Buddha Purnima, known as Vesak or Wesak, also falls on 18th May 2019. The day is
extremely significant, not only because this was the day when the little prince
Siddhartha was born some 2500 years ago, but because he attained enlightenment
under the Bodhi tree in Gaya and became Gautama Buddha, the founder of
Buddhism, on the same full moon day. Interestingly he also got Nirvana or salvation in Kushinagar on
the same (Purnima) day in the month of Vaisakh. That moment of enlightenment, under
the Bodhi tree in Gaya, changed the way of spiritual seeking forever.
The four
most important places of worship in Buddhism are Lumbini in Nepal, where
Buddha was born to the King Shuddhodana (King of Kapilavastu) and Queen Maya Devi, Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he got
enlightenment, Sarnath in Varanasi, where he gave his first sermon to
five devotees, and Kushinagar, where at the age of 80, he attained
salvation.
On this day, we find
monks giving discourses and sermons highlighting the teachings of Gautama
Buddha at all these places. Devotees congregate to offer prayers and water to
the statue of Buddha placed in water and decorated with flowers, symbolic of a
new beginning. A large fair is held at Sarnath and the ancient relics
of the Buddha are taken out for public display in a procession. Giving food and
clothes to the poor is another important activity undertaken by the devotees.
Most of them prefer to wear white clothes, eat vegetarian food and distribute kheer in memory of a wealthy woman devotee named
Sujata, who had offered Gautama Buddha a bowl of sweet milk and rice porridge on this
day.
Apart
from India, Buddha Purnima is celebrated with great religious fervor in many
other South Asian countries, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, China,
Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan.
#Buddha #Purnima #Vesak #Wesak #Gaya #Sarnath
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