Vesak Celebration

On 27th of May, Unibuds celebrated the major Buddhist festival of the year, Vesak day at the Lodge, Squarehouse. Vesak day, otherwise known as the Visakah Puia is the day to celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. It usually falls on the first moon of the day in May, which is 18th of May this year. This celebration is called Vesak being the name of the month in the Indian calendar. This year, Unibuds celebrated the event in Mahayana tradition.

We were given choices from Venerable Bo Re of either performing the ceremony of bathing the Buddha first or understanding the significance behind it, so everyone chose the latter. Venerable Bo Re gave us a brief introduction of the importance of this event and the reason behind bathing the Buddha statue. He pointed out that while we celebrate this event, it is important to remind ourselves of the unique and profound knowledge, which arouse in Buddha on the night of his Enlightenment, which then give rise to the teachings of the Four Noble Truths. They are The Noble Truth of the Dukkha or suffering, The Origin or Cause of suffering, The End or Cessation of suffering, and The Path, which leads to the cessation of all sufferings. He then continued saying that the Buddha actually lies in everyone's heart and so by bathing the Buddha statue, it serves as a reminder to purify our minds from the evil.

Venerable Bo Re then led us into a short meditation session. The atmosphere was filled with tranquillity while everyone reflected back on oneself. It was then followed by the bathing of the Buddha statue, where the majestic appearance and solemnity of the Buddha image help us to control our body and mind, attaining calmness and peacefulness.

Lastly, we ended the event by having 'another' birthday celebration for our fellow members whose birthday fall on the month of May. I went home with a clearer mind but not forgetting the three main principles of Buddhism, not to do evil, to do good deeds and help others.