Happy Birthday Buddha!

by poolparty | May 12, 2008 at 03:52 pm

3557 views | 20 Recommendations | 42 comments

Today many people are celebrating Buddha’s birthday! It is celebrated on the 8th day of the 4th month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

Buddha Jayanti or also known as Buddha Purnima is the most sacred festivals of Buddhist. Buddha Purnima (Buddha Birthday) is celebrated in remembrance Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha is the founder of Buddhism. This day is the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. It falls on the full moon of the fourth lunar month (month of Vaisakh) i.e. April or May. This day commemorates three important events of Buddha's life

- His birth in 623 BC.
- His enlightment i.e. attainment of supreme wisdom, in 588 BC.
- His attainment of Nirvana i.e. the complete extinction of his self at the age of 80.

This day is a thrice blessed day. Lord Buddha is considered the ninth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu (Preserver in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator-Preserver-Destroyer). Gautam Buddha "lived and died in about the fifth century before the Christian era". Buddha means "enlightened one" - someone who is completely freefrom all faults and mental obstructions.

The birthday of the Gautama Buddha traditionally celebrated in East Asia on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, is an official holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea. The date varies from year to year in the Western (Gregorian) calendar:
India

The birth of the Buddha (Buddha Purnima in India) is often celebrated by Buddhists for an entire month. This month, however is not the usual Gregorian month, but rather the Month corresponding to the Buddhist calendar. The actual day is called Buddha Poornima (or Buddha Purnima), but is traditional known as Vaishakh Poornima. Although the day marks not just the birth of Shakyamuni Gautam Buddha, but also the day of Enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana. But as a gentle effect of West, the event of Birth is given paramount importance. The event is celebrated by gentle and serene fervour, keeping in mind the very nature of Buddhism. People especially ladies go to common Viharas, to obsereve a rather long-than-usual, full length Buddhist sutras, as something like a service. The common dress-up is Pure-white. Non-veg, as an ethical norm is avoided, but the very common dish particularly made is the sweet rice porridge, called kheer. The story is about the kheer that was gifted to Buddha by the childless Sujata, that was one major link in his enlightenment. The legend is that Buddha supposedly thought that paining his body is the way to enlightenment, as was thought by many at that time, and called asceticism (which was one of the extreme paths that buddha refrained and chose the middle path). He sat for a prolonged time with nominal, lees than sufficient food, and water, that caused his body to shrivel to an extent to be indistinguishable from the bark of the tree that he was sitting under. Thinking of a sacred figurine, sujata being childless placed a bowl of kheer in front of him. Realizing that without food, one can do nothing, Buddha refrained that extreme path.

Sri Lanka

This is one of the major festivals in Sri Lanka. It is celebrated on the half moon day of the month. People engage in religious observances and decorate houses and streets with candles and specially made lanterns.

Japan

In Japan, Buddha's Birthday is celebrated on April 8, but is not a national holiday. It is also known as 'Flower Festival' since 1902 (Japanese: Hana-matsuri or Kanbutsu-e). Japanese people traditionally drink ama-cha, a beverage prepared from a variety of hydrangea.

Korea

In Korea the birthday of Buddha is celebrated according to the Lunisolar calendar. This day is called 석가탄신일 (Seokga tansinil), meaning "the day of Buddha's birthday" or 부처님 오신 날 (Bucheonim osin nal) meaning "the day when Buddha arrived". Lotus lanterns cover the entire temple throughout the month which are often flooded down the street. On the day of Buddha's birth, many temples provide free meals and tea to all visitors. The breakfast and lunch provided are often sanchae bibimbap.

Other countries

Some places have a public holiday one week later, on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, to coincide with the full moon. For instance, Visakha Puja in Thailand or Lễ Phật đản in Vietnam was such a holiday on May 12 in 2006. Other countries including Singapore and Malaysia also celebrates Vesak Day on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, a public holiday is these two countries.

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Jarrett Martineau

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:57 on May 12th, 2008

I think today might be a good day to start meditating. Happy Birthday, Buddha.

KSChung

at 18:29 on May 12th, 2008

Decorations for Buddha's birthday near temple in Seoul .

KSChung has contributed a photo to this story.

Jessieleah

at 18:59 on May 12th, 2008

This picture was taken 2 Weeks prior to Buddha's Birthday, in Seoul, South Korea.
The streets are all decorated with lanterns everywhere making the city so colourful!

Experiencing has contributed a photo to this story.

Stephanie Cornell

at 19:33 on May 12th, 2008

Taken at the Lotus Lantern Festival's yearly Lantern Parade through the streets of Jongro in downtown Seoul. May 4, 2008.

Stephanie Cornell has contributed a photo to this story.

rumana husain

at 19:48 on May 12th, 2008

this buddha statuette was bought in nepal and it adorns a niche in the wall at the entrance of my home in karachi, pakistan.

ctarda

at 20:07 on May 12th, 2008

Incense coils in Cheung Chau celebrations (Hong Kong)

ctarda has contributed a photo to this story.

jykthemuse

at 20:41 on May 12th, 2008

Seoul was very much in spirit of Buddha's birthday. I'm not a buddhist but seeing all the colorful lotus lanterns gracefully hung on the sides of the streets definitely got me interested in visiting a temple in Seoul. I was glad I did, for I got to get a glimpse of the Buddhist culture in this country.

