Hello Everyone,
Happy Buddha Jayanti! It is also known as Buddha Purnima or Buddha’s birthday. Gautama Buddha was born in 563–483 BCE in Lumbini (Nepal) and raised in the Shakya capital of Kapilavastu. Buddha Jayanti is celebrated on the Asian lunisolar calendars but usually falls in April or May on a full moon night. In South and Southeast Asia, the Buddha’s birth is celebrated as part of Vesak, a festival that also celebrates the Buddha’s enlightenment and death.
You may know Buddha for his peacefulness, his actions, his teachings, and his inspirations from all around the world. Buddha Jayanti is normally celebrated all over South Asia but on a big scale in Nepal, his birthplace. Gautama Buddha, known as Gautama Buddha or Siddhārtha Gautama is regarded as the founder of Buddhism. He was revered by Buddhist schools as the enlightened one. You may be wondering, “Why is he known as Buddha?” Well, Buddha which in Sanskrit means “the awakened one.”
On the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, I want to share with you some facts about Gautam Buddha. He was born as a prince with the name Siddarth. He was married and had a son. As a child, Siddharth was very peaceful and kind to everyone. At the time of his birth, the priest had predicted that he would be very wise and would spread his wisdom throughout the world. Prince Siddhartha was twenty-nine years old when his life changed. In carriage rides outside his palaces he first saw a sick person, then an old man, then a corpse. He could not explain the sufferings of people including illness, poverty, and death. In search of the answers, he left his palace and wife to wander around. Eventually, he realized that the path to peace was through mental discipline. At Bodh Gaya, in the modern Indian state of Bihar, he sat in meditation beneath a ficus tree, “the Bodhi tree,” until he awakened, or realized enlightenment. From that time on, he would be known as the Buddha. People from villages soon came to notice Buddha under the tree, meditating, and from that time on, they learned about his teachings. Soon people from different parts of the world started following his teachings. Large Buddhist populations live in Mainland China, Taiwan, North Korea, Nepal, India, and South Korea.
If you get to visit Lumbini (Nepal) you will be able to see the Mayadevi Temple (Buddha’s Mother) and the tree under which he was born. There are many monuments, museums, and monasteries built by different Buddhist countries. Lumbini was made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
On this day people celebrate the life of Lord Buddha; his Birth, Enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana (Death) Foods like meat and wine are avoided on that day and people.
Families go to buddha monasteries to pray and light candles. They try to remember the teachings of Buddha and do charities.
As a Nepali, I feel very proud that my family comes from the land of Buddha. This year, I am planning to visit a monastery in Milwaukee to celebrate Buddha Jayanti.
In today’s world, where there is sickness and death because of COVID, Violence, racial injustice, and mental illness, I want everyone to read and follow the teachings of Buddha. Sometimes I think “What if Buddha saw what is happening every day?” “What would he say?”
Here, I want to end my blog with some valuable teachings of Gautam Buddha.
Life always involves suffering (dukkha).
Meditation is a very important part of Buddhism.
Suffering happens because people are greedy and not satisfied with what they have.
Greed and selfishness can be overcome.
The main teachings of Buddha were the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path is as follows:
Right thought.
Right belief.
Right speech.
Right action.
Right means of livelihood.
Right effort.
Right memory.
Right meditation.
“The mind is everything. What do you think you will become?”
Great 👍🏻 fascinating