The Moon - Eighteen

The moon is a mirror, reflecting the light of the sun back to Earth during the night. This is why it represents the reflective quality of our dreams, which play out the worries and problems of our day through the language of mythic symbols. What is a myth, but a collective dream? Why do we dream? Nobody is sure, but there are several theories. Some say it is a way for us to process and store our memories. We tell ourselves a story of what has happened, we create the legend of our lives. Memories are very malleable, it has been scientifically shown that memories can be planted into one's mind, and people are easily fooled into believing they saw something they didn't. In our ever day lives, the brain has a tendency to fill in the gaps of perception, making presumptions based on past experiences. We suppose that something should be a certain way, and so our brains tell us it is so. It is difficult to know how accurate our perceptions of the world are, and whether we are seeing things as they really are. What is reality? Is the dreamworld a reality of its own? What of fantasies, phantasms, and visions? Can we look through gateways into otherworlds? The moon represents an exploration into the unknown. It is a torch in the darkness of night. It is the lantern of the Hermit.

In Hinduism, the moon is represented by the god Chandra. The moon is also the cup from which the gods drink Soma, a sacred brew which brings enlightenment. The moon is one of the most important symbols in Buddhism. There are certain rituals like the taking of vows and the making offerings that should be practiced on the full and new moon days. In Mahayana countries the new year starts on the first full moon after the winter solstice. In Theravadin countried, the new year is celebrated on the full moon after the spring equinox. Vesak is a festival celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, held on the full moon in May. Festival days typically begin with a visit to the local temple of monastery, to offer food to the monks, take the Five Precepts, and listen to a Dharma talk. In the afternoon, food is distributed to the poor, and in the evening there is a circumambulation around a burial mound, finished with chanting of the Buddha's teachings and meditation. Every full moon, Buddhists direct their attention to spiritual development.

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky. The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky." The Genjokoan, written in 1233 by Eihei Dogen, founder of the Soto Zen tradition.