Keep an uposatha day with the eight precepts

On an observance day, live for one day and night by eight precepts, “doing as the perfected ones do.”

Warum es wirkt

The uposatha — sometimes translated “sabbath” — is the Theravāda observance day, tied to the phases of the moon. In AN 8.41 the Buddha describes keeping it by reflecting that the perfected ones refrain for life from killing, stealing, sexual activity, lying and intoxicants, eat in one part of the day, give up shows and adornment, and sleep on a low bed — and resolving: “I, too, for this day and night” will do the same. Temporarily living closer to the monastic pattern simplifies the day, removes the usual distractions, and turns ordinary time toward practice. AN 3.70 adds that a true observance is also spent recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, one’s own conduct and the qualities of the devas, so that the mind is cleansed.

So gehst du vor

1. Find an uposatha calendar for your tradition — dates are reckoned from the lunar calendar and differ slightly between Theravāda groups.
2. On the morning of the day, undertake the eight precepts, either at a monastery or by reciting them at home.
3. Eat before noon and not after; set aside entertainment, adornment and a luxurious bed; refrain from sexual activity for the day and night.
4. Use the freed-up time for what AN 3.70 describes: recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha and your own conduct, listening to Dhamma and meditating.
5. Begin with a single observance day a month rather than every quarter-moon, and let it be a day of simplicity rather than endurance.

Evidenz

The eight factors are set out in AN 8.41 and the recollections that accompany a true observance in AN 3.70. Access to Insight describes how uposatha days are kept across the Theravāda world today: lay people take the eight precepts, visit the monastery to make offerings, listen to Dhamma and meditate, and monastics recite the monastic code on new- and full-moon days. There is no controlled research on the observance itself. (anecdotal)

Supported by the texts and by living practice. The no-food-after-noon precept is not suitable for everyone — if you are pregnant, have a health condition affected by fasting, or take medication with food, adapt it and ask a teacher how others in your situation keep the day.

Quellen

• Sujato, B. (trans.). The Sabbath With Eight Factors, In Brief (Aṅguttara Nikāya 8.41). SuttaCentral.
• Sujato, B. (trans.). Sabbath (Aṅguttara Nikāya 3.70). SuttaCentral.
• Access to Insight. (2005). Uposatha Observance Days.

Häufiger Fehler

Keeping the eight precepts as a test of endurance and spending the day hungry and irritable — AN 3.70 is explicit that the point is a mind made clear by recollection, not the abstentions on their own.