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| Sunday, 2 May 2004 |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Vesak Vesak celebrates the birth of a Noble prince Siddhartha Gauthama, His enlightenment and His passing away. Hence it is called the thrice blessed day in the Buddhist calendar. On this day, Buddhists recall the triple event of the Lord Buddha and also pay homage to the Sacred Bo Tree which gave shelter to Siddhartha Gauthama to attain Enlightenment. Anguththara Nikaya refers to the birth and states thus:" A unique Being, and Extraordinary Man arises in the world for the benefit of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, benefit and happiness of gods and men. Who is this unique Being? It is the Thathagatha, the exalted, the fully Enlightened One". Buddhism stands out as a way of life in a society riddled with a multitude of religions, faiths and beliefs and cults. The message the Buddha preached 2548 years ago stands valid even today. What the Buddha wanted, was to show the way to mortal man entangled with all forms of vices and miseries to get out of them and free themselves. He advised that what was necessary was to find out a way to relieve oneself from the bondage. His message of universal peace has its great significance felt in troubled Sri Lanka and we are called upon to take lessons from His unique and profound knowledge in dealing with worldly affairs. For us living in the 21st century, for Buddhism to be meaningful and relevant, it has to be related to one's day-to-day life. It calls on all to go back to the roots of Buddha's teaching and collect knowledge from His teaching to make our living meaningful. The UPFA Government has decided to rekindle the Buddhist principles and create a society that lives up to the teachings of the Buddha, amend our ways and live in peace and harmony with our neighbours. With the hope of eradicating poverty, the Government has decided to have development centres with the temple taking a leading role. For, Buddhism to be truly relevant and meaningful to Sri Lankan society at large, steps have to be taken to eradicate poverty. For Buddha Himself emphasised the need to feed the hungry before preaching. We are human beings striving like the Buddha to achieve sublime happiness one day, both in this world and in the next. Vesak Poya provides us the opportunity to cast aside all our mundane work and meditate, look back and take stock of ourselves, our inner beings, and the truth. |
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