Let us worship the Prince who
wouldn’t be King
Indian
Newslink May 01, 2016
Buddha Purnima, Jayanti, Birthday on May 8
Buddhists
all over the world will mark the Birthday of the Founder of
Buddhism on May 8, 2016. There would be reverence, peace of mind
and thought and simplicity at Buddhist temples and other places of
congregation as Buddha is worshipped with inexplicable
piety.
Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang
Shan Buddhist Temple, located in East Auckland (at 16 Stancombe
Road, Flatbush) will wear a festive look on Sunday, May 8, 2016 as
thousands of people visit the place of worship between 10 am and 4
pm.
The event
will commence with a prayer for world peace, followed by ‘Bathe the
Buddha’ ceremony, Buddhist Artefacts and a Vegetarian Food
Fair.
Cultural
performances, ‘Prince Siddhartha Wonderland’ and ‘Baby Blessing’
will be special attractions on Buddha’s Birthday.
Lunar Fixture
In many
east Asian countries Buddha’s Birth is celebrated on the
eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar
(in Japan, since 1873 on April 8 of the Gregorian
calendar).
Buddha Day
is a public holiday in many countries. In India, the festival is
observed as ‘Buddha Purnima’ and ‘Buddha Jayanti.’
Buddha’s
Day is the birthday of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, traditionally
celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism. According to the Theravada
Tripitaka scriptures (from Pali, meaning ‘Three baskets’), Gautama
was born in Lumbini in modern-day Nepal, around the year 563 BCE,
and raised in Kapilavastu.
The Prophesy
According
to this legend, briefly after the birth of young prince Gautama, an
astrologer named Asita visited the young prince’s father, King
Śuddhodana, and prophesied that Siddhartha would either become a
great king or renounce the material world to become a holy man,
depending on how he saw what life was outside the palace
walls.
Śuddhodana
was determined to see his son become a king, and hence prevented
him from leaving the palace grounds. But at age 29, despite his
father’s efforts, Gautama ventured beyond the palace several
times.
Four Sights
In a series
of encounters, known in Buddhist literature as the ‘Four Sights,’
he learned of the suffering of ordinary people, encountering an old
man, a sick man, a corpse and, finally, an ascetic holy man,
apparently content and at peace with the world.
These
experiences prompted Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a
spiritual quest.
The exact
date of Buddha’s Birthday is based on the Asian lunisolar calendars
and is primarily celebrated in Baisakh month of the Buddhist
calendar and the Bikram Sambat Hindu calendar, and hence it is also
called Vesak.
In Nepal,
which is considered the birth-country of Buddha, it is celebrated
on the Full Moon day of the Vaisakha month of the Buddhist
calendar.
Differing observance
In
Theravada countries following the Buddhist calendar, it falls on a
Full Moon Uposatha day, typically in the
5th or
6th Lunar month. In China and Korea,
it is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month in the
Chinese lunar calendar. The date varies from year to year in the
Western Gregorian calendar, but usually falls in April or May. In
leap years it may be celebrated in June.
In 1999 the
Taiwanese government set Buddha’s birthday as the second Sunday of
May, the same date as Mother’s Day.
In
Cambodia, Buddha’s birthday known as Visak Bochea is a public
holiday and monks around the country carry flags, lotus flowers,
incense and candles to acknowledge Vesak. People also take part in
alms giving to the monks.
In China,
celebrations often occur in Buddhist temples where people light
incense and bring food offerings for the monks. In Hong Kong,
Buddha’s birthday is a public holiday. Lanterns are lit to
symbolise the Buddha’s enlightenment and many people visit the
temple to pay their respects. They also pour a medicine liquid onto
statues of Buddha. The bathing of the Buddha is a major feature of
Buddha’s birthday.
Indian connection
In India,
Buddha Purnima or Tathagata is celebrated especially in Sikkim,
Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bodh Gaya, various parts of North Bengal
such as Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and Kurseong, and Maharashtra (where
73% of total Indian Buddhists live) and other parts of India as per
Indian calendar.
Buddhists
go to common Viharas to observe a rather longer-than-usual,
full-length Buddhist sutra, like a service. The usual dress is pure
white.
Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided. Kheer, a sweet rice
porridge is commonly served to recall the story of Sujata, a maiden
who, in Gautama Buddha’s life, offered the Buddha a bowl of milk
porridge.
Buddha Day
actually commemorates the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and death
(Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in the Theravada
tradition.
In
Indonesia, Buddha’s birthday known as Waisak is a public holiday. A
large procession beginning in Mendut in Java ends at Borobudur –
the largest Buddhist temple in the word.