Equinox

 There are only 100 days left to 2021.  Please use them wisely.

Today is the 22nd day of September, the 265th day of the year.  It is the day for mindfulness of generosity.  With mindfulness of generosity, we do not expect reward.

Today is also the autumnal equinox and the first day of autumn.  Here is Atlanta, the sun rose this morning at 7:26 a.m. and will set at 7:33 p.m. for 12 hours and 7 minutes of daylight.  Day and night are not quite perfectly balanced because the spherical Earth is not everywhere a perfect celestial observatory, but generally speaking the forces of light and darkness are balanced, in equanimity.  As the year progresses through its final 100 days, nights will grow longer and the planet will tilt toward the side of darkness. While this could be taken as symbolic of increasing delusion and decreasing enlightenment, in the still quiet hours of the evening, we have more time for quiet contemplation, free as we are from the blindingly bright, chaotically busy daytime.  Our practice can deepen during the autumnal nights.

It felt like the first day of autumn here in Atlanta today.  The summer had been notably hot and humid, a muggy season of mosquitos and dew, and for the past five or so days it's rained almost continuously.  But the rain stopped in the late morning hours today and the effects of the passing cold front were immediately noticeable - for the first time in months, there was a cool, dry snap to the air, and it felt quite nice to be outside.

The waxing gibbous moon is almost (96%) but not quite full and will rise at 8:46 p.m. tonight.  It will set at 9:46 a.m. tomorrow morning.

On this day in 1979, a satellite detected an unidentified double flash of light over the south Indian Ocean.  The cause of the flash remains officially unknown, and some information about the event remains classified by the U.S. government. While it has been suggested that the signal could have been caused by a meteoroid hitting the satellite, most independent researchers believe that the flash was caused by a nuclear explosion.

Both Nick Cave (The Bad Seeds) and Johnette Napolitano  (Concrete Blonde) were born on this day in 1957. Happy Birthday.

Zen Master Eihei Dōgen died on this day in 1253.  He fell ill in the autumn of 1252, and showed no signs of recovering. He presented his robes to his main apprentice, Koun Ejō, making him the abbot of the temple Eihei-ji, and in search of a remedy for his illness, Dōgen left for Kyōto. Soon after arriving,  however, Dōgen died. Shortly before his death, he had written a death poem, as was customary for Zen monks:

Fifty-four years lighting up the sky. 

A quivering leap smashes a billion worlds.

Hah!

Entire body looks for nothing.

Living, I plunge into Yellow Springs.

"Yellow Springs" is a traditional Chinese symbol of death.