SRI LANKA: Vesak a thrice

blessed anniversary
May 14, 2014
White clad people of all ages observing sil; temples full of pious devotees; trees laden
with flowers and mounds of jasmine and araliya offered at sacred bo tree and temple
alter, scenting the air !ome night and cities that were "uiet and white turn garishly
gaudy #andals light up and stories depicted on them are broadcast too loud $lectric
jets dress buildings and people mill around to view illuminations $"ually raucous is
the music that blares forth from dansales which are temporary built sheds that offer
sightseers soft drin%s or food in the way of rice and curry &his is one way of collecting
merit in this life ' giving alms
(esa% however is not for celebration )t is not a festival to be enjoyed )t is a
commemorative occasion which calls for restraint and immersion in the true
philosophy of *uddhism +nd in this drawing away from mundane life and immersing
oneself in the ,hamma or &eaching, is happiness that no material possession or
sense-motivated activity can bring .ne has to e/perience it through meditation to
reali0e the depth and intensity of the joy that is there for the ta%ing by the truly
dedicated *uddhist
Significance of Vesak
(esa% is the full moon day of the month of May )t is the most important poya day in
the *uddhist calendar )t is thrice blessed as it was on a full moon day in May that
#rince 1iddhartha 2otama was born in 3apilavastu in 4epal 5e attained
enlightenment and got to the root of the unsatisfactoriness of this samsaric e/istence,
in 2aya, in north central )ndia on a (esa% night 6rom then on he was %nown as the
*uddha, and preached his ,hamma )n the evening of a full moon day in May, the
*uddha passed away in 3usinara, under sal trees which gently shed their flowers on
his tired ailing body, now 70 years old 5ence the term thrice blessed which epithets
(esa%, for the *uddha was born, attained enlightenment and died on days when the
moon was full in the month of May, separated by twenty nine years from birth to
*uddhahood and fifty one years from 5is renunciation of lay life to 5is death
+ remar%able feature of this poya day and of the life of the *uddha is that the three
most important events in 5is life occurred out of doors 5ence, perhaps, the fact that
trees put on their full glory of blossoms during the month of May in 1ri 8an%a and other
1outh and 1outh $ast +sian countries
Life of the Buddha
&he to-be-*uddha was born to 9ueen Mahamaya, wife of 3ing 1uddhodana, in :2;
*!, while she was on her way to her parents< home for her first confinement =esting
for a while in the sal grove in 8umbini on the border of 4epal and )ndia, she felt labour
pains and gave birth to a son 1he died while her baby was still an infant 5er sister,
#rajapati 2otami, became the infant<s loved step-mother 1iddhartha 2otama was
e/pected to be a mighty %ing and was trained thus, but seemed to be reflective 3ing
1uddhodana had been warned by a soothsayer that the #rince could turn ascetic
5ence the prince was surrounded with joy and given all lu/uries +t si/teen he was
married to #rincess >ashodara
When 1iddhartha was 2?, his wife gave birth to a son 4aming him =ahula @fetterA, he
decided to leave his palace and princely life to see% the truth !riticism is barbed here
What a heartless husband to leave wife and infant childB *ut disillusionment had been
growing by the day in the prince<s mind and he felt that if he did not flee that night he
would not do it later, but live a dutiful life of nonfulfilment !onsidering that he,
because of his renunciation of family and %ingdom, helped countless humans to gain
their own salvation and gave the world a philosophy and way of life that draws more
and more adherents dismayed by unsatisfactory lives, puts paid to the criticism
*uddhism is the way of life followed by more than C00 million people globally, with
numbers increasing
+fter much meditation see%ing the truth and adhering to practices of intense
deprivation and conse"uent suffering to the body, the *uddha, reduced to s%in and
bone, chose to ta%e sufficient nourishment 1eeing this and presuming it was the call
of the flesh overta%ing 2otama, the five ascetics he was with in 1arnath, *enares,
disdained him 5e left them and reaching 2aya, sat under a wide spreading bo tree
@ficus religiosaA determined not to rise until he had found the &ruth to life and its
continuation of unsatisfactoriness in the cycle of rebirths +t dawn, after hours of deep
meditation, he reali0ed the &ruth and assembled it as the 6our 4oble &ruthsD life is
unsatisfactory, the cause being greed and grasping; which could be eliminated by
following the Middle #ath as proclaimed by him 5e spent si/ wee%s in contemplation
of the ,hamma he had evolved, the second wee% in offering gratitude to the bo tree
