This weekend the moon turned red. Millions of people gazed in awe at the eerie spectacle, a rare convergence of astronomical events that will not happen again this century.

The "blood moon" is the result of a total lunar eclipseWhen the Sun, Moon and Earth align so that the Moon's light is blocked. , which occurs when Earth passes between the sun and the moon, throwing the moon into shadow.

Lunar eclipses are relatively commonTotal lunar eclipses happen twice every three years. Total solar eclipses are every 18 months., but this one was special. It coincided with a "super moon", the point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth. This made it appear 7% larger than its usual size: a "super blood moon".

For 500 million people around the world, however, today's lunar events have another kind of significance: the day of the May full moon is Vesak, when Buddhists celebrate the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as The Buddha. 

Siddhartha was born around 2,600 years ago in an area that today spans Northern India and Nepal. According to legend, he grew up as a pampered prince, surrounded by luxury and shielded from the harsh realities of the world. 

When he discovered the sorrow, sickness and death that lay beyond the palace gates, Siddhartha saw that his life of sensual pleasure was a sham. He fled his home to pursue a spiritual path.

At first he tried to achieve nirvanaA state of being in which there is no suffering or doubt. In Buddhism, this also means freedom from the endless cycle of death and rebirth that Buddhists believe is common to all Earthly life. through self-denial, almost starving himself to death in the process. Yet this brought him no closer to inner peace. He decided that the true path lay in a "middle way" that neither rejected nor embraced the material world, but instead focused on training the mind to see things as they really are.

After 49 days of sitting beneath a fig tree in contemplation, Siddhartha finally felt he had gained a full insight into the true nature of reality. He had become the Buddha, or "the awakened one".

This was the moment that Buddhism was born. Buddhism has since divided into various schools, but all are committed to the techniques that Buddha used to gain enlightenment - most famously the practice of meditationThe name for a variety of techniques to train attention and awareness, for instance by focusing on the movement of your breath. Meditation existed long before Buddhism and is also an element in the practice of other religions, including Hinduism.. They believe that these strategies for training your mind can lead to insights that liberate us from sufferingGoing through pain or hard times. . 

Key among these is the conviction that all things are impermanent, including the thoughts and sensations that make up your moment-to-moment experience of yourself. "We are what we think," Buddha said. "All that we are arisesDependent co-arising is another key concept in Buddhism: the idea that mental and physical and phenomena do not exist statically and independently but come and go spontaneously in a constantly shifting relationship to one another. with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world."

Buddhists believe that getting caught up in worldly "attachments" leaves us at the mercy of emotions such as anger and jealousy, which ultimately harm us as much as anyone else. "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else," wrote The Buddha; "you are the one who gets burned."

Today teachings such as these have an influence beyond those who identify as Buddhist. Some aspects of Buddhist meditation have been imported into Western medicine through mindfulness, which has been proven to help with psychiatric conditions including anxiety and psychosis.

In the USA, the number of people who have practiced meditation tripled to 14% between 2012 and 2017.

Yes: Buddhist techniques have been honed over thousands of years to help practitioners gain insight, overcome worry and learn to live in harmony with their surroundings. This is a proven pathway to a better life.

No: Buddhism has no more claim to absolute truth than any other religion. You are free to practice any faith you want, but there are better ways to pursue happiness.

Or... Many spiritual and philosophical traditions contain tools and insights that could benefit even those who do not share the faith. No religion has a monopoly on happiness and truth.

Lunar eclipse - When the Sun, Moon and Earth align so that the Moon's light is blocked.

Relatively common - Total lunar eclipses happen twice every three years. Total solar eclipses are every 18 months.

Nirvana - A state of being in which there is no suffering or doubt. In Buddhism, this also means freedom from the endless cycle of death and rebirth that Buddhists believe is common to all Earthly life.

Meditation - The name for a variety of techniques to train attention and awareness, for instance by focusing on the movement of your breath. Meditation existed long before Buddhism and is also an element in the practice of other religions, including Hinduism.

Suffering - Going through pain or hard times.

Arises - Dependent co-arising is another key concept in Buddhism: the idea that mental and physical and phenomena do not exist statically and independently but come and go spontaneously in a constantly shifting relationship to one another.