✦ zenith calendar · the buddhist (japan) almanac
the temple year in one quiet layer of your sky, each day explained in its own tradition's words.
buddhist (japan) is one of the holiday almanacs that come with zenith calendar. it holds the buddhist days of japanese temples, kept on the western calendar since 1873, as the schools publish them.
the days kept on a fixed date repeat every year, and higan moves with the equinox, as it is announced each february for the year after. nothing is worked out on your phone. tap a day and read three short paragraphs: what it is, where it comes from, and how it is kept.
western calendar · fixed temple days, with higan by the equinox
the gathering for the buddha's awakening
8 december
the day siddhartha, sitting beneath the bodhi tree, saw the morning star and awoke as shakyamuni buddha.
temples hold a service in gratitude to the buddha, and it is customary to sit zazen, seated meditation. in zen temples it closes rōhatsu sesshin, the week of intensive sitting from 1 to 8 december.
the gathering for the buddha's passing into nirvana
15 february
the day the buddha passed peacefully into nirvana between the sala trees, one of the great days of shakyamuni buddha in the japanese temple year.
temples hang the nehan-zu, the great painting of his passing, and hold a service of remembrance and gratitude. it is a day to take up his last words and practise with fresh effort.
spring higan · "the far shore"
the seven days with the spring equinox in the middle
higan is the far shore of awakening across the river of suffering; the way across is the six perfections. in the pure land school the equinox sun sets due west, toward amida buddha's pure land.
families clean the home altar and visit the temple and the family graves, offering water, flowers and incense in thanks to the ancestors. botamochi, sweet rice in red bean paste, is offered and shared.
the flower festival · kanbutsu-e
8 april
the birthday of shakyamuni buddha, also called kanbutsu-e, the bathing of the buddha.
temples set up the hanamidō, a small hall covered in flowers, around a statue of the infant buddha, and visitors pour amacha, sweet tea, over it with a ladle.
zenith calendar draws the year as an orbit round the sun. lit, buddhist (japan) puts its days on their dates on that ring, in lilac, the colour every buddhist reckoning wears. its mark is 仏, "buddha".
each day carries three short paragraphs in its notes: what it is, where it comes from as its own tradition tells it, and how it is kept.
buddhist (japan) arrives locked, so nothing in it changes by accident. the lock guards your hand, not your eye: you can still read it, shine it or eclipse it. one tap unlocks it, and then it is yours to rename, recolour or add to.
tap its chip in the legend to eclipse it (kept, but not drawn) and tap again to bring it back. nothing is deleted either way.
buddhist (japan) shares one sky with your own commitments. like every almanac that comes with the app, it never counts toward the almanacs you can make for free, and it lives on your phone: zenith calendar has no server of its own.
✦ zenith calendar · the sky around it
buddhist (japan) is a single layer. beneath it is a whole calendar drawn as the sky, your year an orbit round the sun, and every part of it answers your touch.
the sun stands at the centre and the year rings round it, with today's earth riding at today's place, its small moon beside it. tap the ring anywhere else and a faint ghost earth waits on that day.
drag along the ring and the days pass under your finger, the big date and the day's list following as you go. lift, and the day you stopped on stays picked.
tap the small moon beside today's earth and you dive into the week. the moon above shows its phase, named underneath; swipe the dates and each week brings its own.
tap the sun and the ring tips on its edge into a ladder of years. in the week, pull the moon firmly down and the month opens, the moon resting half off its foot.
zenith calendar has no server of its own. tap the gear and switch on "nothing comes in" or "nothing leaves this phone"; lift them, and every almanac is back exactly as it was.
buddhist (japan) is waiting in the app, and the rest of the sky comes with it.
buddhist (japan) · buddhist reckonings ·
Japanese temples keep jōdō-e, the day of the Buddha's awakening, on 8 December every year. In Zenith Calendar it sits on the ring of your year in the buddhist (japan) almanac.
Hanamatsuri, the flower festival of the Buddha's birthday, falls on 8 April 2027, as it does every year. Temples pour sweet tea over a statue of the infant Buddha.
Spring higan runs from 18 to 24 March 2027, the seven days with the spring equinox in the middle. Families visit the temple and the family graves.
Nehan-e is the gathering for the Buddha's passing into nirvana, kept by Japanese temples on 15 February. Temples hang the nehan-zu, the painting of his passing, and hold a service of remembrance.
Zenith Calendar for Android comes with an almanac called buddhist (japan): the days Japanese temples keep, drawn on the ring of your year beside your own days. Turning it on costs nothing.
Buddhist (japan) holds the days Japanese temples keep on the western calendar, such as the Buddha's awakening on 8 December. Mahayana (china) keeps the Chinese lunar days, so the same events fall on other dates. They are separate almanacs, so you light the one you keep.
The fixed days are copied as the schools publish them, and higan from the equinox as it is announced each February for the year after. Nothing is worked out on your phone.