Buddha's Birthday

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This article deals with the East Asian holiday. See also Vesak.
Lotus Lantern Festival celebrating Buddha's Birthday, in South Korea
Lotus Lantern Festival celebrating Buddha's Birthday, in South Korea

Buddha's Birthday (traditional Chinese: 佛誕; pinyin: fó dàn; Cantonese: fātdáahn), the birthday of the Gautama Buddha traditionally celebrated in East Asia on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, is an official holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea. The date varies from year to year in the Western (Gregorian) calendar:

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[edit] India

The birth of the Buddha (Buddha Purnima in India) is often celebrated by Buddhists for an entire month. This month, however is not the usual Gregorian month, but rather the Month corresponding to the Buddhist calendar. The actual day is called Buddha Poornima (or Buddha Purnima), also traditionally known as Vaishakh Poornima. Although the day marks not just the birth of Shakyamuni Gautam Buddha, but also the day of Enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana. But as a gentle effect of West, the event of Birth is given paramount importance.

The event is celebrated by gentle and serene fervour, keeping in mind the very nature of Buddhism. People especially ladies go to common Viharas, to obsereve a rather longer-than-usual, full length Buddhist sutra, as something like a service. The usual dress is pure white. Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided, but a dish specally made is the sweet rice porridge, called kheer. The story is about the kheer that was a gift to Buddha by the childless Sujata, which event was one major link in his enlightenment.

The legend is that Buddha supposedly thought that asceticism is the way to enlightenment, as was thought by many at that time. He sat for a prolonged time with inadequate food and water, which caused his body to shrivel so as to be indistinguishable from the bark of the tree that he was sitting under. Thinking him a sacred statue, the childless Sujata placed a bowl of kheer in front of him as an offering. Realizing that without food one can do nothing, Buddha refrained from that extreme path.

[edit] Sri Lanka

This is one of the major festivals in Sri Lanka. It is celebrated on the first full moon day of the month of May. People engage in religious observances and decorate houses and streets with candles and specially made lanterns.

[edit] Japan

Hanamatsuri
Hanamatsuri

In Japan, Buddha's Birthday is celebrated on April 8, but is not a national holiday. On this day, all temples do celebratory events/festivals called 灌仏会 (Japanese: Kanbutsu-e), 降誕会 (Goutan-e), 仏生会 (Busshou-e), 浴仏会 (Yokubutsu-e), 龍華会 (Ryuge-e), 花会式 (Hana-eshiki) or 花祭(Hana-matsuri, meaning 'Flower Festival'). The first event is celebrated at Asuka-dera in 606. Japanese people pour ama-cha (a beverage prepared from a variety of hydrangea) on small Buddha statues decorated with flowers, as if they bathe a newborn baby.

[edit] Korea

In Korea the birthday of Buddha is celebrated according to the Lunisolar calendar. This day is called 석가탄신일 (Seokga tansinil), meaning "the day of Buddha's birthday" or 부처님 오신 날 (Bucheonim osin nal) meaning "the day when Buddha arrived". Lotus lanterns cover the entire temple throughout the month which are often flooded down the street. On the day of Buddha's birth, many temples provide free meals and tea to all visitors. The breakfast and lunch provided are often sanchae bibimbap.

[edit] Other countries

Some places have a public holiday one week later, on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, to coincide with the full moon. For instance, Visakha Puja in Thailand or Lễ Phật đản in Vietnam was such a holiday on May 12 in 2006. Other countries including Singapore and Malaysia also celebrates Vesak Day on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, a public holiday is these two countries.

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

The Folkloric Study of Chopail (Buddha's Birthday), written by Prof. M.Y.Pyeon. Produced by Minsokwon in Seoul Korea 2002.