Il Full Moon Poya day falls today:

The significance of the month of Il

by Samangie Wettimuny

The noble teachings of the Buddha are for the happiness and wellbeing of all living beings without any distinction. Following Buddhism to the best of one's ability will help to develop one's moral conduct and it is only then that the true meaning of life could be understood as the Buddha's doctrine is nothing but the noble truth.

After attaining enlightenment, for nearly half a century, Lord Buddha rendered a great service to the humanity, walking on the dusty paths of India teaching the Dhamma, so that the ones who practised his teachings could be ennobled and free. He practically proved that his doctrine was within one's reach if they genuinely want to achieve it and in fact the Buddha was the embodiment of all the virtues that he preached.

The Buddha's last message to his disciples was " After my death, the Dhamma shall be your teacher. Follow the Dhamma and you will be true to me".Just as his last message suggests, the greatest honour a Buddhist can do his religious leader is to lead his/her life according to his teachings.

More than 2595 years ago, it was in the month of Il that the Buddha advised his first set of disciples ( Sixty) to deliver this message of Noble Truth in all parts of India. So this month bears a great significance in the history of Buddhism as it was during this month that the sublime mission of the Buddha commenced.

His first disciples were the five ascetics called Kondangna, Vappa, Baddiya, Assaji and Mahanama ( Commonly known as Pas Vaga Mahanun) along with Yasa of Varanasi and his fifty four friends.

The five ascetics

After attaining enlightenment the Buddha decided to proclaim his doctrine first to these five ascetics who were his friends. He preached them Dhamma Chakka Pawaththana Sutta ( wheel of truth) which contained the essentials of his doctrine- Four Noble truths and the Noble eightfold path at Isipathana in Baranasi.

This set in motion the great Buddhist tradition of the Sangha, for popularising the teachings of the Buddha throughout the world. Before long fifty- five men including Yasa joined the order of the Sangha and there were sixty disciples altogether.

It was in the following manner that the Buddha advised his first set of disciples before despatching them as his missionaries.

" Arhats, I am free from all the bonds. So are you now. Go and wander for the welfare and happiness of many out of compassion for the world and happiness of Gods and men. Two should not be gone in the same direction. Proclaim my doctrine that is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle and excellent in the end.( Charitha Bikkawe Charikan, Bahu jana hithaya, bahu jana sukhaya)

The Jatila brothers

It was in the month of Il that the Buddha made the Jatila brothers shed their petty prejudices . Uruvel Kassapa, Nadee Kassapa and Gaya Kassapa who were popularly known as ' Thun ba Jatila' lived in their three hermitages on the bank of the river Neranja with their thousand disciples.

Lord Buddha who was well aware of his prejudice asked Uruvel Kassapa whether he can stay in one of the rooms of the hermitage overnight. Uruvel Kassapa gave him permission in a cold manner warning him of a snake who dwells in that particular room permanently.

The Buddha took no notice of his warning and stayed there. Though the snake was furious at the sight of the Buddha , the Buddha easily subdued it through his psychic powers. The following morning, Uruvel Kassapa was amazed to see the Buddha with the snake well tamed.

" Here's your snake." The Buddha told Uruvel Kassapa. " His power was subdued by the power of Mine." Uruvel Kassapa soon became a disciple of the Buddha and he was soon followed by his two brothers and their disciples. Accepting the invitation of Uruvel Kassapa , the Buddha stayed in a forest near by performing' Yamaka Prathhara' (Dual Psychic power) and made them understand that their prejudices were based on groundless reasons.

Due to this incident which was said to have taken place in the month of Il, the number of disciples of the Buddha increased by over one thousand at once. All thousand disciples became Arhats after listening to Aditta Pariyaya Sutta. The whole set of Arhats headed by the Buddha were cordially accepted by the King Bimbisara who was so pleased to see Jatila brothers as the Buddha's disciples.

Referring to the incident , the Buddha narrated Maha Narada Kassapa Jathaka story which deals with the effects of Karma( Each of our acts results in either good or bad)

The demise of Sariyuth Thera

The demise of the Buddha's great disciple Sariyuth Thera also took place on a Il poya day. The thera knowing that his life time was limited only to one more week, visited his hometown. He had two reasons in doing so.

First was his desire to die in his home town Nalaka and second was to make his mother who was so far reluctant to embrace Buddhism a Buddhist. He could fulfill his duty as his mother entered the first path of enlightenment. The following day Sariyuth Thera passed away with great satisfaction as he could fulfill a great duty that a son could ever do to his mother.

The Gauthama Buddha was not an isolated anomaly in history. He was one of the many enlightened ones. The next Buddha who will appear in the world is Maithriya and the month of Il is important in that context as well because according to the history of Buddhism it was during this month that the Gauthama Buddha gave Siriwaddana ( a rich land owner in Sankassapura) the approval and permission to become the next Buddha.

Siriwaddhana was one among the many who became a disciple of the Buddha during his visit to Sankassapura. Due to all these reasons the month of Il is considered an important month in the Buddhist calendar.

The Buddha's moral code expounded more than 2550 years ago is considered the most perfect the world has ever known. Just as Jawaharlal Nehru once said, " In this world of storm and strife, hatred and violence, the message of the Buddha shines like a radiant sun".

In fact 2595 years have only added to the vitality and truth of the message.

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