Diversity Affairs Feature
The Wesak Festival
Wesak festival image
In 2008 the Festival of the Wesak full moon in Taurus
occurs on Wednesday, May 3 at 3:09 am PDT
The second of the three major spiritual planetary festivals is The Wesak
Festival, The Buddha’s Blessing, and is celebrated in the eastern
hemisphere at the Taurus full moon. This is the festival of The Buddha,
divine intermediary between the highest spiritual center, Shamballa,
and the Hierarchy.
The Buddha is the expression of the Wisdom of God, the embodiment of light and
the indicator of divine purpose.
The Forces of Enlightenment are active during this festival. These forces emanate
from the Heart of God, and transmit the second principle of Divinity, Love-Wisdom,
leading to Divine Understanding and strengthening those who serve humanity.
Buddha literally means 'one who is awake' and has become
enlightened. It is a term that denotes a person who has attained the supreme
wisdom and compassion of Enlightenment.
To Buddhists Enlightenment is a blessed state in which the individual attains
Nirvana - the transcendence of desire and suffering.
woman lighting incense at Buddhist temple
Woman lighting incense at Buddhist temple
Budda's disciples
Many of Buddha's disciples have attained Enlightenment, and there have
been many other Enlightened teachers.
The celebration of Wesak is a chance to remember the story of how the Buddha
gained Enlightenment, and to reflect on what it might mean for individual
Buddhists to move towards Enlightenment themselves.
Celebrations
The festival is celebrated with much colour and gaiety. Homes may
be cleaned and decorated. In Thailand, for example, special Wesak lanterns
are made of paper and wood, and often there a large ceremonial releases of
caged birds.
This festival is extremely religious, and so everyone tries to follow the Buddhist
guidelines as closely as they can. They believe the most important things to
practice are the good virtues of kindness and generosity to all living things.
There are stands by the sides of some roads from which free food or drinks are
given to people walking by. The streets are filled with entertainers, pageants,
and happiness. In Sri Lanka, Buddhists dress in white and carry baskets of flowers
to the monastery. Some people donate blood to hospitals, while others give away
free dharma books. Buddhists all over the world decorate monasteries with Buddhist
flags, lanterns, and flowers.
In many countries during the festival, Buddhists will visit their local
temple for services and teaching, and will give offerings to the monks
of food, candles and flowers.
traditional dancer at Buddhist shrine
Traditional dancer at Buddhist shrine
Chanting and praying are an important part of Wesak. The 'Bathing
the Buddha' ceremony is also often included. Water is poured over the shoulders
of the Buddha and serves as a reminder to purify the mind from greed, hatred
and ignorance.
Chinese Buddhists incorporate elements of their country's culture into their
religious celebrations like the traditional dancing dragons.
Gifts are taken to an altar to be offered to the Buddha statues. This shows respect
and gratitude to the Buddha for his life and teachings.
If there is food it is usually vegetarian as Buddhists try not to harm
animals.
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