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Vesak Day

The International Day

Vesak Day – The International Day

Vesak Day - The International Day

The appearance of the Lord Buddha is similar to the sun rises and shines the light to all beings without any bias. He was born to benefit and make the human beings and animals to be happy.

The Perfection Persuit-Vesak Day - The International Day

If we describe the Lord Buddha’s kindness in the short time, our explanation is like the water passing through the pinhole while his whole kindness is like the water in the ocean. This is because he had the great kindness to the beings since he was the Bodhisattva. He thought to enlighten by himself and teach the human and celestial beings to attain Dhamma. He thought and did it intentionally. He had pursued thirty perfections for 20 Asaṅkheyya and 100,000 Maha Kappas, and then his perfections were full. He was born as King Santa Dusita who governed the Dusita Heaven and waiting for the proper time.

When the proper time arrived, the celestial beings and Brahmas from thousands of universes came together to invite the Bodhisattva to reborn in the human world. He had determined the Five Factors which were the world, country, human’s average age, the noblest family and mother, and chose to born in Chompoo Continent (or our world), the developed country (India at that time), the average 100-year-old people, in the royal family and Queen Sirimahamaya as his mother. So he accepted the invitation and made a wish to born in the human world.

The Lord Buddha’s Birthday - Vesak Day - The International Day

Before the Buddhist Era for 80 years at Lumpini Garden – the garden between Kapilavastu and Devadaha cities – on the full moon day of the sixth lunar month, Prince Siddhartha was born on that day.

When Queen Sirimahamaya, the Lord Buddha’s mother, was pregnant, she could see the Bodhisattva sitting in the lotus posture clearly like he sat outside because she kept the precepts well and meditated a lot. While she was delivering him, she had to stand instead of lying on the floor or ground and the Bodhisattva’s feet went out first. When his feet touched the ground, he could stand and walk at once. It was a miracle!

When the Bodhisattva was born and stood stably, he said the first speech to confirm the objective of his birth clearly that he was the best and noblest man in the world and this was his last life, he would not reborn again.

While the Bodhisattva had been delivered, there was the brightness covering the world and thousands of Universes. There were 32 good omens appearing such as in the thousands of Universes there was the limitless bright covering, the blind became un–blind, the deaf became un–deaf, the mute became un–mute, the humpback became straight back, the lame became un–lame, the imprisoned animal became free, the hell fire became extinguished, the hungry ghost became not hungry, the animal became fearless, the animal became not trouble from symptom and defilement, etc. These were the miracles which hardly happened in the world.

When Prince Siddhartha grew up, he studied with the best teachers in the country. He spent only 7 days to study and knew all knowledge of his teachers who had studied for whole lives. Even though the prince was good–looking, wealthy and had a lot excellent qualities, he was not careless in life. When he saw the baby, the old man, the patient, the dead and the eremite, he knew at once that he should be eremitic because it was the noblest life and aimed to free from suffering. The prince rode the horse Kanthaka to ordain at the bank of Neranjara River when he was 29 years old.

The Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment Day
After the Bodhisattva had made the effort for 6 years, on the full moon day of the sixth lunar month, he sat in the lotus posture under the Bodhi tree. The Mara used his power to make one hundred thunderbolts and forced it to hit the Bodhisattva but he could not. This is because the Bodhisattva’s strong intention that if his blood and muscles were lost, left only his skin, tendon and skeleton, he would not stand up from his bench unless he was enlightened.

When the Great Mara had known about the Bodhisattva’s intention, they were frightened and haunted the King Paranimmitsavatti. So the King Paranimmitsavatti suddenly had the Wrong View. He moved their troops to threaten the Bodhisattva. They claimed that the Bodhisattva was sitting on the King Paranimmitsavatti’s bench. But the Bodhisattva was not shaken and kept stilling his mind. Finally, he overcame them by the power of his well–accumulated perfections.

The Bodhisattva determined Dhamma precisely and did it back and forth. His Dhamma determination caused the earthquake 12 times. Finally, he was enlightened to be the Lord Buddha at the dawn.

Vesak Day - The International Day

When the Lord Buddha was enlightened, the completely dark hell became bright at once. The water in the ocean became the sweet water. The rivers did not flow. The blind became un–blind. The deaf became un–deaf. The lame became un–lame. The fetters were automatically broken. The Lord Buddha had been worshipped from the celestial beings.

After the enlightenment, the Lord Buddha had the greatest kindness and taught the human beings to attain Dhamma for 45 years. He had to travel on foot to disseminate the religion in many regions without any complain. He taught Dhamma clearly like turning the downside up, uncovering the concealed things, telling the way to the wanderers or lighting the lantern in the dark for people, so a great number of beings attained Dhamma.

The Lord Buddha’s Death Day
When the Lord Buddha was 80 years old, the Lord Buddha passed away at the Sala grove in Kusinara on the full moon day of the sixth lunar month before the Buddhist Era for one year. Even though his physical body does not exist now, his Dhammakaya is in Nirvana. Before he passed away, he gave the last sermon that his physical body was not stable and the decay was the common thing, you should not be careless.

Vesak Day - The International Day

All are the summary story about the Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. It is the good story and inspires us to pursue the perfections by following him. He is the Greatest Master in the World! Ever! So, we should recall him every the full moon day of the sixth lunar day or Vesak Day.

The Buddhist Communities light the Vesak Lanterns to worship the Lord Buddha together on Vesak Day

Vesak Day - The International Day

Vesak Day is the day which we, the four Buddhist communities, should persuade people to remind of the Lord Buddha and his perfection pursuit since the first day until the last day. We should study his Dhamma which is the light guiding their lives in the right way and shining way to the heaven and Nirvana. Moreover, we should come together to meditate to attain Dhammakaya which is the body of enlightenment. We should find a chance to light the lantern and circumambulate clockwise around the Buddhist pagoda to worship the Lord Buddha. The outside is bright by the candle light; the inside is bright by Dhamma light.

The Sermon by the Most Ven. Phrarajbhavanavisudh (Dhammajayo Bhikkhu)

Translated by Chadawee Chaipooripat