Full Flower Moon and Wesak

Tonight is the full moon. The May full moon is called the Flower Moon, because this is a month of blossoming and the promise of abundance. The flowers in my garden are a delicate reminder to me to project a gentle, honest spirit into the world. I open my heart, give my gifts with love, and receive, with gratitude, the bounty of gifts others offer to me.

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 also honor his enlightenment and death.

Buddhists all over the world celebrate this day by pausing to remember the Buddha's virtues, expressing their gratitude and appreciation for his teachings, and by finding ways to be more Buddha-like.

Agenda for today:
1. Update my altar
2. Journal queries
3. Practise at my theme of abundance
4. Find ways to be more Buddha-like
5. Make a lantern for Wesak
6. Cook Hath Maaluwa (Seven Vegetables Curry)

1. Update my 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 purple candle- for abundance, generosity, awareness and wisdom
• a picture of the Buddha, to remind me to be compassionate, generous, and open
• a sun- for clarity and yang energy
• a conch shell- for the ocean, and to awaken my heart to Truth

2. Journal queries:
Review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon.
Do these goals all still seem vital?
What do I want to create in my life?

Write about my ideal summer, the idyllic, peaceful, or exciting things I long to do, and the blessings I hope for.

Have I been actively pursuing new opportunities?
How can I find the passion to be persistent?
Have I been showing my thankfulness for the blessings in my life in tangible ways?
Have I been “paying it forward” with my time, talent, and money?

3. Practise at my theme of abundance:
My theme this month is abundance. Abundance comes with openness to alternative paths, acceptance of unexpected opportunities, and clarity about what I value in my life. I also find that abundance is more apparent to me when I am generous and giving of my time and resources, and show thankfulness for the flow of blessings and prosperity.

My goals this month are:

• to share my joy and my skills generously with my art camp students and my community;
• to continue my daily acts of kindness;
• to volunteer at the dog park, and serve breakfast;
• to visualize the perfect things in my home, and clear away the imperfect to make room for them;
• to yield to the slower pace of summer, get some rest, and have some fun!

All the fortunate influences that shape my life- friends, family, society, and outside forces and situations- blow towards me on a persistent wind. I need to maintain integrity and awareness to avoid being swayed in the wrong direction, but I achieve the greatest success by yielding.

4. Find ways to be more Buddha-like:
Buddhists celebrate Wesak by finding ways to be more Buddha-like: By practicing meditation, visiting monasteries, listening to sermons from venerable monks and nuns, serving free vegetarian meals to poor people, making donations to charities, and distributing gifts.

Today I continue my practice of daily intentional kindness that I began for Ramadan. My plan for this week is:

• Call my brother on his birthday
• Labor lovingly on my volunteer minute-taking task;
• Cook a special meal for my hubbie;
• Give attention to self-care as I heal from surgery;
• Deliver a meal and walk dogs for a grieving friend;
• Teach classes with extra warmth and openness;
• Put up fencing at the new neighborhood dog park.

5. Make a lantern for Wesak:
Many Buddhists in Asia decorate their homes for Wesak with flags and elaborate lanterns. One 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.


6. 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.