Vesak Day: Celebrating the Life of Buddha

Vesak is considered a religious as well as a cultural festival in Sri Lanka. Buddhists commemorate the important events; the birth, enlightenment and death that took place in the life of Lord Buddha on this Vesak Full Moon Poya Day.

First comes the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini in Nepal which took place under the arbor of Sat trees where queen Mahamaya gave birth to him. The second event was Siddharta Gautama’s supreme attainment as the Buddha, the Enlightened One. The third event was Lord Buddha’s Parinibbana over 2500 years ago at Kusinagar. Many religious activities are organized during this period in Sri Lanka such as Sil campaigns, Bodhi Poojas, Dansalas, Vesak devotional songs (Bakthi Gee), pandals and lanterns. As it is mainly a religious event, for devout Buddhists, religious observances form the main activities of the festival.

Buddhists celebrate Vesak by decorating their temples with flowers and other decorations.They gather at these temples before dawn for the raising of the Buddhist flag while singing hymns. Buddhists are also allowed to bring simple offerings to lay at the feet of their teacher. Some temples display a small statue of the Buddha in front of the altar in a small basin filled with water and decorated with flowers, allowing people to pour water over the statue. This is referred to as the bathing of the Buddha. It is a symbol of cleansing bad karma, and a reenactment of the events following the Buddha’s birth, when devas (gods) and spirits showered him with sacred waters from the sky. Vesak is also celebrated with charity work and acts of kindness by Buddhists. It is also expected that they refrain from killing of any kind therefore, they are encouraged to eat vegetarian food for the day.

On this noble day, we, perabeats is wishing everyone a great vesak day in spite of this COVID pandemic.

Article by-P.Sriranjan.