user10551: I want to start observing Uposatha, but I'm a little unclear on what days it is. I'm finding calendars that it is the days of full moons in Sri Lanka or other countries. Should it just be celebrated on full moons then? For example, I'm in the Midwest of the USA, the full moon in September is September 6 but I'm seeing Uposatha to be August 5 on calendars. Which dates should I observe on? Also, am I correct that the eight precepts to be practiced on Uposatha are: 

Do not take life
Celibacy
Do not speak false, no lies
Do not steal
Do not use any intoxicants
Only eat one meal between dawn and noon (does this need to be vegetarian to fit in with the first precept?)
Do not use a luxurious bed that night, so sleep on a sleeping mat on the ground

Are these correct?

user10100: Buddhists practice eight precepts to learn buddha's teaching and practice samatha-vipassana at forest monastery.
Nowadays, most of upasaka can not  go to forest monastery at uposatha-days, such as me, so I think "day-off" is the best day to done eight precepts. On day-off, we can learn and practice samatha-vipassana, without any other jobs.
Uposatha-day is the day that people make an appointment together to do  eight precepts, learn, and practice samatha-vipassana. So the date  is up to your appointment with your teachers and practicer-friends group.
It is look like sunday, that is day off of christian to go to church to learn with pastors.   
This is thai moon calendar 
https://www.myhora.com/%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%8F%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99/ 

user295: If you want to find out the traditional days you can use a moon phase website. E.g. https://www.timeanddate.com has moon phases. For Waterloo following are the moon phases: https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/usa/waterloo. For other US cities you can browse USA: https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/usa/.
For the purpose of Uposatha the day is counted from sunrise to sunrise so start at sunrise and keep it up until the following day's sunrise if possible.
The general days are:

the new moon, 
the full moon, and 
the two quarter moons in between

or in Burma:

waxing moon, 
full moon, 
waning moon, and 
new moon

Since generally you are free on weekends or other holidays you can use these to practice. You do not have to be strict on the days.
Similarly the time you can have food is between sunrise and solar noon. You can find the sun rise and and the solar noon: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/waterloo
Regarding eating it is advisable to be strict to keep to the precepts. General rule of thumb of breakfast at 6:30 and lunch at 11 will keep within the normal sunrise and solar noon times, unless there are daylight saving adjustments or in time zones where there is disparity the solar position.

user-1: 
I want to start observing Uposatha, but I'm a little unclear on what days it is. I'm finding calendars that it is the days of full moons in Sri Lanka or other countries. Should it just be celebrated on full moons then?

You can use the calendars from e.g. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar etc.
More importantly is the practice itself, ie. the deepening of ones practice on special days of the months. Its really that which is essential from a practical Dhamma perspective.
The Wikipedia describes it as;

The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind," resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, both lay and ordained members of the sangha intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. On these days, the lay followers make a conscious effort to keep the Five Precepts or (as the tradition suggests) the Eight Precepts. It is a day for practicing the Buddha's teachings and meditation.

You can use full moon days in your country or you can use the traditional calculated calendar days.

Also, am I correct that the eight precepts to be practiced on Uposatha are. Are these correct?

The Eight Precepts are:


Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures.

Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.

Abrahmacariya veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from sexual activity.

Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech.

Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.

Vikalabhojana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from eating at the forbidden time (i.e., after noon).

Nacca-gita-vadita-visukkadassana mala-gandha-vilepana-dharana-mandana-vibhusanathana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from dancing, singing, music, going to see entertainments, wearing garlands, using perfumes, and beautifying the body with cosmetics.

Uccasayana-mahasayana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from lying on a high or luxurious sleeping place.




In the comments you asked about the 1st precept;

And should the meal before noon be vegetarian to coincide with the first precept?

Several factors must be fulfilled in order to break the 1st precept.
The five factors of the first precept are:


pano -- presence of a living being.
panasannita -- one knows that it is a living being.
vadhacittam -- the intention to kill.
upakkamo -- the effort to kill.
tena maranam -- the resulting death of that being.


If one of these factors are not fulfilled, the precept is still intact.
For more information, please see "Ask A Monk: Mark Zuckerberg, Vegetarianism and Killing" by Ven. Yuttadhammo.

