The Thrice Blessed Day...
 

Celebrate it in piety

The Thrice Blessed Day - Vesak is but a few days away... Buddhists all over the world celebrate this hallowed day in great piety. Vesak which marks the Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbhana of the Gauthama Buddha falls on Full Moon Poya Day in the months of May every year and is the most significant day in the Buddhist calendar. This year Vesak Poya dawns in the latter part of the month, on May 27.

This spiritual leader of royal birth has millions of followers around the world today because of the noble life He led and His great teachings - the universal message of peace.

He renounced His princely life and worldly pleasures to go in search of the truth. And once He found the noble truth and attained Supreme Enlightenment, He did not keep it to Himself. He began to preach and set the Wheel of the Dhamma in motion, to reach all corners of the world, to help mankind end all suffering.

The Dhamma is Buddha's greatest gift to the world which needs to be treasured, always. He suffered much and journeyed for many years to enlighten Himself and preach His noble doctrine to mankind.

Having attained Enlightenment at the age of 35, He travelled the length and breadth of the country of His birth for about 45 years, disseminating the Dhamma among the people. Today, unfortunately many fail to practise His great teachings in its purity and miss out on finding inner peace.

On this Thrice Blessed Day take time to reflect on the noble teachings of the Buddha and enlighten your mind so that you too can be a light to those around you, like the light spreading from a beautiful Vesak lantern, dispelling the evil darkness that has enveloped the world today.

Most of you must be eagerly waiting for this significant event, especially because of the colourful and creative Vesak lanterns and pandols that are a part of this festival.

The various Jathaka tales which are generally depicted on the pandols could teach you many valuable lessons to lead a good life. So, don't walk away just admiring the creativity and beauty of these structures; take to heart what they depict and become faithful followers of the Buddha.

Even though the Vesak festival is a spectacular event with the coloured jets, lanterns, dansalas and what not, don't get carried away by the glamour of it all and forget the religious significance of this day.

It is a celebration of the Buddha, one of the greatest religious leaders of the world. His great teachings are like the healing balm to the restless and impure minds of many trodding the wrong path in their journey through life today.

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[Significant facts]

* The four holy places of Buddhist pilgrimage related to the life of the Buddha are Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Kushinagar and Saranath.

* Lumbini is the brithplace of the Buddha and it's located in Kapilavastu, on the Indian-Nepalese border.

* Before His birth in this world, the Bodhisatva was the Lord of Thushita in the Deva realm.

* The Bodhisatva is said to have made five investigations prior to His birth to select the place of birth. They are Kaalaya (time), Deepaya (country), Deshaya (land area), Kulaya (caste) and Mava (mother). It was following these investigations that He had determined to be born in the southern continent (India).

* The son of King Suddhodana and Queen Mahamaya, Prince Siddhartha renounced his luxurious life and became Gauthama, the Ascetic.

* The Asoka Pillar in Lumbini which was erected by Emperor Asoka in the Third Century B.C. marks the place where Prince Siddhartha was born.

* Buddhagaya or Both Gaya in India is where Prince Siddhartha Gauthama became the Buddha, seated under the Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa)

* The Mahabodhi Temple and the Vajrasana (the Seat of Enlightenment) was founded by Emperor Asoka about 250 years after Buddha's Enlightenment.

* The Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura is a branch (or sapling) of the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha attained Enlightenment.

* Gautama Buddha attained Parinibbana in a sal forest in Kushinara in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Kushinara is also known as Kushinagar or Kushinga.

* The Maya Devi Temple and the pond where Queen Mahamaya took her ritual dip prior to Prince Siddhartha's birth and also where the Prince had His first bath are located in Lumbini.

* The famous Kapilavastu Palace is also situated in Lumbini.

* The Ramabha Stupa also called the Rambha Stupa or Adahana Stupa in Kushinara is said to have been built over a portion of the Buddha's ashes at the spot where He was cremated. It was erected by the ancient Malla people.

* Governor Sir Arthur Hamilton declared Vesak Poya a public holiday on March 27, 1885

* The recognised Vesak Full Moon Poya Day is on May 27 but an additional Vesak Poya called the Adhi Vesak Full Moon Poya Day fell on April 28, this year.

* At the instigation of the late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, Vesak Full Moon Poya Day was declared as an International religious day by the UN in 2000.

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Symbols of Buddhism

During the Vesak season let us focus attention on two significant symbols of Buddhism: the Buddhist flag and the Dhamma Chakra.

Dhamma Chakra...

The wheel is the symbol of the Dhamma. In the early stone friezes (carved decorations) at Sanchi, Mathura, Amaravati the Buddha is never shown; He is represented by symbols - the footprint, the Bodhi tree and the wheel. The footprint is connected with the person of the Buddha, and the Bodhi tree with His Enlightenment.

"Why a wheel," 'to represent the Dhamma you may ask?'

The Buddha's first sermon in the deer-park at Isipatana, in Baranesa (Benaris) is known as the Dhamma Chakka Pavattana Sutta, from the repetition of the words anuttaram dhamma cakkam pavattitam apattivattiyam "set a - rolling the wheel of the Dhamma ever forward, without obstruction."

These words were not said by the Buddha. In His sermon to the five ascetics who had been His companions earlier during His search for the true meaning of life, He only explained the fundamentals of His new philosophy. The words, are in the epilogue (section added at the end) to the Sutta added later on by some commentator/commentators.

The story of the first sermon that has come down to us, is as follow: After deciding to preach first to His old friends the 'panchavaggiyo', ascetics the Buddha set out for Isipatana. On the way He met an ascetic Upaka, who asked Him who He was and whose pupil He was. The Buddha after introducing Himself said that He was on His way to the city of the Kasis where He would set a-rolling the Dhamma wheel - "Dhamma Chakkam pavattetum gacchami Kasinam puram.' The Buddha would have used this metaphor as the wheel was a very common object, familiar to everyone in that society. The phrase is similar in meaning to the English phrase 'set the ball rolling.' So, the first sermon would have been named 'Dhamma Chakka Pavattana Sutta' when the suttas were gathered together into the Sutta Pitaka and the wheel became the symbol of the Dhamma.

The wheel which represents the Buddha in the old stone friezes is not different to the cart wheels in friezes showing scenes from the Vessantara Jataka or The Buddha's meeting with Tapassu and Balluka. The two brothers were travelling merchants and their cart is in the background. The ornamentation to the wheel came later.

The most famous Dhamma Chakra and the earliest ornate Chakra known to us, is that on the capital of the column set up by King Asoka at Sanchi. This Dhamma Chakra is commonly referred to as the 'Asoka Chakra.' (This capital with the lions and wheel is the State Emblem of India). It has 24 spokes and they are said to represent the "24 sub-divisions of the Four Noble Truths" says Rerukarne Chandawimala Maha Thera.

The Dhamma Chakra we are familiar with and commonly used in Sri Lanka has eight spokes representing the Noble Eightfold Path viz right understanding right livelihood etc.

This is not an old design from one of our temple murals or carvings. It was chosen from among a number submitted for a competition held before the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi, (The 2500th full-moon day from the Buddha's Parinibbahana.)

- Sumana Saparamadu