Buddha Purnima also known as Vesak, Saga Dawa, Vaishaka and various other names. It is a traditional annual holiday and is specially celebrated by Buddhists all over the world particularly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Nepal and many other countries. Usually the festival is associated with the birth of Lord Buddha but many believe that the festival also commemorates the enlightenment and passing away of Lord Buddha. Vesak is Singhalese word in Pali and is frequently used by the people of Sri Lanka. It is called Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti in Nepal, Bangladesh and India.
The festival is known as Phat Dan in Vietnam, Saga Dawa in Tibet, Visakah Puja in Thailand , Waiskh in Indonesia. The exact date of occurrence of the festival varies with different lunar calendars used widely. In countries which maintain and follows Buddhist tradition observes the day on full moon Uposatha day which falls on the 5th or 6th lunar month. The exact date of the festival varies but generally falls on April or May according to Gregorian Calendar.
Historical Antecedents
The celebration of Vesak dates to 1950 it was decided by the World Fellowship of Buddhists, Sri Lanka to celebrate the day as the birth of Lord Gautama Buddha. This is quite a recently started festival if compared to other traditional Buddhists celebrations which are more than a century older. On Vesak day the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Buddha are commemorated and is celebrated with great enthusiasm in various countries across the world.
Celebrations
The day witnesses various traditions and customs of the Buddhist culture. On this day Buddhist devotees gather in various local Buddhist temples before dawn for ceremonial functions of Vesak including Buddhist flag hoisting. According to Buddhist culture they have three holy gems in their life which are the Buddha, Dharma (his preaching) and Sangha (his disciples). On this day holy Hymns are also sung in praise of the three Holy gems. Devoted dedicate simple flowers, candles to their Guru signifying that like flower will wither away, candle will burn away so will their body be perished one day. They keep in mind that on this day to don’t unwillingly kill even the smallest of creature. Birds and animals are also released as a noble symbol of giving freedom to all creatures
Related :lord buddha,lord budda,lord budhha,photosoflordbudha,www lord budha image,budhha,lord budda pics,Lord buddea,photos of lord budha,Related posts: