Saturday, May 5, 2012

Happy Vesak!

For many in south Asia, today is one of the days celebrated as Vesak, a prominent holiday in the Buddhist festival calender. Vesak (or Wesak) commemorates three events, the Birth, Enlightenment (nirvana) and Passing Away (Parinivana) of the Buddha. Also known as "Buddha's Birthday", Vesak is named for the Pali and/or Sanskrit word for the fourth month in the lunar calendar. Because this festival is based on the occurrence of the full moon, the date of Vesak changes from year to year, but is usually held in April or May. For at full list of Vesak days since 2001, a useful chart has been posted within the Wikipedia article about Vesak. In 2012, Vesak is celebrated on May 5th in Sri Lanka, May 6th in India, and June 4th in Thailand. Taiwan and Hong Kong (China) have already celebrated Vesak, which was on April 28th, 2012. 

Common activities during Vesak include community service, meditation on the Noble Eightfold Path, making offerings of incense and alms, and paying homage to the Buddha. In many places, people also listen as monks chant sutras and give dharma talks. Various Vesak traditions have also arisen between different countries and regions, with a rich cultural diversity resulting from this joyous celebration. In Japan and South Korea, scented water or tea is poured over a statue of the baby Buddha, as a symbol of purification and reaffirming one's resolve in living a noble and pure life. In Indonesia, festivities during Vesak include lighting paper lanterns and letting them float up into the night sky. For a great slideshow featuring various festivities during Vesak, please click here. The slideshow is from the Huffington Post, and shows some beautiful images of this year's Vesak and Vesaks past in Singapore, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka, with a special focus on Indonesia and South Korea. I hope you enjoy the images as much as I did.    

So Happy Vesak, Everyone! May the joys and wisdom of the Dharma be renewed in you as you travel along the Path!

*****
May all beings be happy!

Update: I was recently informed by a kind reader that a dear Venerable I have met in the past, Ven. Sik Ji Xing, led the chanting and blessings at a Vesak celebration in Kuantan, Malaysia. Please read about it in this article from The Star Online.

6 comments:

  1. Hello Renata, this is a great collection of photos, very colorful, joyful, and even with some comedy! I appreciate the information you give in your posts. Thanks!

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    1. Hello Dan! Thanks so much for commenting. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures from the HP article. I hope that someday I can witness one of these great festivals, especially the lighting of the floating paper lanterns in Indonesia. All the best to you, and Happy Vesak!

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  2. Thank you Renata so much for sharing this info along with the links, for I truly enjoyed this today!

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    1. Hello Lon, thank you so much! I am very happy when you enjoy these posts of mine!

      Happy Vesak!

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  3. Here is a link to my own experience during vesak or wesak day... :)
    http://www.powerfulintentions.org/group/hello/forum/topics/buddhism?groupUrl=hello&groupId=1335877%3AGroup%3A3491676&id=1335877%3ATopic%3A3724842&page=2#comments

    Its in the last three post... It happen in Malaysia by the way.. And I got to meet Ven. Ji Xing recently.. :)

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    1. Dear Anonymous,
      Thank so much for commenting, and for the link sharing your story about this year's Vesak. I am also glad to hear that you have had the opportunity to mean Ven. Ji Xing. He is such an amazing person, and I feel very fortunate to have met him on two occasions when he visited Purdue University. Since you mentioned him, I have found an article about him presiding over Vesak celebrations/ceremonies in Kuantan this year. Unfortunately the article did not include any pictures of him, but I will incorporate the link to the article in my post above.

      When I was 13 years old I lived in Malaysia for a year while my dad taught at the University Technology Malaysia. Who knew that years later I would have embraced Buddhism as a way of life, and met such a blessed Venerable who hails from Penang and Pahang!

      Thanks so much, may you be well!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment! If you enjoyed this post, please share with others. -With Metta, Renata