Dharma Practice Calendar (BK-16)

Tibetan practice calendars are based on precise lunar events – the changing relationship of the Moon relative to the Sun each month. If you are using this calendar for your personal practice, there should be no problem. However, there are certain problems with designing a practice calendar for groups. Let me explain:

A lunar event (such as the Full Moon) happened at 2:30 AM in Rumtek, Sikkim on January 1st, 1991. The same event (same moment in time) simultaneously occurred at 4:00 PM of December 31, 1990 for those living at KTD Monastery in New York. Rumtek is 10.5 hours ahead of KTD. Those in Rumtek would be celebrating the event at a different time zone, a different day and, in this case, a different year! Still the moment for all would be the same. This is due to the fact that we have different time zones around to world. The point of this is that, while we can list the exact time for any person to start a lunar day, it is hard to make a general calendar that will serve all groups and time zones.