Celebration of Buddhapurnima has been covered facebook and other social media.Mark Jukerberg and his interviews in BBC channel and other news about various political movements make the facebook engaged in celebration of news only but provides solid information too.Buddha Jayanti is the birth day of Lord
Gautam Budhha. Budhha’s original name was SidharthaGautam. Siddhartha Gautam was born about 543 BC in Kapilvastu of Nepal. Siddhartha was son of King Suddhodhan
Gautam and queen Maya Devi. Buddha was born in garden of Sal trees
(Shorea robusta), situated in the beautiful and peaceful Lumbini zone in
Rupandehi district of Nepal.
UNESCO has listed Lumbini, Nepal as a world heritage site and birthplace of Gautama Buddha.
Buddha was born on full moon day, he
achieved nirvana in the same day and left this world on the same day of
Baishakh Sukla Purnima. This day is celebrated as Budhha Purnima all
over the world.
Gautam Buddha means Awakened One and he is also goes by the name Shakyamuni.It is said in the Buddhist scriptures that when Buddha was born he took seven steps
(on his each step, it is said that a lotus flower appeared for him to
stand on) immediately after his birth, raised a finger in the air saying
he was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and that this will be his final birth. After his birth he and his mother bathed in the nearby Pushkarni Pond.
Buddha Purnima festival is celebrated to mark the
birth of Lord Buddha. Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti is celebrated
with traditional religious fervor. Buddha Purnima falls on the full moon
day in the Hindu month of Vaisakh (April/May). Lord Buddha was born on
the Full Moon day in the month of Vaisakh in 563 BC. Here, it is
interesting to note that Buddha achieved enlightenment and nirvana
(salvation) on the same day (the Full Moon day). Thus, Buddha Purnima
also marks the death anniversary of Gautam Buddha. Sarnath holds an
important place in Buddhism as Gautam Buddha gave his first sermon at
Sarnath. On the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, a large fair is held at
Sarnath and the relics of the Buddha are taken out for public display in
a procession.
Buddha Jayanti is one of the significant festivals of Nepal and in Buddhism. This day is celebrated all over the world especially in south-east Asia where there are people who follow the teachings of Gautam Buddha like India, Burma, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and Tibet. Buddha Jayanti is known by various other names such as Swanyapunhi in Nepal Bhasa, Buddha Purnima or Baisakha Purnima in India, Vesak in Sri Lanka, Puspa Purnima in Bangladesh, Visakha Bucha in Thailand and Full Moon Day of Kason in Burma.
Though Gautama Buddha is known to live a very modest and simple life
many people does not know that he was born as a prince of the Shakya
Clan in Nepal. His father, Suddhodhana was the chief of the Shakya Clan
in India while his mother Queen Maha Maya was known to be the princess
of Koli. He was born in Lubini under a sal tree in a garden. Though he
was born as a prince but turned to Budha religion. He found its path was
more important than to rule and the wealth. He was married to Yasodhara
and even had a son named Rahula. After leaving for his religious quest
he realized that marital wealth is not the ultimate goal of anyone’s
life.
Leaving his kingdom and loved ones behind, Siddhartha became a wandering
monk. He cut off his hair to show that he had renounced the worldly lifestyle
and called himself Gautama. He wore ragged robes and wandered from place
to place. In his search for truth, he studied with the wisest teachers
of his day. None of them knew how to end suffering, so he continued the
search on his own.
For six years he practiced severe asceticism thinking this would lead
him to enlightenment. He sat in meditation and ate only roots, leaves and
fruit. At times he ate nothing. He could endure more hardships than anyone
else, but this did not take him anywhere. He thought, "Neither my life
of luxury in the palace nor my life as an ascetic in the forest is the
way to freedom. Overdoing things can not lead to happiness. " He began
to eat nourishing food again and regained his strength.
On a full-moon day in May, he sat under the Bodhi tree in deep meditation
and said. "I will not leave this spot until I find an end to suffering."