10551: <p>I want to start observing Uposatha, but I'm a little unclear on what days it is. I'm finding calendars that it is the days of full moons in Sri Lanka or other countries. Should it just be celebrated on full moons then? For example, I'm in the Midwest of the USA, the full moon in September is September 6 but I'm seeing Uposatha to be August 5 on calendars. Which dates should I observe on? Also, am I correct that the eight precepts to be practiced on Uposatha are: </p>

<ol>
<li>Do not take life</li>
<li>Celibacy</li>
<li>Do not speak false, no lies</li>
<li>Do not steal</li>
<li>Do not use any intoxicants</li>
<li>Only eat one meal between dawn and noon (does this need to be vegetarian to fit in with the first precept?)</li>
<li>Do not use a luxurious bed that night, so sleep on a sleeping mat on the ground</li>
</ol>

<p>Are these correct?</p>
 10100: <p>Buddhists practice eight precepts to learn buddha's teaching and practice samatha-vipassana at forest monastery.</p>

<p>Nowadays, most of upasaka can not  go to forest monastery at uposatha-days, such as me, so I think "day-off" is the best day to done eight precepts. On day-off, we can learn and practice samatha-vipassana, without any other jobs.</p>

<p>Uposatha-day is the day that people make an appointment together to do  eight precepts, learn, and practice samatha-vipassana. So the date  is up to your appointment with your teachers and practicer-friends group.</p>

<p>It is look like sunday, that is day off of christian to go to church to learn with pastors.   </p>

<p>This is thai moon calendar </p>

<p><a href="https://www.myhora.com/%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%8F%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.myhora.com/%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%8F%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99/</a>  </p>
 295: <p>If you want to find out the traditional days you can use a moon phase website. E.g. <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.timeanddate.com</a> has moon phases. For Waterloo following are the moon phases: <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/usa/waterloo" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/usa/waterloo</a>. For other US cities you can browse USA: <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/usa/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/usa/</a>.</p>

<p>For the purpose of Uposatha the day is counted from sunrise to sunrise so start at sunrise and keep it up until the following day's sunrise if possible.</p>

<p>The general days are:</p>

<ul>
<li>the new moon, </li>
<li>the full moon, and </li>
<li>the two quarter moons in between</li>
</ul>

<p>or in Burma:</p>

<ul>
<li>waxing moon, </li>
<li>full moon, </li>
<li>waning moon, and </li>
<li>new moon</li>
</ul>

<p>Since generally you are free on weekends or other holidays you can use these to practice. You do not have to be strict on the days.</p>

<p>Similarly the time you can have food is between sunrise and solar noon. You can find the sun rise and and the solar noon: <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/waterloo" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/waterloo</a></p>

<p>Regarding eating it is advisable to be strict to keep to the precepts. General rule of thumb of breakfast at 6:30 and lunch at 11 will keep within the normal sunrise and solar noon times, unless there are daylight saving adjustments or in time zones where there is disparity the solar position.</p>
 -1: <blockquote>
<p>I want to start observing Uposatha, but I'm a little unclear on what days it is. I'm finding calendars that it is the days of full moons in Sri Lanka or other countries. Should it just be celebrated on full moons then?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can use the calendars from e.g. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar etc.</p>
<p>More importantly is the practice itself, ie. the deepening of ones practice on special days of the months. Its really that which is essential from a practical Dhamma perspective.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uposatha" rel="noreferrer"><em>The Wikipedia</em></a> describes it as;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for &quot;the cleansing of the defiled mind,&quot; resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, both lay and ordained members of the sangha intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. On these days, the lay followers make a conscious effort to keep the Five Precepts or (as the tradition suggests) the Eight Precepts. It is a day for practicing the Buddha's teachings and meditation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can use full moon days in your country or you can use the <a href="http://dharma-records.buddhasasana.net/texts/uposatha-calendars-2017" rel="noreferrer"><em>traditional calculated calendar</em></a> days.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Also, am I correct that the eight precepts to be practiced on Uposatha are. Are these correct?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/atthasila.html" rel="noreferrer"><em>The Eight Precepts</em></a> are:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li><p>Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Abrahmacariya veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from sexual activity.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Vikalabhojana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from eating at the forbidden time (i.e., after noon).</p>
</li>
<li><p>Nacca-gita-vadita-visukkadassana mala-gandha-vilepana-dharana-mandana-vibhusanathana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from dancing, singing, music, going to see entertainments, wearing garlands, using perfumes, and beautifying the body with cosmetics.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Uccasayana-mahasayana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyamiI undertake the precept to refrain from lying on a high or luxurious sleeping place.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>In the comments you asked about the 1st precept;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And should the meal before noon be vegetarian to coincide with the first precept?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.yellowrobe.com/practice/the-five-precepts/216-what-are-the-five-precepts-and-how-to-take-it.html" rel="noreferrer"><em>Several factors</em></a> must be fulfilled in order to break the 1st precept.
The five factors of the first precept are:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>pano -- presence of a living being.</li>
<li>panasannita -- one knows that it is a living being.</li>
<li>vadhacittam -- the intention to kill.</li>
<li>upakkamo -- the effort to kill.</li>
<li>tena maranam -- the resulting death of that being.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>If one of these factors are not fulfilled, the precept is still intact.</p>
<p>For more information, please see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zisXgVnv-cI" rel="noreferrer"><em>&quot;Ask A Monk: Mark Zuckerberg, Vegetarianism and Killing&quot;</em></a> by Ven. Yuttadhammo.</p>
