that's why a lot of people found inspiration on a full moon...

 

Compared to the yang of the Sun (tai yang), what would the moon be? I mean, if it was truly yin, then wouldn't the ancient chinese have called it "yin" instead of "yue"?

[Silent Answers]

The moon is always full. It's more a symbol of cycle/wave motion, present in all; as well as an important marker of time passed.

 

The energy people talk of comes from here on Earth, as we all tend to notice and marvel at the full moon, more so in ancient times. When we all focus on the same point, we share in that collective intent.

[seekingbuddha]

I think it's about the effects of its gravity on the Earth, rather than its light. In the full moon, the tides are pulled upwards, I think? Since the body is 70% water, we can also probably feel some kind of gravity pulling away from the earth, however subtle it is... 

 

I think the moon kind of accentuates whatever is pre-existing... Madness swells if there is... Love swells if there is... Perhaps that's why a lot of people found inspiration on a full moon...

 

Compared to the yang of the Sun (tai yang), what would the moon be? I mean, if it was truly yin, then wouldn't the ancient chinese have called it "yin" instead of "yue"?

 

This is nice explanation.  I don't know chinese but wonder what  "tai yang" means and what "hue" means.  I understand yin and yang since they are popular words.  A side note - all 4 big events of Buddha's life happened on a full moon day

1. His birth
2. His enlightenment
3. His first discourse
4. His death

[Silent Answers]

Taiyang if it's this 太阳 simply means Sun. Hue is an English word.

 

The gravity of the moon doesn't depend on how much light hits its surface. It's as connected to us as it is every night, and day.

[C T]

I think it's about the effects of its gravity on the Earth, rather than its light. In the full moon, the tides are pulled upwards, I think? Since the body is 70% water, we can also probably feel some kind of gravity pulling away from the earth, however subtle it is... 

 

I think the moon kind of accentuates whatever is pre-existing... Madness swells if there is... Love swells if there is... Perhaps that's why a lot of people found inspiration on a full moon...

 

Compared to the yang of the Sun (tai yang), what would the moon be? I mean, if it was truly yin, then wouldn't the ancient chinese have called it "yin" instead of "yue"?

Traditionally (the Chinese) regard the period after sunset as the rising yin phase which lasts until the first light of dawn or the first cockcrow, regardless if the moon is yet visible or not. 

 

Chinese people deem any partial or complete obscuration of sunlight as 'yin' - the moon has no bearing on this. Even in the middle of the day, should the sun be hidden behind thick clouds (overcast), folks will mutter, "Oh look how yin the day is". 

[taoguy]

Taiyang if it's this 太阳 simply means Sun. Hue is an English word.

 

 

Yes, just like how Tai Ji is "Grand Ultimate", I suspect that the Sun, meaning Tai Yang means "Grand Yang".

 

"Yue" was referring to the chinese word for Moon (Yue Liang) or Month.

 

 

 

This is nice explanation.  I don't know chinese but wonder what  "tai yang" means and what "hue" means.  I understand yin and yang since they are popular words.  A side note - all 4 big events of Buddha's life happened on a full moon day

1. His birth
2. His enlightenment
3. His first discourse
4. His death

 

Very interesting, because I find that some masters seem to like meditating on a full moon's day too. 

 

 

Traditionally (the Chinese) regard the period after sunset as the rising yin phase which lasts until the first light of dawn or the first cockcrow, regardless if the moon is yet visible or not. 

 

Chinese people deem any partial or complete obscuration of sunlight as 'yin' - the moon has no bearing on this. Even in the middle of the day, should the sun be hidden behind thick clouds (overcast), folks will mutter, "Oh look how yin the day is". 

 

Thank you for this explanation, it clarifies things.

 

So the absence of the Sun (Tai Yang) leads to yin - that makes a lot of sense. 

[Geof Nanto]

There’s an ancient belief that when the moon is full the way into the realm of pure light is fully open. It’s based on the belief that the night sky is like a dark curtain hiding the true world of dazzling light. For them the starlight emanated from pin prick holes in the curtain. The moon was the major entry aperture, changing over the month from fully closed (new moon) to fully open (full moon).

 

When I look at the night sky with this idea it’s easy to see it this way. It changes the image totally. And although it's materially incorrect, it's a powerful image to hold of our human relationship to the almost infinite vastness into which our consciousness is capable of expanding. 

 

(I read of this many years ago but cannot find the source. Does anyone know?)

Edited October 30, 2015 by Yueya

[seekingbuddha]

 

The gravity of the moon doesn't depend on how much light hits its surface. It's as connected to us as it is every night, and day.

 

This is good point.   The gravity  of the moon actually waxes and wanes to full moon & new moon days.  Thus, not only light is high during full moon, but also the gravitational forces on earth (and hence we have high tides).  I guess both light and gravity play a role in our energy increase when we gaze upon the full moon.