During the night, he was visited by Mara, the evil one, who tried to tempt
him away from his virtuous path. First he sent his beautiful daughters
to lure Gautama into pleasure. Next he sent bolts of lightning, wind and
heavy rain. Last he sent his demonic armies with weapons and flaming rocks.
One by one, Gautama met the armies and defeated them with his virtue.As the struggle ended, he realized the cause of suffering and how to
remove it. He had gained the most supreme wisdom and understood things
as they truly are. He became the Buddha,
'The Awakened One'. From
then on, he was called Shakyamuni Buddha.
After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city
of Benares and shared his new understanding with five holy men. They understood
immediately and became his disciples. This marked the beginning of the
Buddhist community.
For the next forty-five years, the Buddha and his disciples went from
place to place in India spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their
compassion knew no bounds, they helped everyone along the way, beggars,
kings and slave girls. At night, they would sleep where they were; when
hungry they would ask for a little food.
Whenever the Buddha went, he won the hearts of the people because he
dealt with their true feelings. He advised them not to accept his words
on blind faith, but to decide for themselves whether his teachings are
right or wrong, then follow them. He encouraged everyone to have compassion
for each other and develop their own virtue, "You should do your own work,
for I can teach only the way."
He never became angry or impatient or spoke harshly to anyone, not even
to those who opposed him. He always taught in such a way that everyone
could understand. Each person thought the Buddha was speaking especially
for him. The Buddha told his followers to help each other on the Way. Following
is a story of the Buddha living as an example to his disciples.
Once the Buddha and Ananda visited a monastery where a monk was suffering
from a contagious disease. The poor man lay in a mess with no one looking
after him. The Buddha himself washed the sick monk and placed him on a
new bed. Afterwards, he admonished the other monks. "Monks, you have neither
mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look after each other,
who will look after you? Whoever serves the sick and suffering, serves
me."
Shakyamuni Buddha passed away around 486 BC at the age of eighty. Although
he has left the world, the spirit of his kindness and compassion remains.The Buddha realized that that he was not the first to become a Buddha.
"There have been many Buddhas before me and will be many Buddhas in the
future," The Buddha recalled to his disciples. "All living beings have
the Buddha nature and can become Buddhas." For this reason, he taught the
way to Buddhahood.
The two main goals of Buddhism are getting to know ourselves and learning
the Buddha's teachings. To know who we are, we need to understand that
we have two natures. One is called our ordinary nature, which is
made up of unpleasant feelings such as fear, anger, and jealousy. The other
is our true nature,
the part of us that is pure, wise, and perfect.
In Buddhism, it is called the Buddha nature. The only difference
between us and the Buddha is that we have not awakened to our true nature.
On this day devotees preach the teachings of Lord Buddha, decorate
Buddha’s idol with flowers, chant Buddhist scriptures, eat vegetarian
food and donate food, money and clothes to people. Each country
celebrate the birth of Buddha in a different way, here’s a peek at the
major celebrations around the world.
Known as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the festival holds a special
importance in India. Buddhist devotees from around the world visit the
cities of Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar. Sarnath is the place where the
lord gave his first sermon, a huge procession and a fair is organised.
Followers are also seen donning white clothes holding prayers and
chanting Buddhist scriptures. Buddha’s statue is also offered fruits,
sweets and candles.
People here celebrate the day by wearing white dress and eating only vegetarian food. Kheer,
sweet rice porridge, has a special significance on the day. It recalls
the story of a maiden named Sujata who offered Buddha a bowl of milk
porridge who she perceived to be a holy man. Lord ate the porridge and
bathed in the river Neranjara. He then threw the bowl in the river and
said that if the it goes upstream I am successful in becoming a Buddha
and if goes down I am not. And as expected the bowl went upstream
staying in the middle of the river. During the celebration people also
recite the story of the lord who followed asceticism to attain
enlightenment