that had given him shade and shelter 5e wondered whether people would understand
his doctrine and decided to test it on the five ascetics he had last been with .ne
attained full comprehension &he *uddha, subse"uently, went on foot all over the
northern states of )ndia preaching his ,hamma, assisted by the 1angha of ordained
mon%s
)n his 70
th
year, worn out and tired, he fell ill with a stomach complaint &he *uddha
wal%ed with his devoted assistant, +nanda &hera, to 3usinara, in the 1tate of *ihar,
and desired a bed prepared for him out of doors &his was done between two sal
trees &he *uddha lay down, and preached to a see%er of information &he *uddha
then died or entered Parinibbana, chanting a stan0a encapsulating his
teachingD Aniccavata sankara, vayadammino. @)t is in the nature of all formations to
pass away, nothing is permanentA With his last breath he advised his followers to wor%
out their own deliverance with diligence &he *uddha had severed his samsaric cycle
of births and deaths and attained 4ibbana
Piety on Vesak poya days
&hus the contention that (esa% needs to be commemorated, not so much celebrated
&he highest honour that can be given the &eacher is to follow 5is footsteps, hence the
observing of eight and ten precepts on poya days and more so on (esa% day &hus it
is that on this poya many observe sil; temples and meditation centres are full of white
clad devotees 2uided meditation is high on the programmes at such centres along
withbana preachings by mon%s
Activities of celebration
.ther *uddhists prefer a more active poya day &hey offer alms to mon%s and those
who have observed eight or ten precepts. 1till others are occupied with giving finishing
touches to the pandals erected in strategic places dotting each big city #andals,
@thorung in 1inhalaA, are wooden constructions of varied shape with hundreds of
coloured jets and panels painted over to depict scenes of the *uddha<s life or stories
of 5is time or Eata%a stories which are stories of 5is previous births With a nod to
touching on the sensational, a much favoured story is of beautiful 3isa 2otami whose
only child died )nconsolably lamenting she ran around the streets na%ed until she was
brought to the *uddha who as%ed her to get mustard seed from a house that had had
no death, to cure her son 1he went around begging but all families had been
bereaved 1he comprehended the *uddha<s message and joined the *hi%%uni
1asana ' the .rder of 4uns 6ortuitously, the huge cutouts of 3isa 2otami are clothed
' albeit diaphanouslyB
(esa% is essentially a festival of illumination &his ta%es various forms; the traditional
being the clay oil lamp @1inhala ' meti pahanaA. +nother classic decoration of light is
the <buc%et< lantern ' cylindrical constructions of coloured translucent paper within
each of which a candle is set alight &hey are gentle light givers and perhaps best
illustrate the fact that light of %nowledge dispels the dar%ness of ignorance +lso that
just as a whiff of wind could douse the light of the clay lamp and paper lantern, man<s
life could be e/tinguished in an instant, proving the impermanence of all sentient
beings
)llumination now is more electric jets strung all over $very *uddhist home is decorated
with pahana, lanterns or jets and public buildings festoon themselves with *uddhist
flags and electric lights More elaborate lanterns called atapattam vie with the electric
jets &he 1inhala name is because these elaborately filigreed and coloured lanterns
are octagonal in shape 1treamers slip down from the joints which are of cane made
into frames over which patterned paper is pasted &hey are usually surrounded by a
number of smaller lanterns )nnovation is plentiful in the ma%ing of these lanterns
1ome emerge from the ma%ers hands as lotus, others as airplanes =ecent
innovations are coir ropeattapattams and those made of stal%s of paddy, seed and
reeds
&hus while (esa% is essentially a religious festival, it does ta%e on a carnival ambience
come nightfall &he big (esa% moon however is the nonpareil illumination, especially if
spied through the branches of the 1acred *o &ree in +nuradhapura or seen against
the bac%drop of the =uwanveliseya 1tupa in the vicinity +gain the significance of the
out-of-doors and the magnificence of Wesa% at night &he rustle of the leaves of the
bo tree are li%e no other; gentle winds call forth sibilant music
The Five Precepts (Pansil)
Promise to refrain from
Killing/harming any living being
Stealing/taking what is not given
Seual misconduct/adultery
!ying, gossip, slander, verbal abuse
"ntoicants # dangerous drugs $ alcohol
Added three (Atasil)
%aking solid food after noon
!istening to music, using cosmetics, being entertained
&sing luurious chairs and beds
Added two 'Dasasil)
(enounce lay life
(efrain from all monetary transactions