[doc benway]

There’s an ancient belief that when the moon is full the way into the realm of pure light is fully open. It’s based on the belief that the night sky is like a dark curtain hiding the true world of dazzling light. For them the starlight emanated from pin prick holes in the curtain. The moon was the major entry aperture, changing over the month from fully closed (new moon) to fully open (full moon).

 

When I look at the night sky with this idea it’s easy to see it this way. It changes the image totally. And although it's materially incorrect, it's a powerful image to hold of our human relationship to the almost infinite vastness into which our consciousness is capable of expanding. 

 

(I read of this many years ago but cannot find the source. Does anyone know?)

 

One of the great texts of Mahamudra from the 16th century is called -

The Perfect Description of Moonlight that Illuminates the Stages of Ultimate Mahamudra (The Great Seal) written by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal. 

It's been translated into English with the title, Mahamudra: The Moonlight - Quintessence of Mind and Meditation. 

I don't know enough to go into the significance of the use of the term Moonlight in the title but maybe there are some here that are more knowledgable regarding Mahamudra and the Kagyu school of Buddhism. 

 

Edited October 31, 2015 by steve

[Geof Nanto]

Under vast arrays of stars, dazzling depths of night,

I light a lone lamp among cliffs. The moon hasn’t set.

 

It’s the unpolished jewel. Incandescence round and full,

it hangs there in blackest-azure skies, my very mind.

 

 

(written by the 8^th century Chinese poet known simply as Cold Mountain, translated by David Hinton.)

[seekingbuddha]

That was a beautiful poem;  made me imagine  the life of a  monk  living  in solitude,  maybe in a mountain  cave/cliff.  I imagined a  yogi,  striving  hard, all by himself  in a remote  forest of  asia.   What a lonely  life,  what an incredible  solitude,  most modern men would go mad in that space.

 

Today  is  New  Moon day,  when buddhist monks recite  Patimokka (the rules for monks).  I have been observing my body energy  fluctuations since the last full moon day,  and  it has been  waning.  Now,  i shall see  if  it  goes up towards  the Full moon day.  I can not deduce much from this  single  month of  observation, because it may as well be  due to other factors   in my body / mind.  

[Brian]

While I don't doubt the full moon effects people (some more than others) I feel I should point out that a fly landing on the top of your head exerts more gravitational pull on you than the moon does. Gravity is not the answer here...

[3bob]

Mr. G. via Mr. O. had quite a bit to say about the moon, and it was not romantic or happy camper stuff.

[juliank]

I've been experiencing an inordinate amount of sexual energy around this New Moon. It's a massive spike, and while my desire ebbs and flows, this is way too much to be ignored. Also, people have been incredibly forthright and smiley lately, as in getting lots of random smiles from strangers. Again, way above the average. At the end of the day as I consider this and any other phenomena on the path, my natural response reverts back to "who gives a shit"? 1st world spiritual problems. Keep practicing, stay childlike, pliable and unflappable in the midst of shifts, and observe changes with an unflinching eye of equanimity and generous amusement and compassion, putting very little stock in whether it's a new moon, old moon, purple moon or moon made of cheese

[seekingbuddha]

Interesting you mention sexual energy.   On the night of the new moon, i woke up to a sexual dream which hit me out of the blue because I was not watching any movie or TV show which had R rated content.  These kind of dreams seldom happen to me, and when it happens i can usually pin-point the cause of it.  It would be usually  a sexual thought that was happened  in my mind  during  the  past  2 or 3 days.  This time, i  was totally shocked because i have been busy with other thoughts and had not exposed myself to any  thought that could be sexually oriented.   But, i did brush it aside soon, and woke up in equanimity, not getting upset about  it - i used to get upset about these dreams in past.

[seekingbuddha]

I have been observing  my energy levels over the past  1 month, to keep tabs on how it changes with phases of the moon.  Of course, this is non scientific, one man experiment with little  ground for conclusion.   But, since i have a steady, predictable, secluded,  mostly-silent, daily  life  the external factors on my experiment/observation are limited.  

 

Today is full moon day again, and i have observed  that my  body/mind  energy  waxes and wanes with moon.  In last few days, my energy level has naturally  become the highest it has been  in past one month.  Being a man of science, I don't  discount that other factors like food or exercise maybe playing into this.  Usually  i  sleep less compared to others,  but  in last 2 nights  i  naturally  woke  up  after  3 hrs of sleep.  Over last 2 days, my meditations at night have been stronger than average.  

 

When i was a teen i did not believe in astrology, and over my middle ages  i  held a neutral  view towards anything that i did not know for sure.   Now, i am starting to accept that at least  sun & moon play a role in my life.  Further experimental/anectodal  evidence  can be useful in this thread.