The celebration of Buddha's birthday is one of the most important Buddhist holy days. It is an especially important day for Theravada and Tibetan Buddhists that commemorates the birth, awakening and passing away of Buddha. It goes by many names, including Wesak or Vesak, and is usually celebrated on the first full moon in May, or the month that most closely corresponds in the Western calendar to the ancient lunar month Vesakha. This year, the full moon is on聽May 12.
While each Buddhist culture has its own way of celebrating the day (which can be a different day in different countries), it is generally a time to reflect on the teachings of Buddha (enlightened one) and what it means to be Buddhist. It is celebrated amongst Buddhists in Canada as well as in India, China, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and North and South Korea. This recent聽offers a snapshot of who the Buddha was, and how (and when) his birth and enlightenment is celebrated in different parts of the world.
Here in Canada, the largest annual Buddhist gathering takes place in Ontario around the聽. This event brings together all the Buddhist Temples in the Greater Toronto Area, Peel and York Regions, and features blessings and chanting ceremonies by Buddhist monks and nuns, the virtual Bathing Buddha ritual, traditional music and dance, martial arts demonstrations, with a colourful multicultural Buddha parade as the聽pi猫ce de r茅sistance. If any of our readers are fortunate to be in the Toronto area on聽Saturday May 24, we hope you can enjoy the event! And if being there is just not possible, you can get a taste of this celebration by watching the 2019 event captured聽.
Read more about聽Buddha Day聽in our MORSL Stories. And if you're looking to take a deeper dive into Wesak, this聽from a former 51吃瓜网student explores the development of Wesak as a ritual and its role in constructing Buddhist identity.
