Vesak

Vesak, a festival of utmost significance in Buddhism, particularly in Theravada Buddhism, that commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha. The holiday is observed on the full-moon day of the lunar month Vesakha, the fourth month of the lunar calendar, which falls in April, May, or June, in some cases, in the Gregorian calendar. The day is observed as a public holiday in many Southeast Asian countries. It is also observed in East Asian countries, where it commemorates only the Buddha’s birth. In 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists made Vesak an international holiday to be celebrated on the first full moon of May. In 1999 the United Nations recognized Vesak as an international holiday. It is marked by special devotional services and various deeds intended to be meritorious, such as the presentation of food or alms to monks or the release of captive birds.

History of Vesak

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The precise origin of the holiday is unclear—it is not attested in early Buddhist canonical sources—but at some point it came to be accepted in Theravada communities that Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death all occurred on the full-moon day of Vesakha month. The holiday appears explicitly in the Mahavaṃsa, the 5th–6th-century-ce historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, and festivals of some similarity are recorded in the account of Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Faxian, who visited India in the early 5th century. Some suggest it was introduced to Sri Lanka with the expansion of Buddhism to the island during the time of Ashoka (3rd century bce). It is possible that the festival has older or more regional roots lost to history.

The Theravada Vesak festival in its current form took shape in Sri Lanka in the 19th century. Under the British colonial government, the Buddhist establishment that had previously enjoyed a close relationship to statecraft was sidelined, and Christian missionary work further marginalized Buddhists. A Buddhist revival movement developed in the middle of the 19th century to counter the rising popularity of Christianity and instill a positive identity and pride among Buddhists. Vesak had initially been a religious and monastic holiday confined to the temple and not a public holiday with significant lay investment. However, after a ban on Buddhist processions in 1883, Buddhist revivalists were further emboldened to counteract colonial restriction on Buddhism. In 1844 theosophist Henry Steel Olcott successfully petitioned the government to make Vesak an official public holiday. The revivalists further turned the holiday into a kind of Buddhist Christmas complete with songs, cards, presents, parades, public displays of stories about the Buddha’s life, and plenty of lights. The revived version of Vesak has become popular throughout countries where Theravada Buddhism is practiced, such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

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Rituals of Vesak

Just as the Buddhist community is divided between the monastic sangha and the laity, so are Vesak practices divided along those social lines. Monastic observance usually includes a procession of monks and nuns, recitation of sutras (religious texts), offerings in a temple, bathing a statue of the Buddha, and a discourse on dharma (Pali: dhamma, which, in the context of Buddhism, means the teachings of the Buddha). The laity make offerings of flowers or light incense in a temple while also engaging in merriment including food and cultural performances. On some occasions the Buddhist flag, which Olcott helped create, is hoisted. Layfolk might recite the Three Jewels (Triratna): commitments to Buddha, dharma, and sangha. Buddhist laity may also avoid alcohol and meat for the duration of the festival. An important dimension of the festival is making merit (punya)—doing good deeds to improve one’s karma or the karma of one’s relatives. This can be achieved by offering food to monastics and by releasing caged animals (usually birds) into the wild. Because of the potential negative ecological impacts of releasing animals in places where they might either not survive or be invasive, some communities have attempted to restrain or replace this practice. Alternate animal-related merit-making activities can involve adopting vegetarianism, working in an animal shelter, or Buddhist monks giving blessings for beloved pets.

The Buddha’s many birthdays

In most Theravada Buddhist countries the holiday is called Vesak or Wesak or a close variant thereof based on the name of the month. In some places it is called Buddha Day. In India and Nepal—the modern countries where the historical Buddha’s life transpired—as well as in Bangladesh, it is called Buddha Purnima (“Full Moon”) or Buddha Jayanti (literally “victory” but often meaning “birthday”). In Tibetan Buddhism, practitioners call it Saga Dawa Düchen (Tibetan: “Fourth Month Festival”), and the whole fourth month is known to be auspicious for reaping the benefits of good deeds.

In East Asia, where Mahayana is the main form of Buddhism, the Buddha’s birthday is celebrated separately from his enlightenment and death and falls on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, roughly about the same time as Theravada Vesak. Different countries mark the day in different ways and with different names. In South Korea, for example, a lantern-lighting festival called Yeondeunghoe honors the Buddha’s birthday (seokga tansinil). In Vietnam it is called Phat Dan and celebrated with lotus-shaped lanterns, prayers, and offerings. In China releasing animals, or fengshang, is a prominent part of Buddha’s birth celebration, called Fódàn. In Japan Buddha’s birthday (Bussho-e) is commonly called Hana Matsuri (“Flower Festival”) and officially occurs on April 8. In Taiwan the story of the Buddha’s birth is commemorated on the second Sunday of May, coinciding with Mother’s Day.

Outside Asia, in the United States in the 20th century Vesak was co-opted into the New Age movement. In the 20th and 21st centuries members of the Buddhist diaspora in the Americas and Europe, along with Euro-American Buddhists, continue to observe Vesak. In these diverse Buddhist communities, Vesak is often practiced in a nonsectarian and inclusive fashion.

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