@Bongeunsa Temple

Seoul, ROK

jykthemuse has contributed a photo to this story.

lotuseaterphotography

at 20:53 on May 12th, 2008

Huge decorative lanterns adorn the Bongeunsa temple in the heart of Seoul South Korea.

lotuseaterphotography has contributed a photo to this story.

lotuseaterphotography

at 20:54 on May 12th, 2008

Lanterns adorn the halls and gates of the Bongunsa temple in the heart of Seoul South Korea.

pirateygoodness

at 21:08 on May 12th, 2008

Celebratory paper lanterns outside of city hall in Ansan, South Korea.

pirateygoodness has contributed a photo to this story.

Spacemunkie

at 21:24 on May 12th, 2008

The Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island. Taken on a short stop-off on route emmigrating from the UK to New Zealand.
A simply awe-inspiring statue and a beautiful place. Happy birthday Buddha indeed!

Spacemunkie has contributed a photo to this story.

nilu369

at 21:58 on May 12th, 2008

With a majority of buddhists in the population the Vesak festival is cellebrated with veneration across Sri Lanka. The Kalutara stupa, close to the Capital of Colombo, is a popular destination for hundreds of devotees during Vesak. Vesak day, 2007, Kalutara.

nilu369 has contributed a photo to this story.

sharad_2007

at 21:59 on May 12th, 2008

Sihouette of Mahabodh Temple at Bodh Gaya. This is place where under a 'pipal' tree Lord Buddha attained enlightenment.

sharad_2007 has contributed a photo to this story.

floridaexpat

at 22:02 on May 12th, 2008

This India Buddha was in Mandalay where i discovered and acquired. Now, Buddha image is in Yangon. The image made from Kyow Sein Aphyu (white jade stone).

floridaexpat has contributed a photo to this story.

redhaireddesigner

at 23:14 on May 12th, 2008

This picture of a wooden Buddha image was found in the Floating Markets of Damnoen Saduak in Thailand. It is looking down over all of the little wooden Elephants.

redhaireddesigner has contributed a photo to this story.

aquacocoa85

at 23:36 on May 12th, 2008

Budha Statue in a temple in Singapore.

aquacocoa85 has contributed a photo to this story.

Tarcino

at 00:05 on May 13th, 2008

> Phra Si Sakaya Dasabalayan Prathan Buddhamonthon Sudassana <

Putthamonthon park - Bangkok
- approximately 16 meters high

Tarcino has contributed a photo to this story.

...what my soul sees...

at 00:11 on May 13th, 2008

Lanterns were hung in preparation for Buddha's Birthday at a small local temple in Busan, South Korea.

We stumbled across this magnificent display by accident... as we had a Turkish lunch near a mosque that was across the road. How lucky we are to celebrate different religions!

Beaulieu

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 00:15 on May 13th, 2008

Steph02, I like this story. It's good stuff. There's supposed to be a gigantic golden Buddha (with real gold) in China and it would be good to see some photos of it.

Peggie Scott

at 00:32 on May 13th, 2008

A Buddha in an ancient temple in Bagan, Myanmar. These are "living" temples in that they are still being used for worship by the people who live near them.

Peggie Scott has contributed a photo to this story.

doiboypete

at 00:44 on May 13th, 2008

This day in Thailand is celebrated with a major, and possibly the most popular, public holiday lasting, usually four days, with parades of the images through the streets, much 'blessing' of everyone with water, and of course, visits to the temples.
This particular image can be found set in a niche at the base of the main chedi at Wat Sawan Dok in Chiangmai, Thailand

doiboypete has contributed a photo to this story.

Wang HL

at 03:22 on May 13th, 2008

This was taken in Hatyai city, Southern Thailand

Wang HL has contributed a photo to this story.

narayanaprasadr

at 04:39 on May 13th, 2008

This idol of buddha which i have it in home. Its a very small idol. It sounds when you shake the idol so i call it as "The laughing buddha". This snap is take on a plesent evening.

narayanaprasadr has contributed a photo to this story.

purplecamaleon

at 04:51 on May 13th, 2008

This pic was taken in a transitory temple on Geylang road in Singapore during the Buddha/Vesak celebrations. I was impressed by the devotion of its participants and the "informality" and "family oriented" environment of the celebrations. Very nice!

purplecamaleon has contributed a photo to this story.

ray_w2b

at 05:11 on May 13th, 2008

My first time ever to capture these lanterns light-up during Vesak Day at Buddha Tooth Relic Temple located in Chinatown.

ray_w2b has contributed a photo to this story.

hakjoon

at 05:43 on May 13th, 2008

Temple at the Giant Buddha in Lantau

hakjoon has contributed a photo to this story.

Sue Brazelton Photography

at 07:27 on May 13th, 2008

This is one of eight statues in the Gompa room at the Land of Medicine Buddha Center in Soquel, CA

Sue Brazelton Photography has contributed a photo to this story.

cjhj

at 07:52 on May 13th, 2008

Taken at Pagoda Phat Hue (http://www.phathue.de/1-1-Monastery.html) in Frankfurt, Germany. Vesak 2007.

cjhj has contributed a photo to this story.

oscarsiagian

at 08:36 on May 13th, 2008

Waisak Day (Vesak Day), celebrating the birth of Buddha, is a national in Indonesia and the Borobudur complex plays a major role in the celebration. A procession is held as part of the Waisak celebration and the procession ends at Borobudur

oscarsiagian has contributed a photo to this story.