Full Flower Moon and Wesak

Tonight is the full moon, my monthly time for action and release: I look again at the “seeds of intention” I planted 2 weeks ago at the new moon and decide on my next steps to take; I take those steps; then I release my expectations in order to clear space for new ideas and new intentions.

This moon is called the Flower Moon; it's a month of blossoming and the promise of abundance. The flowers in my garden are a delicate and beautiful reminder to me to project a gentle, honest spirit into the world. I open my heart, give my gifts with love, and receive the abundant gifts others offer me with sincerity.

Today is also Wesak (pronounced way-sak). The full moon in May is the day that Buddhists honor the birth of Gautama Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal, in 623 BCE, and it's also a day to honor Buddha’s enlightenment and death.

Buddhists all over the world celebrate this day by pausing to remember the Buddha's virtues, and to express their gratitude and appreciation for his teachings. They celebrate by finding ways to be more Buddha-like: By practicing meditation, visiting monasteries and listening to sermons from venerable monks and nuns, serving free vegetarian meals to poor people, making donations to charities, and distributing gifts.

Agenda for today:
1. Altar:
It's time to discern what to put on my altar for the next month. (For my thoughts on altars see About Altars). I generally keep it simple and choose only things that speak to me and feed me, and reveal what I believe in. I ask, what quality of Spirit do I want to invoke? Today I add-

• a dragon, for strength and good luck.
• a sun, for clarity and yang energy.
• a picture of the Buddha.

I also add new candles, in colors that symbolize what I want to focus on. Today I add-

• a green candle for strength and vitality.

2. Journal:
Review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon. Review also the goals I set at the beginning of the year.Do these aims all still seem vital? What are my next steps? 
How can I best bring some of my goals to completion?

Write about problems, disappointments, and changes I've encountered lately. How well have I risen to the challenges I face? 

3. Practise at my theme:
My theme this month is strength- Just as I need my home to be in good repair to weather a storm, I need to be strong myself. When I am strong, I thrive on moving forward without the baggage of fears and grudges. My intentions:

• Continue the discipline of physical therapy.
• Practise qigong for flexibility and grounding.
• Practise mindfulness meditation for a calm mind.
• Practise disciplined action on the difficult tasks I face.
• Save money for summer.

4. Make a lantern for Wesak:

Many Buddhists in Asia decorate their homes for Wesak with flags and elaborate lanterns. Last year I made a tissue paper lantern called an atapattama. They are usually made out of thin pieces of bamboo, but I found a good video demonstration on YouTube showing a simple wire technique. 

(For a view of another year's Wesak lantern look here.)

Supplies:

• 2 nails and a hammer
• piece of scrap wood
• ruler
• C-clamp
• 16 gauge wire
• wire cutter
• masking tape
• thin wire
• votive candle
• awl
• tissue paper
• scissors
• white glue

Wire squares, ready to go.

1. To make the frame of the lantern you will need six squares of wire. The easiest way to bend the wire into consistent squares is to use nails: Pound two nails into the scrap wood about 6-inches apart and clamp the wood to a table.

2. Bend the wire around the nails, leaving a short 1-inch piece at the start. As you bend each corner, straighten the sides as best you can, and make the corners close to 90º-angles. 

Overlap the fourth side with the short first piece, and cut the wire. Tape the overlapping pieces with a bit of masking tape. Repeat for five more squares.


3. Lay one square down for the base of the lantern. Attach four other squares to the base- corner to corner- with masking tape, to make a checkerboard pattern.

4. Now join the other squares where the arrows indicate, to create triangles between every square. Add the sixth square to the top to complete the shape of the lantern- this cool shape is called a cuboctahedron.

Cuboctahedron with votive suspended 
in the center.

5. I decided to suspend my votive candle in the middle of the lantern for safety-

To do this, take the candle out of its little metal holder, and punch four holes around the sides of the holder with an awl.

Thread long pieces of thin wire through the holes and attach the ends of the wires to the four center cross points of the lantern. Replace the candle.

6. Now all you have to do is cover the sides with tissue. I left the top and bottom open.

Cut four squares and eight triangles of tissue, a little bigger than the shapes you need to cover. Brush slightly runny white glue along the edges of the paper and stick it onto the wire.

Add a string at the top for hanging.

5. Cook Hath Maaluwa (Seven Vegetables Curry):

Buddhists all over the world refrain from eating meat on this day, and serve vegetarian meals to poor people. 

Here’s a tasty vegetarian curry from Sri Lanka. You can use any seven vegetables that are in season in your area. The recipe calls for coconut milk, but I left it out because of an allergy.

Ingredients:

• 1/2-c. raw cashews 
• 1 potato 
• 1 small sweet potato 
• 1 small onion 
• fresh ginger 
• 2 cloves garlic 
• 1 tsp. crushed curry leaves 
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, turmeric, curry powder, chili powder, black pepper, and salt to taste 
• 1 carrot 
• 1/2 small eggplant 
• fresh green beans 
• 1 can chickpeas
• coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. oil 
• 1/2 tsp. each cumin, fenugreek, and mustard seeds 

Serves 4-

1- Put the cashews in a large pot, add 2 c. boiling water, and let them soak.

2- Peel and cube the potato and sweet potato. Add to the pot and begin to simmer.

3- Chop the onion and mince the ginger and garlic. Reserve half, and add the rest to the pot, along with crushed curry leaves and powdered spices. Cook on low heat until potatoes are half cooked, about 10 minutes.





