World Religion CPT
Visaskha Puja Day (Buddha Day)
The Visaskha Puja Day (Buddha Day) takes place on the full moon day of May and Buddhists all over the world celebrate it in countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and of course, Tibet. This festival celebrates the birthday of the Buddha and is the most important festival in Buddhism. They believe that the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha all took place on that day of the year. On this day, devout Buddhists and followers alike are expected and requested to assemble in their various temples before dawn for the ceremonial, and honourable, hoisting of the Buddhist flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the three jewels: The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings), and The Sangha (his disciplines). During this festival, people assemble on the grounds of the monasteries and may bring simple offerings of flowers, candles and joss-sticks to lay at the feet of their teacher. These symbolic offerings are to remind followers that just as the beautiful flowers would wither away after a short while and the candles and joss-sticks would soon burn out, so too is life subject to decay and destruction.
Another common practice is when some temples display a small statue of the Buddha is from of the altar in a small basin filled with water and decorated with flowers. This allows devotees to pour water over the statue, symbolizing the cleansing of a practitioner's bad karma and is a way to reenact the events following the Buddha’s birth, when devan and spirits made heavenly offerings to him. Celebrating this day also means making special efforts to bring happiness to the unfortunate like the aged, the handicapped and the sick, as Buddhism teaches. To this day, Buddhists will distribute gifts to various charitable homes throughout the country.