The Birth, Enlightenment and
Death of Lord Gautama Buddha
W
esak Day (also Vesak,
Vesākha, Buddha Day
and Buddha Purnima),
is the holiest day for Buddhists. It is
the celebration of the 3 important
events in the life of Buddha: his
birth, enlightenment and death.
Wesak came from the word
vesākha, the Hindu lunar month
that falls between April and May.
The celebration date is variable, as
it depends on when the full moon
will appear during this lunar
month. Wesak Day is most common in Southeast Asian countries
such as Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore
and Myanmar, although it is
celebrated by Buddhists around
the world.
The Birth,
Enlightenment and
Death of Buddha
Buddhists believe that Buddha was
born in Lumbini, now known as the
country of Nepal, during a full
moon. He was named Siddhārtha
Gautama and was brought up as a
prince by his father who was a chief
and his mother who was a princess.
He was given everything he needed
and his father did everything to
prevent his son from seeing the
suffering, aging and sickness of
other people.
However, Siddhārtha finally saw
what the real world was, that
people experienced suffering and
that they aged and got sick.
Depressed, he left the palace to find
the truth and be enlightened at the
age of 29. He practiced yogic
meditation under different teachers, but didn't find what he was
looking for. He meditated for 49
Photo from wonderfulmalaysia.com
days under a Bodhi tree where he
attained enlightenment, and from
then on was called Buddha or the
Enlightened One. Meditation
helped him to discover the Four
Noble Truths – about suffering,
about its origin, about ending it
and the truth of the way leading to
the end of suffering. When these
four truths are mastered, it's
believed that the person will
achieve Nirvana or the perfect
peace of mind. Buddha died at the
age of 80 and his teachings continuously spread after that through
his disciples.
Celebration of Wesak Day
Wesak Day is celebrated in a
variety of ways. Temples are
usually painted and decorated as
Buddhists assemble there for the
celebration. They sing hymns to
honor the holy triple gem, which
are The Buddha himself, his
teachings known as The Dharma
and his disciples called The
Shangha. The followers bring
offerings that include joss sticks,
candles and flowers. These offerings also have their symbolisms.
Joss sticks and candles will burn
down, while flowers could decay.
They are like life, which could end.
Killing any form of life is prohibited
during Wesak Day, so Buddhists
have vegetarian meals for the
entire day. More than the offerings
and singing of hymns, they pay
respect to Buddha's teachings by
reaffirming their commitment to
it, by living a noble life and promising to be kind and loving to others.
They commit to spread harmony,
love and peace wherever they go.
Buddhists exert extra effort on
Wesak Day to make other people
happy, e