This year there is a leap Month, that is to say, there are two lunar months on the eighth day of the fourth month, so for The disciples of the Buddha, does that mean that they can have two Buddha's Birthdays?
First, why is there a leap month? Because the lunar calendar is based on the lunar calendar around the earth, the difference between each year and the 365th day of the return year at 5:48:46 seconds is about 10 days and 21:00, so the leap month is used to harmonize the two. In China, the practice of setting the leap month to set four hours has been recorded as early as 4,000 years ago, and the folk generally circulate the saying of "nineteen years and seven leaps" or "five years and two leaps".
Astronomical experts say that "leap April" is rare, but it is a normal calendar phenomenon, generally 8 or 11 years apart, and the longest interval is 38 years. The last leap April was in 2012, eight years since we were already there, but the next leap April will be in 2058.
For leap months, many people will also have questions. For example: Is it appropriate to go to a monastery on the first day of the leap month to pray for blessings? Or: Will the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have another birthday when they encounter a leap month?
In this regard, many netizens participated in the discussion.
Some netizens said: With fate, how to live how to live, but are based on the first, the second leap month can also be passed, but not official, a year but two birthdays, who can grow two years older?
Some netizens also said: Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are beyond time and space, and it is said that "the past mind is unattainable, the present mind is unattainable, and the future mind is unattainable", where is the birthday?
However, some netizens pointed out that even in leap months, monasteries generally only hold one festival.
Two April first eight, which one should pass? Although there is no explicit explanation in Buddhism, it can be borrowed from the views of folklore experts.
Folklore experts said that in the face of this leap month situation, the folk usually adopt the practice of catching up before and not after.
For example, in September 2014, the first Nine Yang Festivals in early September were passed, and the next Nine Days of September was blurred. 2009 is the leap Month of May, there are two Dragon Boat Festivals, namely May 28 and June 27, the year the General Office of the State Council noticed that the 2009 Dragon Boat Festival is a holiday from May 28 to 30. Therefore, the common practice is to rush before and not after.