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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBuddha's birthday 2018 in U.S.A. Sunday, April 8
Buddha's Birthday is a holiday traditionally celebrated in most of East Asia to commemorate the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddha and founder of Buddhism.
It is also celebrated in South and Southeast Asia as Vesak which also acknowledges the enlightenment and death of the Buddha.
According to the Theravada Tripitaka scriptures Gautama was born in Lumbini in modern-day Nepal, in the year 623 B.C., according to the Tibetan Account, and raised in Kapilavastu.
At the age of thirty five, he attained enlightenment (nirvana) underneath a Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya (modern day India). He delivered his first sermon at Sarnath, India.
At the age of eighty, He died at Kushinagar, India.
The exact date of Buddha's Birthday is based on the Asian lunisolar calendars.
The date for the celebration of Buddha's Birthday varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar, but usually falls in April or May.
In leap years it may be celebrated in June.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha%27s_Birthday
safeinOhio
(32,688 posts)It promises nothing
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milestogo
(16,829 posts)WheelWalker
(8,955 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(21,107 posts)make the day all about how many gifts you get.
Buddhas birthday, known as Vesak Day (or Wesak), is celebrated on various dates in the spring throughout the world, and each Buddhist culture has its own traditions for the day. It is usually observed during the first full moon in May.
Buddhists celebrate the Buddhas three most important life stages on Vesak: Birth, Enlightenment and Death, which traditionally are said to all have happened on the same day of the calendar throughout his life. The birth story is important because the Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal, while his mother stood holding onto a tree. Once born he is said to have taken seven steps forward after which a lotus flower arose from each footstep. He then declared that this was his last rebirth and that he would become an enlightened individual.
In South Korea, followers light lotus lanterns that cover the temples in remembrance of these lotus footsteps. In Sri Lanka, where colorful lanterns are also used, elaborate electric light displays depict different stories from the Buddhas life. In Indonesia, Buddhists light and release lanterns into the air while visiting the Borobudur temple. In Taiwan, followers pour fragrant water over Buddha statues to symbolizing a fresh start in life. In Singapore, devotees set caged birds free on the Buddhas birthday.
Nitram
(22,813 posts)Bodhgaya and Sarnath. We also visited the famous Ajanta Buddhist caves, which are actually monastery and prayer hall rooms carved into the native rock, with enormous pillars, statues, and awesome paintings. It would have been awesome to hear a hundred monks chanting a sutra inside those enormous stone rooms.