Celebrating the Buddha on Vesak Day!
Happy Vesak, dear Dhamma friends! Since, this year, the full moon of May reaches it peak shortly after midnight East Coast time, we at Dassanāya Buddhist Community will celebrate it on Monday, May 16th.
Vesak is also known as Visakha Puja in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. It is a traditional Buddhist holiday in much of Asia, one which commemorates the Buddha’s birth at Lumbini, enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, and death at Kushinagar. It is a lovely celebration of the Buddha’s life and his teachings, and the wonderful sangha that carry on this profound practice even to this day.
On Vesak Day, at DBC, we will offer flowers, candles, and food together with our friends in practice. At other practices places you might encounter an opportunity to bathe the baby Buddha in sweet tea. This is a way of recalling his mother Queen Maya who brought him into the world, and of recollecting the future Buddha’s return to life as a human being, someone who would ultimately discover four noble truths and boundless compassion. The Buddha taught that a human life contains the full capacity for awakening, embedded right in the midst of everyday experiences.
He also taught that the best way to honor a Buddha is to practice the precepts and meditation. This was his exhortation time and time again. He said that stupas could be built or flowers to offered. People do this out of their devotion, and it is a lovely, wholesome expression. Yet he also said that the most respectful and powerful thing we can do to honor the Buddha is to take up the Path of practice that he taught, a meditative Path that fosters clarity, calm, and kindness. In that way, we continue his good works and we become the embodiment of the Dhamma as well. We become people who demonstrate the value of the Path of peace and wisdom.
So I invite you to practice today and every day. I invite you to celebrate and honor the Buddha.
And I invite you to join the folks of Dassanāya Buddhist Community on Tuesday, May 17th at 6:30 pm Eastern for meditation and a Dhamma talk - in person or online.
Have a wonderful Vesak Day!