image from http://www.starsapphiretours.comToday is the Full Moon Day of Waso. I am sure I will look at the moon tonight if the sky is clear.
From the book Flowers and Festivals Round the Myanmar year by (Daw) Khin Myo Chit:
Waso, the fourth month of Myanmar calendar, marks the beginning of the lenten season. It is the time for sobriety, self-denial and religious contemplation.
The full moon day of Waso month is the anniversary of the Buddha's First Sermon, at Isipatana, a sylvan woodland of Migadhaya or Deer Park. It is meet that the Buddha should deliver his first discourse in the wide open spaces where the deer can wander free and safe. It was where peace reigned and where running deer and the chasing tiger stopped in their tracks to nestle close to each other as they listened to the voice of the compassionate Buddha.
The Buddha's first sermon was heard 25 centuries ago. The Four Noble Truths, namely, Suffering, the Origin of Suffering, Ceasing of Suffering, and the Path that leads to the Ceasing of Suffering. The Light of the Four Noble Truths still guides the way of enlightenment to those who are groping in the dark.
