Magha Puja
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| Magha Puja Day | |
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| Observed by | Thai, Lao, and Cambodian Buddhists. |
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| Type | Buddhist |
| 2008 date | 21 February |
Magha Puja (Lao: ມະຄະບູຊາ) is an important religious festival celebrated by Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month (this usually falls in February) It is a public holiday in Thailand and Laos - and is an occasion when Buddhists tend to go to the temple to perform merit-making activities.
[edit] Origin of Magha Puja Day
Magha Puja day marks the four auspicious occasions, which happened nine months after the Enlightenment of the Lord Buddha at Veluvana Bamboo Grove, near Rajagaha in Northern India. On that occasion, four miraculous events coincided;
- 1,250 enlightened disciples of the Buddha spontaneously gathered
- every one of those enlightened disciples had been given monastic ordination personally by the Lord Buddha
- those disciples knew to meet together without any previous appointment
- it was the full-moon day.
The Lord Buddha gave an important teaching to the assembled monks on that day 2,500 years ago called the 'Ovadapatimokkha'[1] which laid down the principles by which the monks should spread the Buddhist teachings. In Thailand, this teaching has been dubbed the 'Heart of Buddhism'.
[edit] Celebration of Magha Puja Day
In the evening, each temple in Thailand holds a candle procession whereby the monks and congregation members circumambulate the main chapel or pagoda in the temple in homage to the Lord Buddha.
[edit] References
- ^ D.ii.49, Dh.183
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