The Buddhist community celebrates the most important feast of the annual calendar, Vesak. We take up an article from the n.2 of the Bulletin in Dialogue, to learn more about the history and spirituality of this celebration. As we learn more about it, may we open our hearts and minds to the mission in Asia, and accompany this nation with our prayers in this time of great tension and uncertainty.
Vesakh: the concept
“The name of the observance is derived from the Pali term vesākha or Sanskrit vaiśākha, which is the name of the lunar month used in ancient India falling in April–May. Vesakh Day is celebrated by Buddhists all over the world. They commemorate the important events that took place in the life of Buddha on this day. First comes the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini, Nepal, which took place under the arbor of Sat trees where queen Mahamaya gave birth to him. The second event was Siddhartha Gautama’s supreme attainment as the Buddha, the Enlightened One. The third event was Buddha’s passing away over 2500 years ago at Kusinagar.
As Buddhism spread from India it was assimilated into many foreign cultures, and consequently, Vesakh is celebrated in many ways all over the world.
History
Birth of a Noble Prince
Buddha or the Supremely Enlightened One was born in 623 B.C. on a Vesak Full-Moon day. The young Prince was named Siddhartha or “the one who has brought about all good.” His parents, King Suddhodana and Queen Mahamaya ruled a small kingdom called Kapilavattu in Northern India. It is said that when he was born an ancient sage called Asita came to visit him. The sage took the child in his arms and first smiled, then wept. Questioned about his rare behaviour the sage explained that he smiled because the child would one day become the greatest teacher the world has ever known; he wept because he would not live long enough to see the boy grow up.
A Prince of Superior Intelligence
Siddhartha was provided with all the worldly comforts, but he was not satisfied. He was a meditative person. One day he noticed a frog about to be swallowed by a snake. Just then an eagle swooped and flew away with the snake and the frog on its mouth. This set him thinking: that human life was the same whereby the stronger was constantly destroying the weaker in never-ending succession, realizing happiness could only be found when this battle for survival could be ended. Another day, he sighted an old man bent with age, a sick man, and a corpse. He was horrified when he learned that the human body could be subjected to the ravages of age, disease, and death. He started to contemplate deeply and was determined to seek a panacea for such sufferings.
The prince also saw an ascetic, dressed in simple clothes but glowing with the inner peace of one who had given up his worldly passions. He was deeply impressed by the sense of happiness and calm that the ascetic radiated. The young Siddhartha, then aged 29 years, decided that he would give up all the temporal power that he was heir to and seek answers to the questions that troubled him. What was the cause of human sufferings? What was the path to happiness? He went to many teachers, but they could not help him to gain the Enlightenment he was searching for. He decided to seek the path on his own. The struggle for realization of the truth took him six years. One of the first lessons he learnt was to seek the Middle Path. To calm the mind to gain purification one must be moderate in all aspects.
Sr. Anna M. Kozuszek talking with a Buddhist monk.
Sr. Libanos M. Ayefe T. talking with a Buddhist monk.
Spirituality
The Realization of the Truths
He realized that man’s ignorance is the root of all misery. The basis of his teaching is the Four Noble Truths.
The first is the noble truth of suffering. Life is filled with the miseries of old age, sickness, death and unhappiness. People chase after pleasure only end up with more sufferings, pain and unsatisfactoriness. The second is the noble truth on the cause of suffering. The third is noble truth on the end of suffering. When desire is eliminated, suffering will cease. And the fourth noble truth is the path which leads to the end of suffering. He then explained the path which is the Noble Eightfold Path as: Right Understanding; Right Thought; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; and Right Concentration.
Buddha’s Enlightenment and Passing Away
On the 35th anniversary of his birth, again on the full-moon day of Vesakh, and seated under a Bodhi tree in Buddha Gaya, the ascetic Siddhartha become the Buddha, the Fully Enlightened One.
As other great religious teachers, the Buddha found opposition to his teachings. But many followed him, learning how to lead a proper religious life and free themselves from misery of existence.
Finally, after forty-five years of preaching, lying under two beautiful sala trees, before a large assembly of monks, the Buddha passed away at Kusinara. This passing away is also known as Mahaparinibbana or the attainment of ultimate peace and bliss. This event also occurred on the full-moon day of Vesakh, starting the Buddhist Era.