4- Peel and chop the carrot, eggplant, and beans and add to the pot. Cook another 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and add the chickpeas. Add coconut milk, or water if needed, to just cover the vegetables.

Cook until the curry boils and thickens.

5- Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a small frying pan, and add cumin, fenugreek, and mustard seeds. 

When they start to splutter add the reserved onion, garlic, and ginger. Brown them a bit and add to the curry. Serve hot with naan or rice.

New Peony Moon

Tonight is the new moon; the Chinese call the fourth new moon the Peony Moon. 

Peonies are the flower of riches, romance, and honor, called sho yu in Chinese, which means "most beautiful." Their lush blooms are an omen of good fortune, and also foretell a happy marriage.

This is the season of blossoming into abundance; I open myself to the receipt of gifts, and try to be fully awake to all that each moment holds.

Beautiful peonies growing in my neighborhood.

Agenda for today: 
1. Journal: 

The new moon is my monthly time for “seeding” intentions. I write down what I hope to focus on in the next 30 days or so, and then give my ideas a period of gestation, like seeds in the soil, before I take action. Having this regular time each month to focus my goals has helped to give me clarity of purpose.

What might give my life more wholeness?
What are my next steps in life?
How might I be more awake to the gifts each moment offers?

List my intentions for the month of May in these areas-
Self, Friends and Family, Teaching, Artwork, Writing, Home and Garden, Work/Business, and Volunteer work.

2. New Moon Meditation:
Light a small white candle. Center, and feel myself fill with thankfulness for all I have now in my life.

Butterfly lavender in my front yard.

3. Plan a garden party: 

As the moon waxes, I expand-- plant seeds, make connections, and begin new projects. Today I will plan my first small steps.

In China this is the start of the season of garden parties, especially for the purpose of peony viewing. I don't have any peonies to view, but I do hope to have friends over soon to have tea and cookies in my garden. Today I will pick a date and make invitations!

Rogation-tide

Rogation-tide begins on the Sunday five weeks after Easter and continues for four moredays, through Ascension Day on Thursday. 

Rogation began as a very early Christian tradition of singing psalms and chanting prayers of petition for God's protection on crops, beasts and people. In medieval England parishioners would walk around the parish boundaries, bearing a cross and banners, and asking for God to bless the crops, livestock, and fishing holes. The procession was called 'beating the bounds'; before maps were commonplace, it helped everyone to remember the parish boundaries.

These boundary walks were also known as ‘gang days’ from the Anglo Saxon word ‘gangen’- to go. The parish would bond together as a community, offer charity to poor people they met along the way, and the priest would stop to preach at each prominent tree or landmark.

Now Rogation-tide is celebrated more as a time to honor the gift of creation of the land and waters, to offer thanksgiving for the labors on land and water that feed us, and to pray for stewardship of the earth.

Agenda today:

1. Beat the bounds:

A parish is church territory, but I use it to mean the land that I feel responsible for, my home-neighborhood. It’s a good time for me to look at my neighborhood and my community with open eyes, and consider how I can help to support those who work to feed me, and how I can be a better steward of the land.

The bounds of my parish extend roughly eight blocks square, from our neighborhood store to the north, our park to the east, the drainage creek to the south, and the school I teach at to the west.

Sadie in front of our neighborhood store, 
with large black walnut tree.

I walked the bounds this morning with Sadie. I stopped at "trees of importance" to say these prayers:

Beautiful tulip poplar at our park.

For rains and fruitful seasons, and your blessing upon the lands and waters, 

I pray to you, Oh God. 

Huge Oregon white oak behind the fairgrounds.

For all who work upon the earth and seas to bring forth food for all your creatures, I pray to you, Oh God.

View up Amazon creek.

Small dogwood tree at my school.

For all who care for the earth, the water, and the air, that the riches of your creation may abound from age to age, 

I pray to you, Oh God. 

Amen.

2. Bless my garden: 

When I got home from my boundry walk, I went to my garden to ask blessing on my seeds, animals, trees, and beds-

Great Spirit, Creator of all things and Giver of all life, let your blessing be upon this garden, and grant that it may serve. Amen.

3. Research: 

Read up on farm-worker and small farmer issues, as well as local environmental issues. 

What service am I called to do?

4. Make Rammalation Biscuits:

While technically these are days of fasting, in England the tradition was to gather after the Rogation Procession to drink "ganging beer" and eat "rammalation biscuits." 

Unfortunately, no one knows what rammalation biscuits are- possibly a cookie to eat while you "perambulate”? I decided to make a classic English Digestive Biscuit, and they are very yummy.

Ingredients: 

• 3/4-c. whole-wheat flour 
• 1/3 c. butter, chilled 
• 1-c. rolled oats 
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda 
• 1/4 c. raw sugar 
• 2-3 Tbsp. cold milk 

Yield: 10 cookies-

1- Combine the flour and oats in a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives. Add the soda, sugar, and salt. 

2- Stir in 2-Tbsp. milk, or a bit more, and knead in the bowl to make dough that holds together well. 

3- Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic or wax paper, and chill for 30 minutes. (This resting time will make the biscuits more tender and crisp.) 



4- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Roll out the dough until it is a bit more than 1/8-inch thick, and cut into any desired shape. Traditional digestives are about 2-1/2-inches round. 

5- Place on ungreased cookie sheets, prick evenly with a fork and bake until pale gold, about 12 to 15 minutes.

6- Serve with beer!