Dharma Calendar - Japanese Buddhism Practice Dates
Choose a calendar view by tradition by clicking buttons. Hover over any event in calendar for more detail. Click for full information. Next 3 Events in right column. Current lunar phase in footer.
Days of the Week
Time of Day
Venues
Month
Week
Day
SunSMonMTueTWedWThuTFriFSatS
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
All-day
24th Lunar: Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva Jizō Bosatsu Monthly Day
6
7
8
9
10
All-day
KSITIGARBHA BODHISATTVA's ANNUAL BIRTHDAY (30th Day of 7th Month) NOTE: in 2026, 7th month only has 29 days
11
All-day
KSITIGARBHA BODHISATTVA's ANNUAL BIRTHDAY (30th Day of 7th Month) NOTE: in 2026, 7th month only has 29 days
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
Lunar Current
Current Lunar Phase
Waning Gibbous
Calculated locally by Celestial Web Development for 2026-09-01. Times use America/Toronto. Dawn/Dusk are astronomical twilight. Results may vary from other services due to calculation and horizon assumptions.
Wei Tuo Pusa, Aspect of Vajrapani Bodhisattva, His Practice, Praise, Mantra 韋馱菩薩贊 #佛教誦經音樂
Why is the great Buddhist protector Wei Tuo Pusa venerated as Bodhisattva? Why do we always see Wei Tuo first in many Buddhist temples? Why did Shakyamuni Buddha ask Wei Tuo to protect the Dharma and Sangha after his Nirvana? Why is he considered the grand general or commander of the Heavenly armies of the […]
Zen Style: The Ritual Aesthetics of Seated Meditation
Zazen is sublime. It is a performed image of balance, symmetry and harmony. By Henry Blanke Author Opinion Feature The Zen school takes its name from the Japanese word for meditation and no one prioritized zazen more than Eihei Dogen, the 13th century founder of the Soto sect. According to him zazen is a ritual […]
Song of Enlightenment by Master Yonglia — going beyond all dualisms, theories, names, forms, preferences and aversions.
Song of Enlightenment[1]— Commentary The Song of Enlightenment is a concise treatise of about 1800 words, written in literary verse by Master Yongjia (Yōka Genkaku, in Japanese)[2]. It is a long poem, somewhat difficult to understand, yet filled with profound insights about the nature of reality, Buddhist theory and practice. It is reported that Nan […]
Bodhidharma, One-Shoed sage: The Towering and Profound Life and Teachings of the Legendary Zen Master and Martial Artist
Aside from Gautama Buddha himself, no one rose to the level of epic, towering fame and Buddhist history greater than the one-shoed sage of Shaolin fame, Bodhidharma. Like Buddha, his life is both historical and legendary. Like Buddha, he was a prince who renounced the worldly. Bodhidharma not only brought Chan Buddhism to China, […]
Emptiness and Shunyata: What the Teachers Say About Emptiness: Removing “Lazy Nihilism” and “How Deep the Rabbit Hole goes”
What do big moons, lazy nihilists and rabbit holes have to do with Shunyata? Yesterday I read a feature on Space.com which became the inspiration of this feature: “The ‘Big Moon’ Illusion May All Be in Your Head,” by Joe Rao. This led to rabbit holes and lazy nihilism. Bear with me, I come back to the big […]
Immovable Lord Achala, Fudo Myoo, ferocious activity of compassion of Maha Vairochana
Immovable Lord Achala, Fudo Myoo, ferocious activity of compassion of Maha Vairochana Why is Achala, the ferocious form of enlightenment, so popular in most schools of Mahayana Buddhism? Why is Achala the ultimate manifestation of wrathful compassionate activity? Why does he resemble a stern warrior or enforcing police officer with weapons drawn? Fudo […]
Waking up the Mind in Buddhism! The Zen of Drumming for a Wakeful Mind and Mindfulness with the Wooden Fish Drum’s Unique Sound
We use a drum in meditation to keep us wakeful, mindful, alert. At the same time, the stimulating sound, entirely unique in percussion, has a trance-like effect, allowing something of an altered state of meditation.
Dragons in Buddhism: The Zen Tale of the True Dragon; Guanyin and the Dragon King’s son
What would you do, if one morning you woke up to find a real dragon coiled by your bed, its scales and teeth glittering in the moonlight? Would you scream in terror, or embrace the opportunity to learn? In this feature, we explore why Dragons remain important in most traditions of Buddhism, and why they […]
The Gateless Gate and the door of Mu!: “Does a dog have Buddha Nature?” and other breakthrough koan riddles
The Gateless Gate (or Barrier) is a compilation of 48 Zen koans. Koans are paradoxical, puzzling riddles, statements, or even short pieces of prose that are a fixture in Zen Buddhism; they’re meant to entice those who encounter them to let go of their conventional ways of thinking, ponder the nature of the koan, and […]
Korean Seon Buddhism: the thriving and profound tradition, history and practices of Seon Buddhists
The resonating sound of the Korean moktak is iconic of the beautiful practices of Korean Buddhism. Although the wooden Moktak is similar to the Mokugyo Japanese fish drum — there are subtle differences, just as there are subtle differences between Korean Seon and Japanese Zen. Korean Buddhism is normally identified with Seon (Korean word for […]
Buddhist teachings according to Korean Zen (Seon) and Seon Master Daehaeng: Buddha-Dharma encompases all of life; dying three times; One Mind
Seon Master Daehaeng taught people to entrust everything that confronts them to their inherent foundation. She taught people to have faith and let go. Having faith in your inherent nature, your root, and your foundation is the main ingredient of the practice. Everything that is experienced, outside of yourself or within yourself, including thoughts and […]
Six ways to focus the mind: Metta, mindfulness, breath, progressive, transcendental, or Zazen
Our society is rife with stress, competition, fear, and commercialism – yet we’re at a time when spirituality has become a buzzword. On one hand, there’s definitely an increased need for spiritualism in a stressful environment, but there still seems to be a disconnect here. While we may be on the right track with yoga, […]