Devout Buddhists undertake to lead a noble life according to
the teaching by making daily affirmations to observe the Five Precepts.
However, on special days, notably new moon and full moon days, they observe the
eight Precepts to train themselves to practice morality, simplicity and
humility.
Some temples also display a small statue of the Buddha in front
of the altar in a small basin filled with water and decorated with flowers,
allowing devotees to pour water over the statue; it is symbolic of the
cleansing of a practitioner's bad karma, and to reenact the events following
the Buddha's birth, when devas and spirits made heavenly offerings to him.
Devotees are expected to listen to talks given by monks. On
this day monks will recite verses uttered by the Buddha twenty-five centuries
ago, to invoke peace and happiness for the government and the people. Buddhists
are reminded to live in harmony with people of other faiths and to respect the
beliefs of other people as the Buddha taught.
Bringing happiness to others
Celebrating Vesākha also means making special efforts to
bring happiness to the unfortunate like the aged, the handicapped and the sick.
To this day, Buddhists will distribute gifts in cash and kind to various
charitable homes throughout the country. Vesākha is also a time for great joy
and happiness, expressed not by pandering to one’s appetites but by
concentrating on useful activities such as decorating and illuminating temples,
painting and creating exquisite scenes from the life of the Buddha for public
dissemination. Devout Buddhists also vie with one another to provide
refreshments and vegetarian food to followers who visit the temple to pay
homage to the Enlightened One.
Paying homage to the Buddha
Tradition ascribes to the Buddha himself instruction on how
to pay him homage. Just before he died, he saw his faithful attendant Ananda,
weeping. The Buddha advised him not to weep, but to understand the universal
law that all compounded things (including even his own body) must disintegrate.
He advised everyone not to cry over the disintegration of the physical body but
to regard his teachings (The Dhamma) as their teacher from then on, because
only the Dhamma truth is eternal and not subject to the law of change. He also
stressed that the way to pay homage to him was not merely by offering flowers,
incense, and lights, but by truly and sincerely striving to follow his
teachings. This is how Buddhists are expected to celebrate Vesak: to use the
opportunity to reiterate their determination to lead noble lives, to develop
their minds, to practise loving-kindness and to bring peace and harmony to
humanity.
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