Atlanta Dunia

Buddha Purnima=20
Celebration of birth, = salvation and=20 enlightenment

4th May this = year will mark=20 Buddha Purnima,
the full moon day of the
lunar month of=20 Vaishakh.

The full moon = in the month=20 of Vaishakh (the second month in the lunar Hindu calendar) bodes a = threefold auspicious time for Buddhists all over the world- it is = the day=20 Gautam Buddha was born, attained enlightened as also the day he = passed=20 into the other life. This makes the entire month of Vaishakh a = sacred=20 month for Buddhists, during which ceremonial prayers are offered = to the=20 idol of Buddha and clothes and food distributed to the poor, in = keeping=20 with the Buddha's teaching. Buddha Viharas (special Buddhist = temples) are=20 also illuminated with candles and oil lamps during the month, = particularly=20 on Buddha Purnima.

This year, Buddha Purnima will be = observed on 4=20 May, 2004. Buddhism has diversified into many sects in India = today, and=20 every sect observes some distinctive rituals on this day. In = Sikkim, the=20 lamas are engaged in recitation of the scriptures from early = morning. The=20 Mahayana Buddhist organise a colourful procession of monks. The = Ambedkar=20 Buddhist also organise a pageant, but they include a photograph of = Dr B R=20 Ambedkar (the man credited with creating the Indian Constitution, = and an=20 icon for the
lower castes in India, whom Ambedkar helped get a = better=20 status by asking them to embrace the casteless principles of = Buddhism)=20 with that of a Buddha.
The Thervada Buddhist offer ceremonial = prayers=20 to the idol of Buddha.While every full moon is consecrated in the = Buddhist=20 calendar, the one in Vaishakh, needless to say, holds special=20 significance. It denotes the day on which the Buddha was born, = attained=20 enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Gaya and also attained = Nirvana some=20 years later on the same day. The Buddha
was born Siddhartha = Gautama,=20 son of a regional king, Suddhodana in 544 BC. father, King = Suddhidana, was=20 one of the best-known ruler of the Sakya dynasty. He, liked Lord = Rama, was=20 a Suryavanshi who traced his descent from the = sun.

According to=20 legend, Suddhodana's queen, Mahamaya was on her way from the = capital=20 Kapilavastu to her parent's home = in Devdaha.=20 During the journey she stopped under the shade of two Sal trees at = Lumbini, where she gave birth to a son, on the full night of = Vaishakh.=20 When she returned to Kapilavastu, an old sanyasi named Asit, who = was also=20 the court astrologer, came to the
palace and predicted that = the child=20 would redeem the world. Siddharth lost his mother when he was = barely a=20 week old and was brought up by the queen's = sister.

Siddharth,=20 however, grew into a child unlike most. A serious minded = youngster, who=20 enjoyed solitude to playing with children his age, he was moved by = the=20 sight of pain, suffering of both men and animals. When he came of = age,=20 King Suddhodana got me married to the beautiful Yashodhara, but = even the=20 diverse amusements and pleasures that the king provided = failed to=20 engage Siddhartha and deter him from his eternal quest for=20 truth.

The prince was a kshatriya (the warrior caste) but = he was=20 one of a kind, and could not bring himself to inflict suffering on = others.=20 The story about how he got into a dispute with his cousin Devdutt = is=20 wellknown. Siddhartha once came upon a swan that had been injured = from=20 Devdutt's arrow, and Siddharth took the bird home and tended it to = recovery. When Devdutt tried to claim
the bird, the dispute = was=20 refered to the king, who rightly allowed the swan to choose its = master.=20 Needless to say, the swan resisted Devdutt's call and nestled in=20 Siddharth's arms.

The story about how Siddharth encountered = illness, old age and death and was moved by the sight to leave his = young=20 wife and newborn son to lead a life of renouncement is also = well=20 known. He went from one religious center to another and from one = hermitage=20 to the next asking the inmates for answers to his questions. = Finally, he=20 stayed at the edge of the river Niranjana near
Gaya for six = long=20 years, starving himself and practising all kinds of other penances = till he=20 was reduced to skin and bone. He then realised that enlightenment = could=20 not come through mortifying the flesh. That very day a woman named = Sujata=20 offered him a bowl of kheer and a grass cutter gave him a stack of = grass=20 to sleep on. Gautama accepted both these gifts. His health =20 recovered. He took his seat under a Bodhi tree and resolved to = stay there=20 until he found the answers to his questions.

One night, an = hour or=20 so before dawn, he found the answers to the four truths of life - = the=20 existence of pain and suffering, their causes, the need to = overcome them=20 and the means of doing so. It was then that Siddhartha attained = the title=20 of the Buddha - the Enlightened one. This event took place on his = thirty -=20 fifth birthday which was also the night of the full moon=20 Vaisakh.

The Buddha then went to Sarnath near Varanasi, = where five=20 men became his disciples. He taught them the truths he had = discovered and=20 formed the first Sangha - community. Thereafter he traveled far = and wide=20 preaching the truth and gained a large following consisting of = scholars,=20 sanyasis, rulers of states and their ministers. He also went back = to his=20 home. But this time he entered his father's state not as a prince = but as a=20 bhikshu - monk. His father, stepmother, wife and son joined his=20 Sangha.

The day of the Buddha's enlightenment is now = celebrated by=20 all those following his teachings by taking a sacred baths and = wearing=20 only white clothes. They gather in their viharas for worship and = give alms=20 to monks. Many spend their entire day at the vihara listening to=20 discourses on the life and teaching of the Buddha or invite monks = to their=20 homes to speak to them. They reaffirm
their faith in the five=20 principles (Panch Sheel) - not to take life, not to steal, not to = die, not=20 to imbibe liquor or other intoxicants and not to commit=20 adultery.

On Buddha Purnima Buddhists refrain from eating = meat and=20 eat kheer which they share with the poor. Stalls in public = places=20 are set up to provide clean drinking water. Their special forms of = charity=20 include kindness to animals : they buy caged birds and set them = free and=20 pay butchers to let go animals meant for slaughter.

Some = Buddhists=20 also make Vaisakh Vakats out of bamboo, festoon them with stars = and=20 decorate their houses with them. Some people also drape the walls = of their=20 homes with paper or cloth depicting incidents from the Jataka = tales which=20 are based on incarnations of the Buddha prior to his birth as = Prince=20 Gautama.

Different Buddhist countries have different ways = of=20 celebrating this great day. In Sri Lanka the celebrations = are very=20 similar to Diwali. All homes are brightly illuminated and = even the=20 poorest light at least one oil-lamp.

In Japan, Buddhists = celebrate=20 8 April as the Buddha's birthday. On this day, they make replicas = of=20 shrines with spring flowers and place a small idol of the Buddha = on them.=20 They bathe and consecrate these idols with great reverence. In = Burma, the=20 Buddhists set a day apart every month in honour of the Buddha. = Since the=20 Buddha attained enlightenment sitting under a Bodhi tree, special = care is=20 taken in watering and tending Bodhi trees.

Whichever = the way it=20 is celebrated, Buddha Purnima helps in reflecting on the Buddha's = life and=20 his teachings.